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LIFE  AND  TIMES 


OF 


WASHINGTON: 


CONTAINING    A 


PARTICULAR    ACCOUNT 


OF 


NATIONAL  PRINCIPLES  AND  EVENTS, 


AND    OF   THE    ILLUSTRIOUS 


HEX  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 

BY  JOHN   FREDERICK   SCHROEDER,  D.  D., 

AUTHOR    OF   "MAXIMS    OF   WASHINGTON,   COLLECTED   AND    ARRANGED." 

Illustrate  toitfc  Iji^lg-finislrefo  jstwl  dEngrabhujs, 

FROM  ORIGINAL  DESIGNS    OF   HISTORICAL  SCENES,   AND  FULL-LENGTH   PORTRAITS. 

BY  ALONZO  CHAPPEL. 


OF  TEE 


VOL.  I. 

^L.       ^      ft 

-K    «  Jf 
' 


KEW    YORK: 
JOHNSON,   FRY,   AND    COMPANY, 

27     BEEKMAN-bTKEKT. 


C 


ENTEBED  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 

JOHNSON,  FEY  &  COMPANY, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


DEDICATED 


TO 


AS  A 


NATIONAL    BOOK 


EVENTS     AND     PRINCIPLES 


OX   -WHICH   ARE  ESTABLISHED   OUR 


FREEDOM  AND  INDEPENDENCE. 


THE   DEFENDER   OF   HIS   COUNTRY,   THE   FOUNDER   OF   LIHERTY, 
THE    FRIEND    OF    MAX. 

HISTORY     AND    TRADITION     AEE     EXPLORED     IN    VAIN     FOB    A    PARALLEL    TO    HIS     CHARACTER 

IN    THE    ANNALS    OF    MODERN    GREATNESS, 

H  E     STA  NDS     ALONE, 

AND    THE    NOBLEST    NAMES    OF    ANTIQUITY    LOSE    THEIR    LUSTRE    IN    HIS    PRISENCE. 

BORN    THE   BENEFACTOR   OF   MANKIND. 
HE    UNITED    ALL  THE   QUALITIES    NECESSARY   TO   AN    ILLUSTRIOUS    CAREER. 

NATURE    MADE    HIM    GREAT; 

HE  MADE  HIMSELF  VIRTUOUS. 

CALLED  BY  HIS  COUNTRY  TO  THE  DEFENCE  OF  HER  LIBERTIES, 
HE    TRIUMPHANTLY    VINDICATED   THE    RIGHTS    OF    HUMANITY,    AND    ON    THE    PILLARS    OF 

NATIONAL   INDEPENDENCE 
LAID    THE    FOUNDATIONS    OF    A    GREAT    REPUBLIC. 

TWICE     INVESTED     WITH     SUPREME     MAGISTRACY 

BY  THE  UNANIMOUS  VOICE  OF  A  FREE  PEOPLE, 

Hi:  SURPASSED   IN  THE  CABINET 

THE     GLORIES     OF    THE     FIELD, 

AND    VOLUNTARILY    RESIGNING   THE    SCEPTRE    AND    THE    SWORD, 
RETIRED  TO  THE  SHADES  OF  PRIVATE  LIFE. 

A    SPECTACLE    SO    NEW    AND    SO    SUBLIME 

WAS    CONTEMPLATED    WITH    THE    PROFOUNDEST    ADMIRATION; 

AND    THE   NAME    OF 


ADDING  NEW  LUSTRE  TO  HUMANITY, 
RESOUNDED    TO    THE    REMOTEST    REGIONS     OF    THE     EARTH. 

MAGNANIMOUS   IN   YOUTH, 

QLORIOUS      THKOTJGH      LIFE, 
G  RE  AT     IN     DEATH, 

HIS    HIGHEST    AMBITION    THE    HAPPINESS    OF    MANKIND, 

HIS    NOBLEST  VICTORY  THE   CONQUEST   OF   HIMSELF. 

BEQUEATHING    TO    POSTERITY    THE    INHERITANCE    OF    HIS    NAME, 

AND    BUILDING    HIS     MONUMENT    IN    THE     HEARTS     OF    HIS     COUNTRYMEN 

HE    LI\ED    THE    ORNAMENT    OF    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

AND    DIED    REGRETTED    BY    A    MOURNING    WORLD. 


INTRODUCTION. 


OUR  New  World  lias  awakened,  for  more  than  three  centuries  and  a  half, 
a  continually  increasing  interest.  The  discovery  of  our  continent,  its  settlement 
by  Anglo-Saxon  colonies,  and  its  giving  birth  to  a  new  and  powerful  nation, 
are  among  the  most  memorable  epochs  in  the  history  of  man,  and  cannot  fail 
to  exert  a  marked  influence,  in  effecting  the  final  development  of  human  destiny. 

To  those  parts  of  this  great  theme  which  relate  to  preparatory  events,  and 
to  the  history  of  the  United  States  from,  the  earliest  period  to  the  present  time, 
a  companion  to  this  work  has  been  devoted.*  But  there  attaches  to  the  re 
markable  period  of  our  government's  organization,  and  of  the  events  connected 
with  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of  our  civil  rights,  a  peculiar  importance, 
which  claims  for  it  a  separate  and  particular  account. 

This  period  comprises  the  life  and  times  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  Ex 
tending  from  the  middle  of  the  last  century  to  its  close,  and  clustering  incidents 
of  grave  import  and  deep  significance,  it  is  associated  with  a  remarkable  climac 
teric  in  the  progress  of  human  affairs,  and  constitutes  a  distinct  cycle  in  the 
world's  history. 

It  is  no  ordinary  distinction,  to  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  members  of  a 
civil  community,  the  origin  and  institutions  of  Avhich  are  associated  with  a  name 
that  commands  the  veneration  of  the  whole  family  of  man.  But,  to  wear  this 
badge  without  understanding  its  signification,  is  as  unworthy  as  it  is  humiliating, 
especially  at  a  time  when  a  free  press  is  scattering,  with  such  prodigality  of  mu- 


0  "  The  History  of  the  United  States,  from  tlie  Earliest  Period  to  the  Present  Time,"  by  J.  A.  SPENCER,  D.D.     Splendidly 
illustrated  with  original  portraits  and  historical  scenes.     New  York  :   Johnson,  Fry,  and  Company. 


INTRODUCTION. 


nificence,  the  riches  of  social  and  political  knowledge.  As  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  entitled,  by  birth  or  naturalization,  to  speak  of  OUR  Washington, 
and  of  the  political  institutions  which  he  established,  as  OUR  inheritance,  every 
true  American  is  conscious  of  an  ennobling  sentiment.  And  as  indifference  to 
the  character  and  actions  of  Washington  would  necessarily  imply,  on  the  part 
of  an  individual,  the  dereliction  of  a  title  to  the  benefit  of  his  achievements, 
and,  on  the  part  of  the  nation  at  large,  a  virtual  surrender  or  a  forfeiture  of 
our  goodly  heritage,  it  is  at  once  the  honor  and  security,  as  it  should  ever  be 
the  delight,  of  every  patriotic  citizen  of  the  United  States,  to  cherish  in  his 
own  mind,  and  in  the  minds  of  his  children,  an  intelligent  and  profound  admi 
ration  of  the  virtues  and  services  of  him  who,  in  the  pristine  days  of  our  repub 
lic,  was  "  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."* 
We  all  share  the  glory  of  his  valor,  and  the  fruits  of  his  wisdom ;  and  it  is  our 
duty,  as  well  as  our  prerogative,  to  contemplate  his  character,  and  perpetuate 
his  principles. 

That  the  institutions  of  our  country  secretly  but  powerfully  act  upon  the 
institutions  of  European  States,  and  may  eventually  lead  to  a  political  regenera 
tion  of  the  Old  World,  is  discoverable  already  in  the  pulse  of  several  of  these 
States.  And  every  year  will  no  doubt  continue  to  develop  new  evidences  of 
the  axiom,  which  has  a  political  as  well  as  a  moral  application,  TRUTH  is  GREAT 

AXD   WILL   PREVAIL. 

To  the  intelligent  American  it  is  not  only  instructive,  but  pleasing,  to  con 
sider  a  subject,  so  important  in  view  of  its  controlling  families  of  nations,  and 
moulding  their  fortunes  and  their  final  destiny. 

The  object  of  this  work  on  the  Life  and  Times  of  Washington,  is  to  ex 
hibit  a  faithful  portraiture  of  his  private  virtues,  and  a  comprehensive  view  and 
particular  account  of  his  public  services,  in  their  connection  with  the  period 
when  he  lived,  the  contemporaries  with  whose  names  his  name  is  historically 
associated,  and  the  stirring  events  which  led  to  our  Revolutionary  War  and 
National  Independence,  and  to  the  establishment  of  those  free  institutions  which 
are  our  birth-right,  and  the  palladium  of  our  civil  and  social  prosperity. 

5  Major-General  HEXRT  LEE'S  ''  Funeral  Oralion  on  the  Death  of  Washington,  delivered  at  the  request  of  Congress,"  near 
the  eud. 


LIFE  AID  TIMES 


OF 


WASHINGTON, 


BOOK   I. 

HIS  ANCESTORS  AND  BOYHOOD. 


CHAPTER    I. 
1657—1739, 

HIS     BIRTH     AND     ANCESTORS. 

Interest  and  Importance  of  his  Character  and  Destiny. — Tributes  to  him  hy  Lord  Brougham,  and  President  John 
Adams. — Time  of  his  Birth. —  Contemporaneous  Events  in  America,  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent  of  Europe. 

-His  Baptism.  — The  State,  county,  and  house  where  he  was  born.— Monumental  Stone  at  his  Birth-place. 

Removal  from  Westmoreland  to  Suffolk.— His  Ancestors  in  America,  and  in  England.— His  Letter  to  Sir  Isaac 
Heard.— His  Motive  in  an  Inquiry  respecting  his  Kindred.— Character  of  the  Washingtons,  in  Ancient  and 
Modern  Times. 


THE  eventful  times  of  Washington 
may  well  arrest  the  thoughts  of  every 
one  who  is  interested  in  the  origin  and 
destiny  of  our  republic.  And  the  com 
bination  of  causes  which  made  this  illus 
trious  man  the  master-spirit  of  his  day, 
and  the  very  impersonation  of  the  great 
principles  which  he  asserted,  is  a  pleas 
ing  indication  of  what  may  be  regarded 
as  not  a  merely  fortuitous,  but  a  divine 
ly  ordered,  series  of  events,  having  for 
their  ultimate  object  the  general  wel 
fare  of  humanity. 

Among  leaders  and  rulers  of  nations 
there  is  not  another,  who  has  illustrated, 
in  so  happy  a  manner,  the  virtues  and 
obligations  both  of  private  and  public 
life;  and  who  has  afforded  so  suitable 
an  example  for  imitation,  in  those  vir 
tues  and  obligations,  on  the  part  of 
every  citizen,  from  the  most  secluded 
member  of  society  to  the  most  conspic 
uous  man  of  mark  in  council  or  in  the 
field. 

VOL.  L— 2 


One  of  the  mo^t  eminent  living  states 
men  of  England  has  said,  "  He  was  the 
greatest  man  of  our  own  or  any  age  ; 
the  only  one  upon  whom  an  epithet  so 
thoughtlessly  lavished  by  men,  to  foster 
the  crimes  of  their  worst  enemies,  may 
be  innocently  and  justly  bestowed." 
"  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Historian 
and  the  Sage,  in  all  ages,  to  let  no  oc 
casion  pass  of  commemorating  this  illus 
trious  man ;  and,  until  time  shall  be  no 
more,  will  a  test  of  the  progress  which 
our  race  has  made  in  wisdom  and  in 
virtue,  be  derived  from  the  veneration 
paid  to  the  immortal  name  of  Wash 
ington."*  And  one  of  the  chief  of  our 
revolutionary  worthies,  who  enjoyed 
every  opportunity  to  form  a  proper  es 
timate  of  the  qualities  which  he  com 
mends,  says  :  "  If  we  look  over  the  cata 
logue  of  the  first  magistrates  of  nations, 


°  LORD  BROUGHAM'S  Sketch  of  Washii./vn  ;  in  his  "  His 
torical  Sketches  of  Statesmen  who  flourished  in  the  Time 
of  George  III."  Second  Series  :  Vol.  II.,  last  Sketch. 


10 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  1. 


whether  they  have  been  denominated 
Presidents. or  Consuls,  Kings  or  Princes, 
where:  sii^Jl-'  we  find  one,  whose  coin- 
tnajiding:  .taleftts  and  virtues,  whose 
overruling  good  fortune,  have  so  com 
pletely  united  all  hearts  and  voices  in 
his  favor  ?  who  enjoyed  the  esteem  and 
admiration  of  foreign  nations,  and  fel 
low-citizens,  with  equal  unanimity  ? 
Qualities  so  uncommon  are  no  common 
blessings  to  the  country  that  possesses 
them.  By  these  great  qualities,  and 
their  benign  effects,  has  Providence 
marked  out  the  Head  of  this  nation, 
with  a  hand  so  distinctly  visible,  as  to 
have  been  seen  by  all  men,  and  mis 
taken  by  none."  "  His  example  is  com 
plete  ;  and  it  will  teach  wisdom  and 
virtue  to  Magistrates,  Citizens,  and 
Men,  not  only  in  the  present  age,  but 
in  future  generations,  as  long  as  our 
history  shall  be  read."*  Happy  the 
nation,  so  long  as  it  is  actuated  by  such 
an  influence  ;  and,  in  dark  and  disheart 
ening  moments,  when  untoward  events 
may  for  a  time  eclipse  its  glory,  may  it 
ever  be  able  to  revive  and  renew  its 
pristine  energies,  in  rekindling  the  spirit 
of  Washington  and  of  '76. 

It  was  a  happy  hour  for  America, 
when,  by  the  divine  ordering  of  human 
affairs,  she  gave  birth  to  the  future 
"  Father  of  his  Country."  He  was  born 
on  the  twenty-secondf  day  of  Februa 
ry  ;  and  citizens  of  the  United  States 
have  good  reason  to  celebrate,  with 

0  JOHN  ADAMS'S  Speech  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  April,  1789;  and  his  "Special  Message  to  the 
Senate,  December,  23d,  1799." 

t  The  day  was  the  devenlh,(0ld  Style,)  1732. 


1732. 


lively  enthusiasm,  every  annual  recur 
rence  of  the  memorable  day. 

The  period  of  his  birth  and  boyhood 
was  that  during  which  occurred,  as  will 
appear  in  the  sequel,  some  of  the  most 
extraordinary  and  oppressive  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament, 
in  relation  to  the  American  colonies. 
And  it  is  a  reflection  which  cannot  es 
cape  the  notice  of  intelligent  students 
of  history,  that,  often,  at  the  very  time 
when  oppression  has  been  pushing  its 
exactions  to  their  climax,  deliverance 
and  a  deliverer  have  been  revealed. 

In  November  of  the  very  year  when 
Washington  was  born,  the  benevolent 
and  brave  OGLETIIOEPE,  with  a 
hundred  and  twenty  emigrants, 
was  crossing  the  Atlantic,  with  his  Char 
ter  to  found  the  colony  of  Georgia,  the 
future  thirteenth  State  of  the  original 
American  confederacy,  destined,  when 
the  infant  energies  of  Washington 
should  be  matured  for  the  exploit,  to 
take  part  in  achieving  our  national  in 
dependence. 

It  was  when  he  was  a  child,  that  Eng 
land  imposed  a  tax  on  the  im 
portation  of  sugar  into  North 
America.  Then,  too,  in  the  full  exer 
cise  of  the  exclusive  privilege^  to  im 
port  negro  slaves  from  Africa  into  the 
Spanish  colonies  in  America,  she  sent 
her  Asiento  ships  to  these  colonies, 
until  her  abuse  of  her  privileges  led 
eventually  to  a  war  with  Spain.  And 


1733. 


J  The  Treaty  for  the  exclusive  right  to  import 
negroes,  "£2  Asiento  de  los  Neyros,"  was  made  by  Eng 
land  with  Spain,  in  1713,  and  was  to  continue  thirty 
years. 


CHAP.  I] 


BIRTH  AND  AXCEST01IS. 


11 


1739. 


it  was  during  this  war,  the  first  war 
waged  for  colonial  interests,  that 
Porto  Bello,  the  grand  mart  of 
Peruvian  and  Chilian  commerce,  was 
captured  by  the  daring  Admiral  VER- 
NON,  whose  name  afterward  became  as 
sociated  with  the  rural  home  of  our 
great  champion  of  civil,  social,  and  re 
ligious  liberty. 

The  state  of  civil  affairs  in  England 
at  this  period  was  extraordinary. 

The  Prime  Minister,  SIR  ROBERT 
WALPOLE,  produced  his  Excise  Scheme, 
which  occasioned  an  intense  feel 
ing  of  repugnance  throughout  the 
realm.  Not  only  was  the  offensive  meas 
ure  denounced  in  parliament,  as  a  "plan 
of  arbitrary  power,"  but  the  people  at 
large,  in  the  provincial  towns,  as  well  as 
in  the  metropolis,  bent  on  protecting 
their  civil  rights  from  what  they  deemed 
the  grasp  of  tyranny,  indulged  in  loud 
protestations  against  the  principle  of  the 
Scheme,  burnt  the  Minister  in  effigy, 
wore  cockades  with  the  motto,  "  Liberty, 
Property,  and  no  Excise,"  and,  by  the 
power  of  the  popular  will,  drove  Wai- 
pole  to  relinquish  his  measure,  with 
the  memorable  declaration,  that  "there 
would  be  an  end  of  the  liberty  of  Eng 
land,  if  supplies  were  to  be  raised  by 
the  sword." 

The  European  continent  also  was  at 
this  time  greatly  agitated  by  the  War 
of  the  Polish  Succession,  in  which  France, 
Spain,  Sardinia,  and  a  majority  of  the 
people  of  Poland,  maintained  the  claims 
of  STANISLAUS  LECZINSKI  ;  and  the  Czar 
ina  Anne,  of  Russia,  supported  by  Aus- 


tria,  occupied  Poland  with  foreign  troops, 
placed  on  the  throne  FREDERICK  AU 
GUSTUS,  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
proclaimed  will  of  the  nation,  and  re 
asserted  what  the  infant  Washington 
was  destined,  in  less  than  fifty  years,  to 
condemn  with  greater  eloquence  than 
that  of  words,  while  he  vindicated  our 
natural  and  inalienable  rights  in  oppo 
sition  to  the  humiliating  dogma,  that 
popular  privilege  must  yield  to  royal 
prerogative,  and  the  voice  of  the  people 
to  the  will  of  kings. 

STANISLAUS  II.,  Poniatowski,  born  but 
a  few  weeks  before  Washington,  was 
the  last  king  of  Poland.  The 
humiliating  measures  of  the  1^33.' 
Czarina  Catharine  II.,  caused 
the  kingdom  rapidly  to  degenerate,  un 
til  at  length,  during  the  presidency  of 
Washington,  Stanislaus  was  dethroned, 
and  his  country  dismembered  and  par 
titioned  by  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prus 
sia.  This  bold  illustration  of  monarch 
ical  tyranny,  by  which  the  political 
existence  of  an  ancient  kingdom  was 
annihilated,  was  exhibited  in  the  sight 
of  all  Europe,  while  Princes  and  Courts 
that  had  waged  protracted  wars  to  set 
tle  punctilios  of  state  etiquette,  were 
content  to  view  the  solemn  spectacle, 
without  indulging  one  generous  impulse 
in  behalf  of  ill-fated  Poland. 

Not  many  days  after  Washington's 
birth,  his  parents,  devout  members  of 
the  Church  of  England,  which,  at  that 
time,  was  almost  universal  in  Virginia, 
dedicated  him  to  God  in  baptism,  and 
provided  for  him  two  godfathers  and  a 


12 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  I. 


i     j 


godmother,  according  to  the  rubric  in 
the  baptismal  office.  The  family  Bible 
contains  this  record :  "  GEORGE  WASH 
INGTON,  Son  of  AUGUSTINE  and  MARY 
his  Wife,  was  born,  the  llth  day  of 
February,  1731-2,  about  10  in  the  morn 
ing  ;  and  was  baptized,  the  5th  of  April 
following :  Mr.  BEVERLY  WIITTING  and 
Captain  CHRISTOPHER  BROOKS,  Godfa 
thers  ;  and  Mrs.  MILDRED  GREGORY, 
Godmother." 

This  scrupulous  conformity  to  spon- 
soral  provisions,  implies  a  decent  regard 
also  for  the  solemn  vow,  promise,  and 
profession,  made  in  the  baptismal  sacra 
ment.  And  it  may  reasonably  be  in 
ferred,  that  the  nature  of  the  solemn 
service  was,  in  due  time,  explained,  and 
its  obligations  set  forth,  by  the  parents 
and  sponsors,  to  the  child  thus  dedicated 
unto  God. 

Among  what  may  be  regarded  as 
other  proprieties  of  his  life,  is  the  fact 
of  his  beinf*  a  son  of  Virginia,  the 

O  O 

"  Mother  of  Presidents."*  The  county 
of  Westmoreland,  his  birth-place,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State,  and  border 
ing  on  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannock 
rivers,  is  celebrated  as  the  birth-place 
of  many  other  distinguished  men.  Pres 
ident  MONROE  was  born  there ;  and 
also  RICHARD  HENRY  LEE  and  THOMAS 
LIGIITFOOT  LEE,  Signers  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence ;  THOMAS,  FRAN- 
CLS,  and  ARTHUR  LEE,  brothers  of  Rich 
ard  Henry ;  General  HENRY  LEE,  who 

0  JEFFERSON,  MADISON,  MONROE,  HARRISON,  and  TYLF.R, 
Presidents  of  the  United  States,  were  citizens  or  natives 
of  Virginia. 


was  known  during  the  Revolution  as 
"  Legion  Harry ;"  and  Judge  BUSHROD 
WASHINGTON. 

The  house  in  which  Washington  was 
born,  a  single-story,  low-pitched,  frame 
building,  is  no  longer  standing.  It  was 
a  ruin  before  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Its  site,  however,  half  a  mile  from  the 
junction  of  Pope's  Creek  with  the  Poto 
mac,  in  Washington  parish,  is  indicated 
by  a  few  remaining  fragments,  and  by 
a  clump  of  decayed  fig-trees.  A  few 
vines  and  shrubs,  and  a  few  gentle 
flowers  also,  seem  to  delight  in  decora 
ting,  year  after  year,  the  hallowed  spot, 
and  in  enlivening  its  desolation  with 
pleasing  and  suggestive  sentiments.  The 
majestic  river  scenery  of  the  Potomac, 
and  the  neighboring  lawrns  with  their 
velvet  greensward,  associated  with  the 
infancy  of  Washington,  contribute  their 
charm  to  enliven  the  patriot  pilgrim, 
who  mingles  with  his  delight  in  these 
beauties  of  nature  a  predominant  feel 
ing,  by  which  that  majestic  stream  is 
converted  into  a  lively  expression  of 
the  prevailing  emotion  of  his  mind. 

The  site  of  the  house,  which  was  built 
by  Washington's  great-grandfather  in 
the  year  1657,  when  he  emigrated  to 
America,  is  now  indicated  by  a  Monu 
mental  Stone,f  bearing  the  inscription, 
"HERE,  THE  UTII  of  FEBRUARY,  1732, 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WAS  BORN." 

f  It  is  a  slab  of  free-stone,  lying  horizontally  ;  and  it 
was  placed  there  by  GEORGE  W.  P.  CUSTIS,  Esquire,  in 
June,  1815.  There  is  an  engraving  of  it,  in  LOSSLXG'S 
"Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  218  ;  and  an 
other,  in  Putnam' t  Monthly  Magazine,  for  January,  1854, 
p.  2. 


CHAP.  I.] 


BIRTH  AND  ANCESTORS. 


1T39. 


Seven  years  after  his  birth,  the  fami 
ly  removed  from  Westmoreland, 
to  a  honse  which  was  the  prop 
erty  of  his  father,  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock  River,  nearly  opposite  Fredericks- 
burg,  in  Suffolk  county.  Of  this,  too, 
nothing  now  remains  except  a  few  scat 
tered  pieces  of  brick,  wood,  and  plaster. 
But  the  visitor  of  the  spot  is  natural 
ly  prompted  to  fancy  many  interesting 
pictures  of  youthful  sports,  in  and 
around  the  homestead. 

It  does  not  concern  American  citi 
zens,  as  it  does  the  subjects  of  European 
Princes,  to  trace  a  line  of  descent  from 
ancestors  who  wore  crowns  or  coronets, 
and  were  adorned  with  garters,  stars, 
and  other  such  badges  of  honorable 
eminence.  It  is  rather  a  subject  of 
self-gratulation,  on  our  part,  that  a  re 
mote  forefather  was  one  of  a  band  of 
untitled  voluntary  exiles,  who  fled  from, 
persecution  to  the  rock-bound  shore  of 
a  new  country ;  or,  one  of  the  sturdy 
adventurers,  or  gallant  cavaliers,  who 
sought  their  fortunes  among  the  early 
colonists  of  our  southern  country.  Yet 
it  is,  in  all  cases,  a  legitimate  object  of 
inquiry  with  us,  to  ascertain  the  na 
tional  origin  of  a  family,  and  the  time 
and  circumstances  of  its  emigration. 

The  first  of  Washington's  paternal 
ancestors  who  came  to  America,  was 
his  great-grandfather,  JOHN  Washing 
ton.  He  and  his  brother  LAWRENCE* 
emigrated  from  England  to  the  colony 

°  The  name  of  this  brother  was  ANDREW,  according  to 
IRVING,  in  his  "Life  of  Washington,"  vol.  i.,  p.  16  ;  but, 
this  is  an  error,  as  appears  from  BAKER'S  "Genealogical 


of  Virginia,  in  the  year  1657,  while  the 
royalists,  republicans,  and  fifth-monar 
chy  men  were  in  the  melee  of  their  op 
position  to  the  scheme  of  making  Crom 
well  king,  and  while  many  loyal  British 
subjects,  eschewing  the  assumptions  of 
the  protectorate,  were  fleeing  for  refuge 
to  other  lands. 

The  brothers,  JOHN  and  LAWRENCE, 
both  purchased  estates  in  Westmore 
land  county.  John  married,  and  had 
several  children,  one  of  whom,  Law 
rence,  was  the  grandfather  of  our 
Washington.  This  LAWRENCE  had  sev 
eral  children ;  and  his  second  son,  AU 
GUSTINE,  was  our  Washington's  father, 
who  married  twice.  His  first  wife, 
JANE  BUTLER,  was  the  mother  of  four 
children,  two  of  whom  were  LAWRENCE 
and  AUGUSTINE  ;  and  his  second  wife, 
MARY  BALL,  celebrated  for  her  beauty, 
was  the  mother  of  six  children,  of  whom 
our  Washington  was  the  first-born.f 

The  two  brothers  who  emigrated  to 
America,  John  and  Lawrence,  could 
trace  their  family,  through  several  gen 
erations,  to  WILLIAM  DE  HERTBURN,  a 
powerful  and  noble  knight,  who  lived  a 
century  after  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  and  who  purchased,  in  the 
year  1183,  the  manor  and  village  of 
Wessyngton,  in  the  diocese  of  Durham. 
From  that  period,  the  de  Hertburn 

Table"  of  the  family,  and  from  Washington's  Letter  to  SIR 
ISAAC  HEARD. 

f  There  were  three  other  sons,  SAMUEL,  JOHN  AUGUS 
TINE,  and  CHARLES  ;  and  there  were  two  daughters,  MIL 
DRED,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  BETTY,  who  married 
FIELDING  LEWIS,  ESQ.,  afterwards  a  devoted  patriot  of  the 
revolutionary  times. 


LIFE  AND  TIMKS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


family  took,  as  then  was  usual,  the 
name  of  the  estate,  and  was  called  DE 
WESSYXGTOX.  The  orthography  of  the 
name,  passing  through  various  modifi 
cations,*  eventually  attained  its  familiar 
modern  form. 

So  little  interest  did  our  Washington 

o 

himself  evince,  in  relation  to  his  pedi 
gree,  that  he  never  gave  it  his  serious 
attention,  until  he  received,  after  his 
elevation  to  the  Presidency,  a  letter  on 
the  subject  from  SIR  ISAAC  HEARD,  then 
Garter  King  at  Arms  in  London,  who 
was,  from  his  office,  naturally  led  to  in 
quire  into  the  ancestry  of  the  illustrious 
American,  who  was  at  that  time  the 
observed  of  all  observers.  Washing- 

o 

ton's  reply  to  Sir  Isaac's  letter  is  a  char 
acteristic  effusion. 

PHILADELPHIA,  2  May,  1792. 

"  SIR,— Your  letter  of  the  7th  of  De 
cember  was  put  into  rny  hands  by  Mr. 
Thornton,  and  I  must  request  that  you 
will  accept  my  acknowledgments,  as 
well  for  the  polite  manner  in  which  you 
express  your  wishes  for  my  happiness, 
as  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken  in 
making  genealogical  collections  relative 
to  the  family  of  Washington. 

"  This  is  a  subject  to  which,  I  confess, 
I  have  paid  very  little  attention.  My 
time  has  been  so  much  occupied  in  the 
busy  and  active  scenes  of  life,  from  an 
early  period  of  it,  that  but  a  small  por 
tion  could  have  been  devoted  to  re 
searches  of  this  nature,  even  if  my  in- 

°  Among  these  modifications  are  Wessington,  Was- 
sington,  Weschington,  and  Wasshington. 


clination  or  particular  circumstances 
should  have  prompted  to  the  inquiry. 
I  am  therefore  apprehensive,  that  it 
will  not  be  in  my  power,  circumstanced 
as  I  am  at  present,  to  furnish  you  with 
materials  to  fill  up  the  sketch  which 
you  have  sent  me,  in  so  accurate  a  man 
ner  as  you  could  wish.  We  have  no 
office  of  record  in  this  country,  in  which 
exact  genealogical  documents  are  pre 
served  ;  and  very  few  cases,  I  believe, 
occur,  where  a  recurrence  to  pedigree, 
for  any  considerable  distance  back,  has 
been  found  necessary  to  establish  such 
points  as  may  frequently  arise  in  older 
countries. 

"  On  comparing  the  tables,  which  you 
sent,  with  such  documents  as  are  in  my 
possession,  and  which  I  could  readily  ob 
tain  from  another  branch  of  the  family 
with  whom  I  am  in  the  habit  of  corre 
spondence,  I  find  it  to  be  just.  I  have 
often  heard  others  of  the  family,  older 
than  myself,  say,  that  our  ancestor  who 
first  settled  in  this  country  came  from 
some  one  of  the  northern  counties  of 
England ;  but  whether  from  Lancashire, 
Yorkshire,  or  one  still  more  northerly, 
I  do  not  precisely  remember.f 

"The  arms  inclosed  in  your  letter, 
are  the  same  that  are  held  by  the  fam 
ily  here ;  though  I  have  also  seen,  and 
have  used,  as  you  may  perceive  by  the 
seal  to  this  packet,  a  flying  griffin  for 
the  crest, J 


f  The  ancestor  referred  to,  JOHN  Washington,  resided, 
before  he  came  to  America,  on  an  estate  of  his  at  South 
Cave,  in  the  East  Hiding  of  Yorkshire. 

\  The  Washington  coat  of  arms,  in  the  families  of 
Buckinghamshire,  Kent,  Warwickshire,  and  Northamp- 


CHAP.  I] 


HIS  BIRTH  AND  ANCESTORS. 


15 


"  If  you  can  derive  any  information 
from  the  inclosed  lineage,  which  will 
enable  you  to  complete  your  table,  I 
shall  be  wTell  pleased  in  having  been 
the  means  of  assisting  you  in  those  re 
searches,  which  you  have  had  the  po 
liteness  to  undertake ;  and  shall  be  glad 
to  be  informed  of  the  result,  and  of  the 
ancient  pedigree  of  the  family,  some  of 
whom  I  find  intermixed  with  that  of 
Ferrers. 

"  LAWRENCE  Washington,  from  whose 
will  you  inclosed  an  abstract,  was  my 
grandfather.  The  other  abstracts  which 
you  sent  do  not,  I  believe,  relate  to  the 
family  of  Washington  in  Virginia;  but, 
of  this  I  cannot  speak  positively. 

"With  due  consideration,  I  am,  sir, 
your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  WASHINGTON"." 

In  this  letter  were  inclosed  PARTICU 
LARS  respecting  the  family.  "  In  the 
year  1657,  or  thereabouts,  and  during 
the  usurpation  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
JOHN  and  LAWRENCE  Washington,  bro 
thers,  emigrated  from  the  north  of  Encr- 

O  O 

land,  and  settled  at  Bridge's  Creek,  on 
the  Potomac  river,  in  the  county  of 
Westmoreland.  But  from  Avhom  they 
descended,  the  subscriber  is  possessed 
of  no  document  to  ascertain."  Then 
follows  an  account  of  JOHN,  who  was 
Washington's  great-grandfather,  and  of 
his  descendants  in  America. 

tonshive,  and  in  the  Virginia  families,  is  argent,  two  bars 
gules  in  chief,  three  mullets  of  the  second.  Crest,  a  ra 
ven  with  wings  indorsed  proper,  issuing  out  of  a  ducal 
coronet  or.  In  EDMOXDSON'S  Heraldry,  are  given  other 
arms,  for  other  branches  of  the  family. 


While  he  heeded  not  the  suggestions 
by  which  pride  and  ambition  allure  so 
many  to  genealogical  records,  Washing 
ton  did,  however,  obey  the  prompting? 
of  benevolence,  when,  on  making  his 
will,  he  desired  that  a  list  should  be 
furnished  of  his  blood-relations,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  with  a  view  to 
his  bestowing  upon  each  one  of  them,  a 
gift  or  souvenir. 

To  such  inquirers  as  may  be  curious, 
on  the  subject  of  the  remote  English 
ancestors  of  our  Washington's  first 

O 

American  progenitor,  JOHN,  of  Vir 
ginia,  it  may  be  interesting  to  know, 
that  he  descended  lineally  from  John, 
of  Whitfield,  in  the  county  of  Lancas 
ter,  whose  son  John,  also  of  Whitfield, 
was  father  of  John,  of  Warton,  in  the 
same  county ;  and  tke  eldest  son  of  this 
John,  of  Warton,  LAWRENCE,  was  mayor 
of  Northampton,  and  had  a  grant  of  the 
manor  of  Sulgrave,  with  other  valuable 
lands  there,  after  Henry  the  Eighth's 
dissolution  of  the  priories.*  This  LAW 
RENCE,  of  Northampton,  was  the  great 
grandfather  of  the  first  American  Wash 
ington  ;  his  son  ROBERT,  of  Sulgrave, 
being  the  father  of  LAWRENCE,  of  Sul 
grave,  of  whom  JOHN,  of  Virginia,  Avas 
the  second  son. 

Among  the  many  reflections  awaken 
ed  by  these  genealogical  memoranda, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  is,  that  they 
are  a  key  to  what  is  far  more  worthy 
of  attention  than  the  mere  branches, 
withered  or  budding,  of  a  family  tree. 
Among  the  Washingtons  are  found 

o  In  30  Henry  VIII.,  1538-9. 


1G 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  I. 


many  persons  of  note  in  the  learned 
professions,  in  council,  and  in  the  field 
of  war ;  men  who  won  the  fame  of 
scholars,  the  honors  of  knighthood,  the 
rewards  of  skill  and  industry,  and  the 
praise  of  virtue,  valor,  and  high  resolve. 
Among  the  English  Washingtons 
were  the  noble  knight  WILLIAM  DE 
HERTBURN,  a  conspicuous  chevalier  in 
the  train  of  the  princely  Count  Palati 
nate,  the  Bishop  of  Durham  ;  WILLIAM 
Washington,  a  loyal  defender  of  Henry 
III.,  in  the  wars  of  the  barons ;  SIR 
STEPHEN  de  Wessington,  one  of  the 
chevaliers  of  Edward  III. ;  SIR  WILL 
IAM,  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Durham ; 
JOHN,  the  learned*  and  energetic  Prior 
of  the  Benedictines ;  Lieutenant-colonel 
JAMES  Washington,  one  of  the  loyal 
subjects  of  Charles  I.,  in  whose  cause 
he  was  slain  at  the  siege  of  Pontefract ; 
JOSEPH,  an  eminent  lawyer,  who  trans 
lated  one  of  Milton's  political  trea 
tises  ;f  and  SIR  HENRY,  famous  for  his 
daring  achievement  at  the  storming  of 
Bristol,  and  for  his  devoted  loyal  con 
stancy  at  the  siege  of  Worcester.  Re 
ferring  to  Sir  Henry's  exploit  at  Bris 
tol,  Lord  Clarendon  says,  "  On  Prince 
Rupert's  side,  it  was  assaulted  with 
equal  courage;  for,  though  that  di 
vision  led  on  by  the  Lord  Grandison, 
Colonel-general  of  the  foot,  was  beaten 


0  Author  of  "  De  Juribus  d  Possessionibus  Ecclesice  Du- 
nelm." 

f  The  "  Defendo  pro  Populo  Anglicano."  He  wrote  also 
a  translation  of  part  of  "Lucian's  Dialogue*;"  "Observa 
tions  upon  Out  Ecchiiastical  Jurisdiction  of  the  Kings  of  Eng 
land  ;"  an  "  Abridgment  of  (fie  Statutes,"  to  1G87  ;  and  the 
first  volume  of  "  Modern  Rqwrti." 


off.  the  Lord  Grandison  himself  beincr 

O 

hurt,  and  the  other,  led  by  Colonel 
Bellasis,  likewise  had  no  better  for 
tune  ;  yet  Colonel  WASHINGTON,  with  a 
less  party  finding  a  place  in  the  curtain 
(between  the  places  assaulted  by  the 
other  two)  weaker  than  the  rest,  en 
tered,  and  quickly  made  room  for  the 
horse  to  follow." J 

The  military  qualities  of  the  Euro 
pean  ancestors,  were  perpetuated  by 
their  American  descendants,  from  the 
very  first  who  emigrated  to  this  coun 
try, — Joinsr  Washington.  Tradition 
says,  that  this  American  progenitor, 
before  his  migration  to  Virginia,  held 
military  rank.  After  his  arrival  in 
Virginia,  he  certainly  wore  the  name 
and  performed  the  duties  of  a  military 
officer ;  his  will  is  endorsed  "  The  will 
of  Lieutenant-colonel  Washington  ;" 
and  when  the  shores  of  the  Potomac 
were  threatened  with  an  incursion  of 
hostile  Indians  of  the  Seneca  tribe, 
Colonel  JOHN  Washington  led  the  Vir 
ginia  forces  which  combined  with  those 
of  Maryland  in  repelling  the  savages. 
He  was  also  a  successful  and  wealthy 
planter,  a  magistrate  and  a  member  of 
the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses ;  and 
the  parish  in  which  he  resided  received, 
in  honor  of  him,  and  still  retains,  his 
name. 

Colonel  WILLIAM  AUGUSTINE  Wash 
ington,  son  of  BAILY,  of  Stafford  coun 
ty,  Virginia,  was  commander  of  a  cele 
brated  regiment  of  cavalry  in  the  Rev- 

J  LORD  CLARENDON'S  "History  of  the  Rebellion,"   Book 
VII.  ;  vol.  iv.,  p.  134.     Oxf.,  1839. 


CHAP.  I!.] 


EATILY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


olntionary  War,  and  achieved  such  re 
markable  exploits  of  valor,  that  Con 
gress  awarded  to  him,  after  the  battle 
of  Cowpens,  a  silver  medal ;  and  he  was 
familiarly  known,  as  "  The  modern  Mar- 
cellus,"  and  "The  Sword  of  his  Country." 
From  the  conquest  of  Britain,  in  the 


twelfth  century,  to  the  independence  of 
its  American  colonies,  seven  centuries 
after  that  epoch,  a  martial  spirit,  asso 
ciated  with  energy,  endurance,  resolu 
tion,  constancy,  and  valor,  appears  to 
have  been  the  prevailing  family  charac 
teristic  of  the  Washingtons. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1739—1748, 

EARLY     DAYS      OF     WASHINGTON. 

Removal  to  Suffolk. — His  Early  History.— His  Father's  Character. —  His  Home  Education,  by  his  Father.— His 
Father's  Death  and  Character. —  His  Mother's  Character.— Her  Lessons  of  Wisdom.— Her  family  use  of  Hale's 
Contemplations. —  Extracts  from  the  Contemplations. —  Discourses  on  the  Common  Prayer. —  His  Filial  Piety  - 
State  of  Education  in  the  Colonies.  —  His  Schoolmasters,  Mr.  Hobby  and  Mr.  Williams. —  Character  of  his  brother 
Lawrence. — His  arrangements  to  enter  the  British  Navy,  as  a  Midshipman.— His  Mother's  Objections. — His  duti 
ful  Conduct.— He  resumes  his  Studies.— He  leaves  School.— His  Military  Predilections.— His  Recreations.— His 
favorite  Studies,  and  his  Habits. —  His  early  Manuscripts,  now  extant. —  His  Rules  of  Behavior. —  His  Selections 
in  Verse. —  Is  unacquainted  with  Latin  and  Greek,  and  with  foreign  Modern  Languages. —  Prefers  Mathematics 
to  Belles-lettres.— His  tender  affection  for  Miss  Grimes.— His  Mother's  Tribute  to  him,  as  a  Good  Boy. 


IT  was  while  Washington  was  a  boy, 

of  about  seven  years  of  age,  that  his 

father    removed   from   the   old 

1T39.  . 

homestead.  His  estate  which 
he  now  occupied  was  in  Stafford  coun 
ty,  on  the  llappahannock,  and  in  a  re 
gion  remarkable  for  its  salubrity.  The 
new  house  was  very  pleasantly  situa 
ted  ;  and  it  commanded  an  extensive 
land  and  water  prospect.  At  this  ru 
ral  home,  several  years  of  young  Wash 
ington's  boyhood  were  spent  in  study 
and  in  sports,  from  his  seventh  to  his 
eleventh  year. 

As  an  infant  and  as  a  youth,  he  pos 
sessed  unusual  bodily  health  and  vigor. 
He  was  ever  active,  hardy,  and  adven- 

VOL.  1—3 


turous,  fond  of  open-air  employments 
and  recreations,  of  athletic  exercises, 
and  of  the  horse,  the  gun,  and  the 
chase. 

His  father,  who  was  a  good  man, 
and  deeply  interested  in  his  children's 
moral  and  religious  education,  employ 
ed,  amouo;  other  means,  several  in^en- 

O  <-^ 

ious  methods  to  engage  the  feelings  of 
his  son  GEORGE,  so  as  to  kindle  in  his 
mind  generous  and  liberal  sentiments, 
a  love  of  truth,  and  an  habitual  and  in 
fluential  recognition  of  the  existence 
and  the  providence  of  God.* 

°  Anecdotes  illustrating  this  may  be  found  in  the 
second  chapter  of  the  Life  of  Washington,  by  the  Rev.  M. 
L.  WEEMS,  formerly  rector  of  Mount  Vernon  parish. 


18 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


When  George  would  commit  a  fault, 
and,  being  detected,  would  not  meanly 
shrink  from  confessing  it,  but  would  at 
once  tell  the  honest  truth,  his  father 
would  warmly  and  affectionately  com 
mend  him  for  his  magnanimity  and  in 
tegrity. 

He  would  point  out  to  him  the  riches 
of  God's  bounty,  in  the  abundant  fruits 
of  the  earth,  and  from  this  copious  text 
inculcate  precepts  of  ungrudging  liber 
ality. 

On  a  certain  occasion,  he  planted 
seeds  in  one  of  his  garden-beds,  so  dis 
posed  as  to  exhibit,  when  they  sprung 
up,  the  words  GEOEGE  WASHINGTON. 
The  first  discovery  of  a  spectacle  so 
novel,  and  to  him.  utterly  unaccounta 
ble  and  marvellous,  naturally  awakened 
in  George's  mind  profound  astonish 
ment.  He  repaired  to  his  father,  told 
him  of  the  strange  sisrht,  and  conduct- 

O  O  7 

ed  him  to  the  spot  where  the  wonder 
might  be  seen.  The  father  now  availed 
himself  of  the  absorbing  incident,  to 
lead  his  little  son  to  trace  the  phenom 
enon  to  an  intelligent  cause.  He  told 
the  secret  of  his  being  himself  the  agent 
in  producing  it.  And  he  then  explain 
ed,  in  a  striking  and  impressive  man 
ner,  the  pervading  indications  of  con 
trivance  and  design  in  the  whole  visi 
ble  creation,  and  the  wonderful  and 
convincing  proofs  of  an  intelligent  and 
benevolent  Great  First  Cause. 

This  paternal  care  and  discipline  was 
destined,  however,  to  be  of  short  con 
tinuance.  The  son,  when  about  eleven 
years  of  age,  was  on  a  visit  at  Cho- 


tanck,  where  he  was  enjoying  the 
Easter  holydays  with  LAWRENCE  and 
ROBERT  Washington,  whom  he  calls,  in 
his  will,  "  the  acquaintances  and  friends 
of  niy  juvenile  years ;"  when  he  was 
hastily  summoned  from  the  happy  home 
of  these  cousins,  to  change  the  joys  of  a 
holyday  with  them,  for  the  sorrows  of 
a  last  look  in  the  chamber  of  death, 
where  lay  his  expiring  father,  prostra 
ted  by  a  sudden  and  fatal  attack  of  gout 
in  the  stomach.  It  was  also  his  lot,  to 
reach  home  too  late  to  hear  him  utter 
a  blessing  or  a  farewell,  or  to  receive 
any  expression  of  his  love,  except  what 
affection  could  fondly  associate  with  a 
feeble  glance  of  recognition.* 

AUGUSTINE  WASHINGTON  was  a  Vir 
ginia  planter,  of  the  best  class.  He 
brought  with  him  from.  England  the 

O  O 

characteristic  qualities  of  an  English 
gentleman,  and  an  intelligent  and  de 
vout  attachment  to  the  English  church. 
In  person,  he  was  remarkably  tall  and 
manly.  He  was  also  a  man  of  strong 
mind,  with  great  energy  of  purpose  ; 
and  his  thoughts  and  feelings  were 
habitually  under  the  control  of  practi 
cal  religion.  In  common  with  the  Vir 
ginia  planters  of  his  day,  he  delighted 
in  field  sports.  His  long  heavy  gun, 
still  preserved,  suggests  the  thought 
of  a  huntsman  of  extraordinary  size 
of  body  and  power  of  arm ;  and  war 
rants  the  reports  which  tradition  has 
handed  down  to  us,  respecting  the  large 
frame  and  great  muscular  strength, 

0  He  died  April  12th,  1743,  at  the  age  of  foity-mue 
years. 


CHAP.  II.] 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


19 


which    his    distinguished    son   inherit 
ed. 

One  who  knew  him  personally,  Mr. 
WITHERS,  of  Stafford  county,  has  de 
scribed  him  as  a  man  of  uncommon 
height,  noble  appearance,  manly  pro 
portions,  and  extraordinary  muscular 
power.  At  the  Principle  Iron  Works 
on  the  Rappahannock,  he  once  lifted 
and  placed  in  a  wagon,  "  a  mass  of  iron 
which  two  ordinary  men  could  barely 
raise  from  the  ground."  Yet  this  gi 
gantic  might  of  muscle  never  tempted 
him  to  take  any  part  in  the  frequent 
combats  which  occurred  in  Virginia  in 
his  day,  except  to  stay  savage  violence, 
by  separating  combatants.  And  such 
was  his  character  for  magnanimity,  jus 
tice,  and  moral  worth,  that  he  com 
manded,  wherever  he  appeared,  and  in 
whatever  he  engaged,  universal  and  mi- 

O     O          I 

hesitating  deference. 

His  disposition  was  mild,  his  man 
ners  were  courteous,  and  his  private 
character  was  without  reproach.  And 
as  he  lay  on  his  death-bed,  he  uttered 
a  declaration  that  does  honor  to  his 
memory.  "  I  thank  God,"  said  he, 
"that  in  all  my  life  I  never  struck  a 
man  in  anger ;  for  if  I  had,  I  am  sure 
that,  from  my  remarkable  muscular 
powers,  I  should  have  killed  my  an 
tagonist,  and  then  his  blood,  at  this 
awful  moment,  would  have  lain  heavily 
upon  my  soul.  As  it  is,  I  die  at  peace 
with  all  mankind."* 


°  Letter  from  GEORGE  W.  P.  CUSTIS  to  CHARLES  BROWN, 
of  Boston,  April  24th,  1851,  reprinted  in  the  New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  January,  1857. 


1713. 


The  success  with  which  he  accumu 
lated  property  and  added  field  to  field, 
until  he  could  provide  plantations  for 
his  sons,  and  an  independent  mainte 
nance  for  his  surviving  daughter,  illus 
trates  his  exemplary  diligence  and  in 
dustry,  so  conspicuous  also  in  the  char 
acter  of  his  son  George. 

Upon  the  widowed  mother  now  de 
volved  the  care  of  her  five  chil 
dren.  The  eldest,  GEORGE,  was 
eleven  years  of  age ;  and  the  youngest, 
CHARLES,  was  five.  But  she  was  emi 
nently  qualified,  by  nature  and  religion, 
to  fulfil  all  her  duties  to  her  family. 
A  lady  "of  the  old  school,"  possessed 
of  a  strong  mind  and  sound  judgment, 
she  united,  with  great  simplicity  of 
manners,  energy,  honesty,  and  truthful 
ness.  Her  house,  the  home  of  hospi 
tality,  was  also  the  home  of  order,  neat 
ness,  economy,  and  domestic  industry. 
She  was  a  strict  disciplinarian  ;  and,  by 
her  decision  and  consistency  of  charac 
ter,  she  obtained  over  her  children  and 
dependants  an  uncompromising,  but  be 
nign,  control. 

Tradition  tells,  that  she  was  deeply 
interested  in  forming  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  her  children,  according  to  the 
teachings  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  she 
daily  read  to  them  select  parts  of  SIR 
MATTHEW  HALE'S  Contemplations^  a 

f  "Contemplations,  Moral  and  Dirine,  by  SIR  MATTHEW 
HALE,  Knight ;  late  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench." 

Bishop  POETEUS,  speaking  of  these  Contemplations,  says  : 
"  They  are  of  great  use  to  all  who  would  both  inform  and 
quicken  their  minds." — Life  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  Knt. 

Bishop  JEBB  calls  them  "wonderfully  plain  and  sim 
pie,  but  exquisitely  Christian." — Introd.  to  JSurnei's  Lives, 
Characters,  and  Address  to  Posterity. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  1. 


work  which  abounds  in  golden  maxims 
of  sound  wisdom  and  pure  piety.  The 
very  volume  which  she  used,  and  which 
has  her  name  in  it,  "  MAKY  WASHING 
TON,"  written  by  herself,  is  still  pre 
served  among  the  family  relics.  And 
the  precepts  contained  in  those  portions 
of  the  work  which  appear  to  have  been 
read  most  frequently,  were  so  admira 
bly,  as  well  as  faithfully,  exemplified 
by  her  son  George,  throughout  his  life, 
that  one  might  almost  think  that  they 
were  written  at  the  close  of  his  career, 
and  were  designed  as  a  delineation  of 
his  character  and  a  record  of  his  prin 
ciples. 

Several  portions  of  the  work,  it  is 
evident,  were  the  familiar  lessons  of  the 
family  ;  and  so  happily  do  these  repre 
sent  Washington's  marked  moral  linea 
ments,  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  a 
striking  portrait  of  him. 

In  the  portion  entitled  "The  Great 
Audit,"  the  good  steward  is  represent 
ed  as  giving  his  account  to  God.  And 
he  says : 

"As  to  all  the  Ue-s-sings  and  talents 
wherewith  thou  hast  intrusted  me,  I 
have  looked  up  to  thee  with  a  thankful 
heart,  as  the  only  Author  and  Giver  of 
them.  I  have  looked  upon  myself  as 
unworthy  of  them.  I  have  looked  upon 
them  as  committed  to  my  trust  and 
stewardship,  to  manage  them  for  the 
ends  that  they  were  given,  the  honor 
of  my  Lord  and  Master.  I  have  there 
fore  been  watchful  and  sober  in  the  use 
and  exercise  of  them,  lest  I  should  be 
unfaithful  in  them.  If  I  have  at  any 


time,  through  weakness,  or  inadvert 
ence,  or  temptation,  misemployed  any 
of  them,  I  have  been  restless,  till  I  have 
in  some  measure  rectified  my  miscar 
riage,  by  repentance  and  amendment. 

"As  touching  my  CONSCIENCE,  and 
the  light  thou  hast  given  me  in  it, — it 
has  been  my  care  to  improve  that  nat 
ural  lio;ht  and  to  furnish  it  with  the 

o 

best  principles  I  could.  Before  I  had 
the  knowledge  of  thy  Word,  I  got  as 
much  furniture  as  I  could  from  the 
writings  of  the  best  moralists,  and  the 

o  ' 

examples  of  the  best  men  ;  after  I  had 
the  light  of  thy  Word,  I  furnished  it 
with  those  pure  and  unerring  princi 
ples  that  I  found  in  it. 

"  I  have  been  very  jealous  either  of 
wounding,  or  grieving,  or  discouraging, 
or  deadening  my  Conscience.  I  have 
therefore  chosen,  rather  to  forbear  that 
which  seemed  but  indifferent,  lest  there 
might  be  somewhat  in  it  that  might  be 
unlawful ;  and  would  rather  gratify  my 
conscience  with  being  too  scrupulous, 
than  displease,  disquiet,  or  flat  it  by  be 
ing  too  venturous :  I  have  still  chosen 
rather  to  forbear  what  might  be  prob 
ably  lawful,  than  to  do  that  which 
might  be  possibly  unlawful ;  because, 
could  I  not  err  in  the  former,  I  mij?ht 

l  O 

in  the  latter.  If  things  were  disputa 
ble  whether  they  might  be  done,  I 
rather  chose  to  forbear,  because  the 
lawfulness  of  my  forbearance  was  un 
questionable. 

"  Concerning  my  SPEECH,  I  have  al 
ways  been  careful  that  I  offend  not 
with  my  tongue ;  my  words  have  been 


CHAP.  Il.J 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


few,  unless  necessity  or  thine  honor 
required  more  speech  than  ordinary. 
My  words  have  been  true,  representing 
things  as  they  were  ;  and  sincere,  bear 
ing  conformity  to  my  heart  and  mind." 

"  I  have  esteemed  it  the  most  natural 
and  excellent  use  of  nry  tongue,  to  set 
forth  thy  glory,  goodness,  power,  wis 
dom,  and  truth ;  to  instruct  others,  as 
I  had  opportunity,  in  the  knowledge  of 
thee,  in  their  duty  to  thee,  to  them 
selves,  and  others  ;  to  reprove  vice  and 
sin,  to  encourage  virtue  and  good  liv 
ing  ;  to  convince  of  errors ;  to  maintain 
the  truth  ;  to  call  upon  thy  name,  and, 
by  vocal  prayers,  to  sanctify  my  tongue, 
and  to  fix  my  thoughts  to  the  duty 
about  which  I  was ;  to  persuade  to 
peace  and  charity  and  good  works." 

"  Concerning  HUMAN  PKUDENCE,  and 
understanding  in  affairs,  and  dexterity 
in  the  managing  of  them, — I  have  been 
always  careful  to  mingle  justice  and 
honesty  with  my  prudence ;  and  have 
always  esteemed  Prudence,  actuated  by 
injustice  and  falsity,  the  arrantest  and 
most  devilish  practice  in  the  world ; 
because  it  prostitutes  thy  gift  to  the 
service  of  hell,  and  mingles  a  beam  of 
thy  Divine  Excellence  with  an  extract 
of  the  devil's  furnishing,  making  a  man 
so  much  the  worse  by  how  much  he  is 
wiser  than  others. 

"  I  always  thought  that  wisdom 
which,  in  a  tradesman  and  in  a  poli 
tician,  was  mingled  with  deceit,  falsity, 
and  injustice,  and  deserved  the  same 
name ;  only,  the  latter  is  so  much  the 
worse,  because  it  was  of  the  more  pub 


lic  and  general  concernment.  Yet,  be 
cause  I  have  often  observed  great  em 
ployments,  especially  in  public  affairs, 
are  sometimes  under  great  temptations 
of  mingling  too  much  craft  and  pru 
dence,  and  then  miscall  it  Policy.  I 
have,  as  much  as  may  be,  avoided  such 
temptations,  and  if  I  have  met  with 
them,  I  have  resolutely  rejected  them. 

"  I  have  always  observed,  that  HON 
ESTY  and  PLAIN-DEALING  in  transactions, 
as  well  public  as  private,  is  the  best  and 
soundest  prudence  and  policy ;  and 
commonly,  at  the  long  run,  overmatch- 
eth  craft  and  subtlety,  Job  xii.  16 ;  for, 
the  deceived  and  deceiver  are  thine, 
and  thou  art  privy  to  the  subtlety  of 
the  one,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  other ; 
and  thou,  as  the  great  Moderator  and 
Observer  of  men,  dost  dispense  success 
and  disappointments  accordingly. 

"As  Human  Prudence  is  abused,  if 
mingled  with  falsity  and  deceit,  though 
the  end  be  ever  so  good,  so  it  is  much 
more  debased,  if  directed  to  a  bad  end ; 
to  the  dishonor  of  thy  name,  the  oppres 
sion  of  thy  people,  the  corrupting  of  thy 
worship  or  truth,  or  to  execute  any  in 
justice  towards  any  person. 

"  It  hath  been  my  care,  as  not  to  err 
in  the  manner,  so  neither  in  the  end,  of 
the  exercising  of  my  Prudence.  I  have 
ever  esteemed  my  prudence  then  best 
employed,  when  it  was  exercised  in  the 
preservation  and  support  of  thy  truth, 
in  the  upholding  of  thy  faithful  minis 
ters,  in  countermining,  discovering,  and 
disappointing  the  designs  of  evil  and 
treacherous  men,  in  delivering  the  op- 


00 


:  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[1)OOK     I. 


pressed,  ia  righting  the  injured,  in  pre 
venting  of  wars  and  discords,  in  pre 
serving  the  public  peace  and  tranquilli 
ty  of  the  people  where  I  live,  in  faith 
ful  advising  of  my  prince ;  and  in  all 
those  offices  incumbent  upon  me,  by 
thy  Providence,  under  every  relation. 

"When  my  End  was  most  unques 
tionably  good,  I  ever  then  took  most 
heed  that  the  Means  were  suitable  and 
justifiable.  1.  Because,  the  better  the 
end  was,  the  more  easily  are  we  coz 
ened  into  the  use  of  ill  means  to  effect 
it.  We  are  too  apt  to  dispense  with 
ourselves  in  the  practice  of  what  is 
amiss,  in  order  to  the  accomplishing  of 
an  end  that  is  good ;  we  are  apt,  while 
with  great  intention  of  mind  we  gaze 
upon  the  end,  not  to  take  care  what 
course  we  take  so  we  attain  it ;  and  we 
are  apt  to  think  that  God  will  dispense 
with,  or  at  least  overlook,  the  miscar 
riages  in  our  attempts,  if  the  end  be 
good. 

"  2.  Because  many  times,  if  not  most 
times,  thy  name  and  honor  do  more  suf 
fer  by  attempting  a  good  end  by  bad 
means,  than  by  attempting  both  a  bad 
end  and  also  by  bad  means ;  for,  bad 
ends  are  suitable  to  bad  means;  they 
are  alike  ;  and  it  doth  not  immediately, 
as  such,  concern  thy  honor.  But  every 
thing  that  is  good  hath  somewhat  of 
thee  in  it;  thy  name  and  thy  nature 
and  thy  honor  is  written  upon  it ;  and 
the  blemish  that  is  cast  upon  it  is,  in 
some  measure,  cast  upon  thee ;  and  the 
evil  and  scandal  and  infamy  and  ugli 
ness  that  is  in  the  means,  is  cast  upon 


the  end,  and  doth  disparage  and  blem 
ish  it ;  and  consequently  it  dishonors 
thee.  To  rob  for  burnt-offerings  and 

O 

to  lie  for  God,  is  a  greater  disservice  to 
thy  majesty,  than  to  rob  for  rapine  or 
to  lie  for  advantage." 

"  Touching  niy  eminence  of  PLACE  or 
POWETC,  in  this  world,  this  is  my  ac 
count.  I  never  sought  or  desired  it, 
and  that  for  these  reasons  :  1.  Because 
I  easily  saw,  that  it  was  rather  a  bur 
den  than  a  privilege.  It  made  my 
charge  and  rny  accounts  the  greater, 
my  contentment  and  rest  the  less.  I 
found  enough  in  it  to  make  me  decline 
it  in  respect  of  myself,  but  not  any 
tiling  that  could  invite  me  to  seek  or 

O 

desire  it. 

"  2.  The  external  glory  and  splendor 
also  that  attended  it,  I  esteemed  as  vain 
and  frivolous  in  itself,  a  bait  to  allure 
vain  and  inconsiderate  persons  to  affect 
and  delight,  not  valuable  enough  to  in 
vite  a  considerate  judgment  to  desire  or 
undertake  it.  I  esteemed  them  as  the 
gilt  that  covers  a  bitter  pill,  and  I 
looked  through  this  dress  and  outside, 
and  easily  saw  that  it  covered  a  state 
obnoxious  to  danger,  solicitude,  care, 
trouble,  envy,  discontent,  unquietness, 
temptation,  and  vexation. 

"  I  esteemed  it  a  condition  which,  if 
there  were  any  distempers  abroad,  they 
would  infallibly  be  hunting  and  push 
ing  at  it,  and  if  it  found  any  corrup 
tions  within,  either  of  pride,  vain-glory, 
insolence,  vindictiveness,  or  the  like,  it 
would  be  sure  to  draw  them  out  and 
set  them  to  work."  "  An  1  if  they  pre- 


CHAP.  II.] 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


vailed,  it  made  my  power  and  greatness 
not  only  my  burden  but  my  sin ;  if 
they  prevailed  not,  yet  it  required  a 
most  watchful,  assiduous,  and  severely 
vigilant  labor  and  industry,  to  suppress 
them. 

"  When  I  undertook  any  place  of 
power  or  eminence, — JFirst,  I  looked 
to  my  call  thereunto  to  be  such  as  I 
might  discern  to  be  thy  call,  not  my 
own  ambition.  Second,  that  the  place 
were  such  as  might  be  answered  by 
suitable  abilities  in  some  measure  to 
perform.  Third,  that  my  end  in  it 
might  not  be  the  satisfaction  of  any 
pride,  ambition,  or  vanity  in  myself, 
but  to  serve  thy  Providence  and  my 
generation,  honestly  and  faithfully.  In 
all  which,  my  undertaking  was  not  an 
act  of  my  choice,  but  of  my  duty. 

"  3.  In  the  holding  or  exercising  of 
these  places,  I  kept  my  heart  Jiwrible  ; 
I  valued  not  myself  one  rush  the  more 
for  it.  First,  because  I  easily  found 
that  that  base  affection  of  pride,  which 
commonly  is  the  fly  that  haunts  such 
employments,  would  render  me  dishon 
orable  to  thy  Majesty,  or  disserviceable 
in  the  employment.  Second,  because  I 
easily  saw  great  places  were  slippery 
places,  the  mark  of  envy.  It  was,  there 
fore,  always  my  care  so  to  behave  my 
self  in  them,  as  I  might  be  in  a  capacity 
to  leave  them,  and  so  to  leave  them, 
that,  when  I  had  left  them,  I  might 
have  no  scars  and  blemishes  stick  upon 
me.  I  carried,  therefore,  the  same  even 
ness  of  temper  in  holding  them,  as  might 
become  me  if  I  were  without  them. 


Third,  I  found  enough,  in  great  em 
ployments,  to  make  me  sensible  of  the 
danger,  troubles,  and  cares  of  it ;  enough 
to  make  me  humble,  but  not  enough  to 
make  me  proud  and  haughty. 

"  4.  I  never  made  use  of  my  power  or 
greatness,  to  serve  my  mon  turns;  either 
to  heap  up  riches,  or  to  oppress  my 
neighbor,  or  to  revenge  injuries,  or  to 
uphold  or  bolster  out  injustice.  For, 
though  others  thought  me  great,  I  knew 
myself  to  be  still  the  same ;  and  in  all 
things,  besides  the  due  execution  of  my 
place,  my  deportment  was  just  the  same 
as  if  I  had  been  no  such  man ;  for,  first, 
I  knew  that  I  was  but  thy  steward  and 
minister,  and  placed  there  to  serve  thee 
and  those  ends  which  thou  proposedst 
in  my  preferment,  and  not  to  serve  my 
self,  much  less  my  passions  or  corrup 
tions.  And,  further,  I  very  well  and 
practically  knew,  that  place  and  honor 
and  preferment  are  things  extrinsical, 
and  have  no  ingredience  into  the  man. 
His  value  and  estimate,  before,  and 
under,  and  after  his  greatness,  is  still 
the  same  in  itself ;  as  the  counter  that 
now  stands  for  a  penny,  anon  for  six 
pence,  and  then  for  twelve-pence,  is  still 
the  same  counter,  though  its  place  and 
extrinsical  denomination  be  changed. 

"5.1  improved  the  opportunity  of  my 
place,  eminence,  and  greatness,  to  serve 
thee  and  my  country  in  it,  with  all  vigi 
lance,  diligence,  and  fidelity.  I  pro 
tected,  countenanced,  and  encouraged 
thy  worship,  name,  day,  and  people.  I 
did  faithfully  execute  justice,  according 
to  that  station  I  had.  I  rescued  the 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


oppressed  from  the  cruelty,  malice,  and 
insolence  of  their  oppressors.  I  cleared 
the  innocent  from  unjust  calumnies  and 
reproaches.  I  was  instrumental  to  place 
those  in  offices,  places,  and  employments 
of  trust  and  consequence,  that  were 
honest  and  faithful.  I  removed  those 
that  were  dishonest,  irreligious,  false,  or 
unjust." 

"Touching  my  REPUTATION  and  CRED 
IT, — 1.  I  never  affected  the  reputation 
of  being  rich,  great,  crafty,  or  politic; 
but  I  esteemed  much  a  deserved  repu 
tation  of  justice,  honesty,  integrity,  vir 
tue,  and  piety. 

"  2.  I  never  thought  that  reputation 
was  the  thing  primarily  to  be  looked 
after  in  the  exercise  of  virtue  ;  for,  that 
were  to  affect  the  substance  for  the  sake 
of  the  shadow,  which  had  been  a  kind 
of  levity  and  impotence  of  mind ;  but  I 
looked  at  virtue,  and  the  worth  of  it,  as 
that  which  was  the  first  desirable,  and 
reputation  as  a  handsome  and  useful 
accession  to  it. 

"  3.  The  reputation  of  justice  and 
honesty  I  was  always  careful  to  keep 
untainted,  upon  these  grounds.  First, 
because  a  blemish  in  my  reputation 
would  be  dishonorable  to  thee.  Second, 
it  would  be  an  abuse  of  a  talent  which 
thou  hadst  committed  to  me.  Third,  it 
would  be  a  weakening  of  an  instrument 
which  thou  hadst  put  into  my  hands, 
upon  the  strength  whereof  much  good 
might  be  done  by  me. 

"Though  I  have  loved  my  reputa 
tion,  and  have  been  vigilant  not  to 
lose  or  impair  it,  by  my  own  default  or 


neglect,  yet  I  have  looked  upon  it  as 
a  brittle  thing, — a  thing  that  the  devil 
aims  to  hit  in  a  special  manner, — a 
thing  that  is  much  in  the  power  of  a 
false  report,  a  mistake,  a  misapprehen 
sion,  to  wound  and  hurt ;  and,  notwith 
standing  all  my  care,  I  am  at  the  mercy 
of  others,  without  God's  wonderful  over 
ruling  providence.  And  as  my  reputa 
tion  is  the  esteem  that  others  have  of 
me  ;  so,  that  esteem  may  be  blemished 
without  my  default.  I  have,  therefore, 
always  taken  this  care,  not  to  set  my 
heart  upon  my  reputation. 

"  I  will  use  all  fidelity  and  honesty, 
and  take  care  it  shall  not  be  lost  by 
any  default  of  mine  ;  and  if,  notwith 
standing  all  this,  my  reputation  oe  soiled, 
by  evil  or  envious  men  or  angels,  I  will 
patiently  hear  it,  and  content  myself  with 
the  serenity  of  my  own  conscience.  Hie 
murus  aheneus  esto. 

"  When  THY  HONOR  OR  THE  GOOD  OF 
MY  COUNTRY  was  concerned,  I  then 
thought  it  was  a  seasonable  time  to  lay 
out  my  reputation  for  the  advantage  of 
either ;  and  to  act,  it,  and  by  and  upon 
it,  to  the  highest,  in  the  use  of  all  law 
ful  means.  And  upon  such  an  occasion, 
the  counsel  of  Mordecai  to  Esther  was 
my  encouragement,  Esther  iv.  14. — 
Who  knoweth  whether  God  hath  not 
given  thee  this  reputation  and  esteem 
for  such  a  time  as  this  ?" 

Would  American  mothers  more  gen 
erally  follow  the  example  of  the  mother 
of  Washington,  and,  instead  of  gratify 
ing  their  children's  morbid  appetite  for 
popular  light  literature,  cultivate  a  taste 


CHAP.  II.] 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


25 


for  the  teachings  of  such  devout  philos 
ophers  as  SIR  MATTHEW  HALE,  full  many 
a  youthful  mind,  now  sacrificed  to  sinful 
folly,  might  "be  moulded  to  virtue,  piety, 
and  wisdom,  and  bless  our  country  and 
mankind. 

Another  interesting  volume  of  the 
Washington  family-library  is  still  pre 
served,*  and  may  have  exerted  a  whole 
some  influence  upon  the  mind  of  Wash 
ington  in  childhood.  It  is  entitled, 
"  Short  Discourses  upon  the  Whole 
Common  Prayer ;  abridged  to  inform 
the  Judgment  and  excite  the  Devotion 
of  such  as  daily  use  the  same."  Its 
title-page  bears  the  autograph  of  AU 
GUSTINE  WASHINGTON  ;  and  upon  the 
cover  leaves  of  the  volume  this  name  of 
the  father  is  written  again  and  again, 
by  his  son  George,  in  the  bold  and 
marked  style  of  his  chirography. 

It  was  the  lot  of  Washington  to  re 
ceive  from  his  father,  as  well  as  from 
his  mother,  the  advantages  of  a  sound 
religious  education ;  but,  in  common 
with  many  worthies  who  have  adorned 
our  race,  he  points  the  world  to  the  chief 
earthly  source  of  his  successes, — HOME 

INFLUENCE,    DIRECTED    BY    A   MOTHER. 

It  was  a  precept  of  classical  mythol 
ogy,  that  all  who  are  earth-born  are 
bound  to  make,  on  every  suitable  occa 
sion,  an  offering  to  Earth,  their  good 
mother,  as  a  tribute  of  gratitude  for 
her  manifold  gifts.  Beautiful  exhibi 
tion  of  filial  duty  !  And  it  is  recorded 
of  Washington,  that,  in  the  spirit  of 
this  precept,  and  actuated  by  a  sacred 

°  In  the  collection  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum. 
VoL.l.— 4 


domestic  feeling  of  love  and  reverence, 
he  ever  remembered  his  obligations  to 

O 

his  "honored"  mother,  as  he  habitually 
entitled  her  in  his  letters  and  in  con 
versation,  and  that  he  delighted  to  as- 

'  O 

sociate  his  regard  for  her  with  his  life's 
most  eventful  epochs,  and  with  its  chief 
honors  and  successes, — with  the  wreath 
upon  his  brow  and  the  flowers  strewed 
along  his  path.f 

On  returning  from  the  battle  of  the 
Monongahela,  he  addressed  an  affec 
tionate  letter  to  her.  Before  receiving 
his  commission  as  commander-in-chief 
of  the  armies  of  Virginia,  he  informed 
her,  by  letter,  of  his  probable  elevation 
to  that  rank.  And  just  before  his  de 
parture  for  New  York,  to  be  inau 
gurated  president  of  the  United  States, 
he  repaired  to  Fredericksburg  to  take 
leave  of  his  "aged  mother."  It  was 
their  last  interview.  She  died,  a  few 
months  after.  J 

The  planters  of  Virginia  being,  at 
that  period,  without  colleges  and  acad 
emies,  were  compelled  to  employ  pri 
vate  tutors  for  their  children,  or  to  con 
tent  themselves  with  the  very  meagre 
instruction  to  be  obtained  at  common 
country-schools.  The  masters  of  these 
schools,  moreover,  possessing,  not  uufre- 
quently,  the  smallest  supposable  modi 
cum  of  qualifications,  had  little  more 
capital  than  self-assurance,  a  rod,  and  a 
ferule.  And  unable  to  subsist  upon  the 
pittance  afforded  by  their  school-duties, 


f  His  Letters  to  Major-general  Ksox,  Feb.  20th,  1784  ; 
and  June  17th,  1788. 

J  August,  1789,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  L 


they  would  add  to  their  literary  offices 
others  which  sometimes  were  singularly 
incongruous. 

A  rural  pedagogue,  of  this  motley 
class,  Washington's  first  preceptor,  a 
tenant  of  his  father's,  when  the  family 
was  residing  in  Westmoreland,  was  Mr. 
HOBBY,  a  pretentious,  jovial  wight,  who 
kept  what  was  called  "the  old  field 
school ;"  and  who,  in  the  comprehen 
sive  range  of  his  employments,  was 
busied  both  with  the  minds  and  the 
bodies  of  his  neighbors,  combining  the 
functions  of  schoolmaster,  parish  sex 
ton,  and  undertaker.  It  was  his  joy  to 
see  his  most  honored  pupil  rise  to  the 
greatest  height  of  his  renown  ;  and  he 
would  often  boast,  as  he  recounted 
anecdotes  of  the  old  field  sclwol, — "  It 
was  I  who  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
greatness !" 

Soon  after  his  father's  death,  Wash 
ington  was  sent  from  the  family  resi 
dence  in  Suffolk,  to  the  old  homestead 
in  Westmoreland  county,  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born,  and  which  was  then 
occupied  by  his  half-brother  AUGUS 
TINE.  The  object  had  in  view,  was  to 
provide  for  him  a  schoolmaster  of  a 
higher  grade  than  he  who  "laid  the 
foundation  of  his  greatness."  He  was 
accordingly  placed  under  the  care  of 
Mr.  WILLIAMS,  an  excellent  teacher  of 
the  usual  branches  of  an  English  edu 
cation,  and,  in  particular,  of  geography, 
book-keeping,  and  surveying. 

Under  the  guidance  of  this  compe 
tent  master  and  worthy  man,  our  young 
pupil  vigorously  pursued  his  studies, 


1T1G. 


until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  an  inci 
dent  occurred,  worthy  of  espe 
cial  notice,  from   its  important 
bearing  on  the  future  of  his  history. 

This  was,  his  purpose  to  obtain  a 
midshipman's  warrant  in  the  British 
navy.  His  half-brother  LAWRENCE, 
who  was,  at  that  time,  a  man  of  con 
sideration  in  Virginia,  being  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  adju 
tant-general  of  his  district,  had  served 
under  Admiral  VERNON,  and  General 
WENTWORTH,  in  the  West  Indies.  As 
captain  in  the  American  regiment  un- 
d.er  command  of  Colonel  ALEXANDER 
SPOTSWOOD,  raised  expressly  for  the 
West  India  service,  and  for  co-opera 
ting  with  the  British  troops  in  Vernon's 
expedition,  he  was  with  Wentworth, 
when  he  undertook,  in  the  year  1741, 
the  disastrous  siege  of  Garth  agena.* 

A  midshipman's  warrant,  obtained 
through  the  influence  of  this  half- 
brother,  was  put  into  the  hands  of  our 
young  naval  aspirant,  greatly  to  his  de 
light.  He  made  immediate  arrange- 

*— '  O 

nients  to  embark  on  board  a  man-of- 
war,  then  riding  in  the  Potomac.  His 
baggage  was  on  the  ship.  All  that  re 
mained  to  be  done  before  his  departure, 
was  to  receive  his  mother's  approbation 
and  her  blessing.  But,  she  had  doubts 
of  the  advantage  of  the  project.  She 
looked  at  the  many  evils  associated 
with  scenes  of  naval  service ;  and  she 
dwelt  upon  the  thought  of  a  separation 
by  which  her  son,  so  young  in  years 


°  SMOLLETT'S  History  of  England,  chap,  iv.,  at  the  begin 
ning  ;  and  his  Roderick  Random. 


CHAP.  H.] 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


29 


In  a  manuscript  book  which  lie  wrote 
at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  are  copies 
of  notes  of  hand,  bills  of  exchange,  re 
ceipts,  bonds,  indentures,  bills  of  sale, 
land-warrants,  leases,  deeds  and  wills, 
designed  to  familiarize  him  with  proper 
forms  for  transacting  business. 

He  seems,  however,  to  have  devoted 
himself,  in  boyhood,  not  merely  to  intel 
lectual  acquirements.  He  collected,  and 
copied  out,  in  one  of  his  manuscripts, 
"  Rules  of  Behavior  in  Company  and 
Conversation."  And  the  general  char 
acter  of  these  rules  by  which  he  sought 
to  regulate  his  demeanor,  affords  the 

O  ' 

best  evidence  of  his  desire  to  cultivate 
the  elegant  courtesies,  and  to  practise 
the  moral  duties,  which  give  refined  so 
ciety  its  peculiar  charm. 

Among  his  rules  are  the  following : — 
"  1.  Read  no  letters,  books  or  papers, 
in  company  ;  but,  when  there  is  a  neces 
sity  for  doing  it,  you  must  ask  leave. 
Come  not  near  the  books  or  writings  of 
any  one  so  as  to  read  them,  unless  de 
sired  ;  nor  give  your  opinion  of  them 
unasked.  Also,  look  not  nigh,  when 
another  is  writing  a  letter. 

2.  Show  not  yourself  glad  at  the  mis 
fortune  of  another,  though  he  were  your 
enemy. 

3.  "When  you  meet  with  one  of  greater 
quality  than  yourself,  stop  and  retire, 
especially  if  it  be  at  a  door  or  any  strait 
place,  to  give  way  for  him  to  pass. 

4.  Let  your  discourse  with  men  of 
business  be  short  and  comprehensive. 

5.  In  writing   or  speaking   give   to 
every  person  his  due  title,  according 


to  his  degree,  and  the  custom  of  the 
place. 

6.  Wherein  you  reprove  another,  be 
unblamable  yourself;  for  example  is 
more  prevalent  than  precepts. 

*7.  Be  not  hasty  to  believe  flying  re 
ports  to  the  disparagement  of  any. 

8.  In  your  apparel,  be  modest;  and 
endeavor  to  accommodate  nature,  rather 
than  to  procure  admiration. 

9.  Associate   yourself  with    men   of 
good  quality,  if  you  esteem  your  own 
reputation ;  for,  it  is  better  to  be  alone, 
than  in  bad  company. 

10.  Deride  no  man's  misfortune,  though 
there  seem  to  be  some  cause. 

11.  Whisper  not  iu  the  company  of 
others. 

12.  Be  not  apt  to  relate  news,  if  you 
know  not  the  truth  thereof. 

13.  Be  not  curious  to  know  the  af 
fairs  of  others ;    neither   approach   to 
those  that  speak  in  private. 

14.  Undertake  not  what  you  cannot 
perform ;  but  be  careful  to  keep  your 
promise. 

15.  Speak  not  evil  of  the  absent,  for 
it  is  unjust. 

16.  Be  not  angry  at  table,  whatever 
happens ;  and,  if  you  have  reason  to  be 
so,  show  it   not.      Put   on  a  cheerful 
countenance,    especially    if    there    be 
strangers ;  for,  good  humor  makes  one 
dish  of  meat  a  feast. 

IT.  When  you  speak  of  God,  or  his 
attributes,  let  it  be  seriously,  in  rever 
ence. 

18.  Honor  and  obey  your  natural 
parents,  though  they  be  poor. 


30 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


19.  Let  your  recreations  be  manful, 
not  sinful. 

20.  Labor    to    keep    alive   in    your 
breast    that    little    spark    of   celestial 
fire,  called  Conscience." 

These,  and  similar  memoranda  of  the 
conventionalities  of  elegant,  social  inter 
course,  enabled  him  to  control  himself 
by  a  well-provided  formulary,  instead 
of  trusting  to  the  hazard  of  mere  im 
promptu  impulses.  They  were  the 
trellis-work  that  secured  an  order,  reg 
ularity,  and  beauty,  which  imparted  a 
remarkable  propriety  and  decorum  to 
his  conduct,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  cir 
cumstances. 

There  are  also  extant  certain  Selec 
tions  in  Verse,  chiefly  of  a  religious 
character,  made  by  him  at  this  dawn 
ing  period  of  his  life.  They  are  of  lit 
tle  merit,  as  exhibitions  of  genius  in 
their  author,  or  of  poetic  taste  in  their 
compiler ;  yet,  they  are  indicative  of 
what  may  be  regarded  as  not  less  de 
sirable  in  an  intelligent  and  ingenuous 
lad  of  thirteen  years  of  age,  an  interest 
in  devout  sentiments. 

He  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
a  classical  education.  And  not  only 
was  he  unable  to  read  either  Greek  or 
Latin,  but  he  could  neither  speak  nor 
write  in  any  modern  foreign  language. 
While  in  daily  intercourse  with  French 
officers,  at  one  period  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  he  was  compelled,  in  interchang 
ing  opinions  with  them,  to  rely,  in  gen 
eral,  upon  the  aid  of  an  interpreter. 

His  decided  predilection  was  for 
mathematics.  The  exactness,  order, 


and  certainty  of  its  processes,  always 
were  more  congenial  to  the  nature  of 
his  mind,  than  any  of  the  charms  of 
belles-lettres. 

The  only  occasion  of  his  being  be 
guiled  to  compose  poetic  strains,  was 
when,  about  two  years  before  leaving 
school,  and  when  the  down  upon  his 
cheek  and  chin  gave  its  first  distinct 
hints  of  his  adolescence,  he  felt  some 
throbbings  of  the  tender  passion.  In 
one  of  his  early  manuscripts  are  found 
plaintive  breathings,  of  this  nature,  ut 
tered  for  the  relief  of  his  "  poor  restless 
heart." 

The  object  of  his  attachment,  it  is 
said,  was  Miss  Grimes,  of  Westmore 
land,  whom  he  calls  his  "  lowland  beau 
ty,"  and  who,  afterwards,  as  Mrs.  LEE, 
was  the  mother  of  General  HENRY  LEE, 
so  famous  in  the  Revolutionary  War  as 
"  Legion  Harry,"  and  always  regarded 
by  Washington  with  particular  favor. 
But  his  "  young  love  "  was  not  declared,' 
although  it  occasioned,  for  more  than 
two  years,  the  inquietude  and  depres 
sion  of  spirits  usual  in  such  cases. 

Writing  to  a  young  companion  whom 
he  calls  his  "  dear  friend  Robin,"  he  re 
marks,  that  female  society  tended  to 
keep  alive  his  passion,  whereas,  says  he, 
by  living  "more  retired  from  young 
women,"  "I  might,  in  some  measure, 
alleviate  my  sorrows,  by  burying  that 
chaste  and  troublesome  passion  in  the 
grave  of  oblivion." 

This  natural  and  venial  indulgence  in 
youthful  romancing, — although  rather 
precocious  in  a  boy  of  fourteen  years, 


CHAP.  H.] 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


31 


— would  not,  perhaps,  deserve  to  be 
mentioned,  did  it  not  show  that  Wash 
ington's  mind,  even  at  that  period  of  his 
deepest  interest  in  his  studies,  was  not 
so  absorbed  in  theorems  and  computa 
tions,  as  to  be  unconscious  of  nature's 
gentlest  sympathies,  and  insensible  to 
impressions  associated  with  life's  purest 
and  most  refined  delights.  His  mind 
was  sturdy ;  but  his  heart  was  ever 
gentle  and  susceptible. 

In  the  estimate  we  form  of  the  illus 
trious  and  the  great,  we  are  apt  to  be 
misled  by  the  supposition,  that,  in  the 
range  of  their  passions  and  emotions, 
they  are  not  as  other  men.  And  the 
dazzling  halo  of  this  illusion  often  im 
parts  to  them  vague  and  mysterious  as 
sociations,  by  which  their  example  is 
often  greatly  diminished  in  its  influ 
ence.  It  is  pleasing,  therefore,  to  re 
cord,  in  the  history  of  Washington, 
that  he  was  no  ideal  and  unreal  crea 
tion  ;  that  he  had,  as  we  have,  a  heart 
as  well  as  a  head  ;  that  he,  as  all  other 
children,  in  their  development  of  man 


hood,  passed  through  the  metamor 
phoses  of  child,  little  man,  boy  soldier 
lad,  youth,  lover ;  and  that  he  is  to  be 
regarded  not  as  an  inimitable  paragon, 
to  excite  wonder  and  admiration,  but 
as  a  beautiful  model,  for  all  young 
persons  who  would  practise  filial  obe 
dience,  truth,  and  honesty,  diligence  in 
study,  decorum  in  behavior,  and  what 
ever  else  is  commendable,  in  a  lad  or 
young  man,  at  home  and  at  school,  in 
sports  among  playmates,  and  in  amuse 
ments  and  recreations  of  the  social  circle. 
They  who  would  emulate  the  achieve 
ments  of  his  manhood,  should  study  and 
imitate  the  virtues  of  his  early  youth. 
When,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutiona 
ry  War,  LA  FAYETTE,  about  to  depart 
for  France,  paid  a  farewell  visit  to  the 
mother  of  Washington,  and  mingled 
with  his  adieus  a  glowing  encomium 
on  her  illustrious  son,  she  replied,  in 
her  characteristic  manner,  and  in  mem 
orable  words,  "I  am  not  surprised  at 
what  George  has  done,  for  he  was  al 
ways  a  GOOD  BOY." 


CHAPTER    III. 

1748—1752, 

INCIDENTS     OF    HIS     YOUTH. 

He  is  an  inmate  in  the  family  of  his  brother  Lawre-nce,  at  Mount  Vernon. —  Lawrence's  Character,  his  Attachment 
to  his  brother  George,  and  his  Marriage. —  Account  of  William  Fairfax  and  his  family,  and  of  Lord  Fairfax. —  His 
lordship's  estates  in  Virginia. — Washington  in  the  society  of  the  family  of  William  Fairfax. —  Is  the  Hunting 
Companion  of  Lord  Fairfax. —  Is  Surveyor  of  his  lordship's  lands. —  His  tour,  with  George  William  Fairfax,  to 
the  Alleghanies,  and  the  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac. —  His  Journal  of  his  Tour. —  The  river  Shenandoah.— 
Lord  Fairfax's  Quarter. —  Sugar  trees.  —  The  Richness  of  the  Land. —  Captain  Hite's. —  Soil  and  Products  of  the 
region. —  An  uncomfortable  bed. —  Berwick's. —  The  Potomac  river. — The  Warm  Springs.— Crossing  the  Poto 
mac. —  Colonel  Cresap's. —  Bad  state  of  the  Roads. —  A  party  of  Indians. —  War-dance. —  Patterson's  Creek. — 
Solomon  Hedge's. —  South  Branch. —  Wild  turkeys. —  Narrow  escape  from  Fire. —  Dutch  Rabble.  —  Tent  aban 
doned. —  Cassey's. —  Vanmeter's. —  The  Trough. —  Camping  in  the  Woods. —  Coddy's. —  Arrives  at  Mount  Ver 
non. —  Is  appointed  Public  Surveyor. —  His  Experience  of  Life  in  the  Woods. —  Effects  of  his  Forest  Discipline. — 
He  resorts  to  his  mother's,  and  to  his  brother  Lawrence's. —  Advantages  derived  from  his  intercourse  with 
Lawrence. — His  Inheritance. 


IT  18. 


SOON  after  leaving  school,  Washing- 

O  o 

ton  became,  for  a  time,  an  inmate 
in  the  family  of  his  eldest  half- 
brother,  LAWRENCE,  on  his  large  patri 
monial  estate,  which  then  comprised 
twenty-five  hundred  acres,  and  which 
he  called  MOUNT  VERNON,  in  compli 
ment  to  the  admiral  under  whom  he 
served  in  the  West  Indies. 

This  half-brother,  whom  his  father 
sent  to  England  for  his  education,  had 
enjoyed  what  were  at  that  time  uncom 
mon  advantages,  social  and  intellectual ; 
and  his  improvement  of  them  appeared, 
in  his  mental  acquirements,  his  culti 
vated  manners  and  his  elegant  accom 
plishments.  He  was  very  affectionately 
attached  to  his  half-brother  George ;  and 
it  was  his  ambition  and  delight,  to  aid 
and  counsel  him  in  all  his  studies,  and 


to  contribute,  in  every  way,  to  his  wel 
fare  and  advancement,  while  he  now 
prosecuted  his  mathematical  studies,  and 
prepared  himself  for  the  duties  of  a  sci 
entific  practical  surveyor.  The  daily 
conversation  and  the  countless  little 
hints  and  suggestions  of  such  a  Mentor 

oo 

as  his  highly  educated  brother  Law 
rence,  were  to  our  ingenuous  young 
student,  then  in  his  seventeenth  year, 
heaven's  special  provision  suited  to  his 
case,  as  refreshing  fertilizing  dew  to  the 
surrounding  green  pastures. 

Three  years  before  this  time,  LAW 
RENCE  married  ANN  FAIRFAX,  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Honorable  WILLIAM 
FAIRFAX,  of  Fairfax  county,  Virginia, 
who  had  served  in  the  British  army  in 
Spain,  the  East  Indies,  and  New  Provi 
dence.  He  had  been  also  governor  of 


CHAP.  III.] 


INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  YOUTH. 


33 


New  Providence,  chief-justice  of  the 
Bahamas,  and  president  of  his  majes 
ty's  Council  in  Virginia. 

The  alliance  of  Lawrence  Washington 
with  a  daughter  of  such  a  person,  opened 
the  way  for  his  brother  George's  ac 
quaintance  with  the  Fairfax  family,  and, 
eventually,  for  his  intimate  friendship 
with  the  most  prominent  member  of 
the  family,  THOMAS,  the  sixth  Lord 
Fairfax,  who  was  a  man  of  education 
and  of  great  moral  worth.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Oxford  University,  and  the 
contributor,  it  is  said,  of  some  of  the 
papers  in  Addison's  Spectator.  He 
held  a  commission  also  in  a  regiment 
of  horse. 

Descended  from,  an  ancient  baronial 
family,  and  inheriting  a  large  fortune, 
his  lordship  had  moved  in  the  best 
circles  of  English  society.  It  was  his 
lot,  however,  to  be  grievously  disap 
pointed  in  an  affair  of  the  heart.  He 
sought  seclusion  from  the  gay  world. 
On  visiting  his  American  estates  in  Vir 
ginia,  which  he  inherited  from  his  mo 
ther,  he  was  charmed  with  the  people, 
the  country,  and  the  climate;  and  he 
resolved  to  bid  adieu  to  old  associates 
and  to  settle  in  the  New  World. 

His  mother  was  CATHARINE,  daughter 
of  THOMAS,  Lord  CULPEPPER;  and  the 
estates  in  Virginia,  which  he  inherited 
from  her,  comprehended,  according  to 
the  original  grant  which  Lord  Culpep- 
per  received  from  Charles  II.,  all  the 
lands  between  the  Potomac  and  Kap- 
pahannock  rivers.  These  lands,  it  was 
estimated,  contained  five  millions  seven 

VOL.  I.— 6 


hundred  thousand  acres.*  They  in 
cluded  a  tract  of  country  comprising 
about  a  seventh  part  of  the  present  area 
of  Virginia,  and  are  now  divided  into 
twenty-one  counties.f  For  several  years, 
William  Fairfax,  as  his  lordship's  agent, 
superintended  these  estates. 

LORD  THOMAS,  as  he  was  called,  was 
a  man  of  remarkable  appearance.  He 
was  tall,  muscular,  and  swarthy,  with 
prominent  features,  and  of  an  uncom 
monly  large  frame.  He  took  up  his 
permanent  residence  on  a  domain  which 
he  named  "  Greenway  Court,"  thirteen 
miles  southeast  of  Winchester,  capital 
of  Frederick  county.  There  he  lived 
upon  his  rents,  paying  little  attention 
to  the  cultivation  of  his  grounds,  for  he 
preferred  the  wildness  of  primeval  for 
est  scenery.  He  led  the  life  of  a  bach 
elor,  and  occupied^  a  single  clapboard 
story-and-a-half  house.  From  the  abun 
dance  of  his  pecuniary  means,  he  dis 
pensed  his  hospitalities  and  benefactions, 
especially  among  the  middle  and  lower 
classes  of  the  community,  in  so  liberal  a 
manner  and  in  so  noble  a  spirit,  that  he 
won  for  himself  universal  admiration 
and  esteem.  He  became  the  principal 
magistrate  of  Frederick  county,  and 
presided  at  the  Winchester  provincial 

°  BARNABY'S  Travels  through  the  Middle  Settlements  in  Amer 
ica,  in  the  years  1759  and  1760,  with  Observations  upon  the 
Slate  of  the  Colonies,  p.  159.  The  whole  State  comprises 
thirty-nine  millions  two  hundred  and  sixty -five  thousand 
acres. 

f  The  counties  of  Lancaster,  Northumberland,  Rich 
mond,  Westmoreland,  Stafford,  King  George,  Prince 
William,  Fairfax,  London,  Fauquier,  Culpepper,  Clarke, 
Madison,  Page,  Shenandoah,  Hardy,  Hampshire,  Mor 
gan,  Berkeley,  Jefferson,  and  Frederick. 


:u 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  I. 


courts ;  and,  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  lie  led  the  troops  of  his  county 
to  the  aid  of  Washington,  then  com 
mand  er-in-chief  of  the  colonial  army  of 
Virginia. 

During  the  War  for  Independence, 
however,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  his 
gallant  young  friend  ;  for  he  continued 
to  the  last  hour  of  his  long  life, — hav 
ing  attained  to  the  age  of  ninety-two, 
— a  loyal  subject  of  Great  Britain. 

His  death  occurred  soon  after  the 
capture  of  Cornwallis,  and,  it  is  said, 
was  hastened  by  the  effect  produced 
upon  his  mind  by  that  event.  He  had 
scarcely  heard  the  tidings,  when  he  said 
to  his  body-servant,  "  Come,  Joe,  carry 
me  to  my  bed ;  for  I'm  sure  'tis  high 
time  for  me  to  die." 

He  gave  the  land  on  which  was  erect 
ed,  at  Winchester,  the  first  Episcopal 
church  built  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
Under  the  chancel  of  that  church  his 
body  was  deposited,  in  a  coffin  mounted 
with  massive  silver  ;  and  when  the  old 
church  was  taken  down  and  replaced 
by  the  new  one,  his  remains  were  re 
moved,  and  honored  with  a  renewal 
of  the  special  mark  of  distinction  pre 
viously  bestowed  on  them.  A  monu 
mental  slab  was  also  erected  to  his 
memory. 

When  first  he  met  the  future  Chief, 
he  had  just  come  to  America,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-seven  years,  to  reside  on  his 
domain.  He  was,  at  this  time,  an  in 
mate  at  Belvoir,  the  residence  of  his 
kinsman  and  agent,  a  short  distance 
from  Mount  Vernon.  There,  in  addi 


tion  to  other  sons  and  daughters  in 
the  family,  was  the  highly  educated 
eldest  son  of  William  Fairfax,  GEORGE 
WILLIAM,  then  about  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  with  his  bride  and  her  sister, 
accomplished  daughters  of  Colonel  CA 
REY,  of  Virginia. 

In  the  almost  daily  society  of  such 
persons,  young  Washington  enjoyed 
rare  opportunities  for  intellectual  and 
social  culture.  His  character  was  ap 
preciated  by  them.  He  won  their  es 
teem,  by  his  sterling  integrity,  his  in 
genuousness,  and  his  sound  good  sense. 
And  Lord  Thomas  Avas  particularly  at 
tached  to  him. 

His  lordship,  fond  of  hunting,  kept 
his  horses  and  his  hounds.  And  his 
young  American  friend,  also  greatly 
delighting  in  the  chase,  became  the 
companion  of  the  old  nobleman,  in  his 
favorite  sport,  and  shared  with  him 
many  of  his  adventures  "  by  field  and 
flood." 

When  his  lordship,  soon  after,  re 
solved  to  reclaim  large  portions  of  the 
choicest  of  his  lands,  from  settlers  who 
occupied  them  without  right  or  title,  it 
was  an  essential  prerequisite,  that  the 
property  should  be  surveyed  and  di 
vided  into  lots.  Washington's  exer 
cises,  from  time  to  time,  in  the  practi 
cal  use  of  his  surveyor's  instruments, 
on  his  brother's  grounds,  not  only  were 
observed  with  interest  by  the  families 
at  Mount  Vernon  and  Belvoir,  but  led 
Lord  Fairfax  to  entertain  a  very  favor 
able  opinion  of  his  young  friend's  ac 
quirements.  To  him,  therefore,  he  con- 


CHAP.  III.] 


INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  YOUTH. 


35 


ficled  the  proposed  important  and  labo 
rious  service. 

Washington  was  then  just  entering 
his  seventeenth  year.  But  he 
was  remarkable  for  his  knowl- 

I  7  «"??• 

edge  and  skill  as  a  practical 
surveyor ;  and  not  less  for  other  quali 
fications,  personal  and  moral,  just  as 
necessary  for  the  due  performance  of 
his  task. 

It  was,  on  many  accounts,  an  arduous 
and  perilous  undertaking.  But  our 
youthful  adventurer,  accompanied  by 
the  Honorable  William  Fairfax's  son, 
GEORGE  WILLIAM,  set  out  for  the  Alle- 
ghany  mountains  and  the  South  Branch 
of  the  Potomac,  on  his  hazardous  expe 
dition,  the  privations  and  fatigues  of 
which  are  recorded  in  a  Journal  writ 
ten  by  him  at  the  time.  The  entries 
are  often  very  brief  and  general ;  but 
they  afford  striking  pictures  of  the 
scenes  through  which  he  passed,  and 
give  many  interesting  details  of  his  ex 
periences  in  border  life,  and  in  the 
hardships  of  the  backwoodsman. 

JOURNAL. 

"March  13th. — Rode  to  his  lord 
ship's  quarter.  About  four  miles  high 
er  up  the  river  Shenandoah,  we 
went  through  most  beautiful 
groves  of  sugar-trees,  and  spent  the 
best  part  of  the  day  in  admiring  the 
trees,  and  the  richness  of  the  land. 

"  14th. — We  sent  our  baggage  to 
Captain  Kite's,  near  Fredericktown, 
and  went  ourselves  down  the  river, 
about  sixteen  miles, — the  land  exceed- 


1748. 


ingly  rich  all  the  way,  producing  abun 
dance  of  grain,  hemp,  and  tobacco, — in 
order  to  lay  off  some  land  on  Gate's 
Marsh  and  Long  Marsh. 

"15th. — Worked  hard  till  night,  and 
then  returned.  After  supper  we  were 
lighted  into  a  room ;  and  I,  not  being 
so  good  a  woodsman  as  the  rest,  strip 
ped  myself  very  orderly  and  went  into 
the  bed,  as  they  called  it,  when,  to  my 
surprise,  I  found  it  to  be  nothing  but  a 
little  straw  matted  together,  without 
sheet  or  any  thing  else  but  only  one 
threadbare  blanket,  with  double  its 
weight  of  vermin.  I  was  glad  to  get 
up  and  put  on  my  clothes,  and  lie  as 
my  companions  did.  Had  we  not  been 
very  tired,  I  am  sure  we  should  not  have 
slept  much  that  night.  I  made  a  prom 
ise  to  sleep  so  no  more,  choosing  rather 
to  sleep  in  the  open  air  before  a  fire. 

u  18th.— We  travelled  to  Thomas 
Berwick's,  on  the  Potomac,  where  we 
found  the  river  exceedingly  high  by 
reason  of  the  great  rains  that  had  fallen 
among  the  Alleghanies.  They  told  us 
it  would  not  be  fordable  for  several 
days,  it  being  now  six  feet  higher  than 
usual,  and  rising.  We  agreed  to  stay 
till  Monday.  We  this  day  called  to 
see  the  famed  Warm  Springs.*  We 
camped  out  in  the  field  this  night. 

"  20th. — Finding  the  river  not  much 
abated,  we  in  the  evening  swam  our 
horses  over  to  the  Maryland  side. 

"  21st. — We  went  over  in  a  canoe, 
and  travelled  up  the  Maryland  side  all 

0  In  Bath  county,  in  the  central  part  of  Virginia. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


day,  in  a  continued  rain,  to  Col.  Cre- 
sap's,  over  against  the  month  of  the 
South  Branch,  about  forty  miles  from 
our  place  of  starting  in  the  morning, 
and  over  the  worst  road.  I  believe,  that 
ever  was  trod  by  man  or  beast. 

"  23d. — Earned  till  about  two  o'clock, 
and  then  cleared  up,  when  we  were 
agreeably  surprised  at  the  sight  of 
more  than  thirty  Indians  coming  from 
war,  with  only  one  scalp.  We  had 
some  liquor  with  us,  of  which  we  gave 
them  a  part.  This,  elevating  their 
spirits,  put  them  in  the  humor  of  dan 
cing.  We  then  had  a  war-dance.  Af 
ter  clearing  a  large  space  and  making 
a  great  fire  in  the  middle,  the  men  seat 
ed  themselves  around  it,  and  the  speaker 
made  a  grand  speech,  telling  them  in 
what  manner  they  were  to  dance.  Af 
ter  he  had  finished,  the  best  dancer 
jumped  up  as  one  awaked  from  sleep, 
and  ran  and  jumped  about  the  ring  in 
a  most  comical  manner.  He  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  rest.  Then  began  their 
music,  which  was  performed  with  a 
pot  half  full  of  water  and  a  deerskin 
stretched  tight  over  it,  and  a  gourd 
with  some  shot  in  it  to  rattle,  and  a 
piece  of  horse's  tail  tied  to  it  to  make  it 
look  fine.  One  person  kept  rattling 
and  another  drumming,  all  the  while 
they  were  dancing. 

"  25th. — Left  Cresap's,  and  went  up 
to  the  mouth  of  Patterson's  Creek. 
There  we  swam  our  horses  over  the 
Potomac,  and  went  over  ourselves  in  a 
canoe,  and  travelled  fifteen  miles,  where 
we  camped. 


"  26th. — Travelled  up  to  SOLOMOX 
HEDGE'S,  Esquire,  one  of  his  Majesty's 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  the  county  of 
Frederick,  where  we  camped.  When 
we  came  to  supper,  there  was  neither  a 
knife  on  the  table  nor  a  fork,  to  eat 
with  ;  but,  as  good  luck  would  have  it, 
we  had  knives  of  our  own. 

"28th.— Travelled  up  the  South 
Branch, — having  come  to  that  river 
yesterday, — about  thirty  miles  to  Mr. 
J.  R.'s  (horse-jockey),  and  about  seven 
ty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

"  29th. — This  morning,  went  out  and 
surveyed  five  hundred  acres  of  land. 
Shot  two  wild  turkeys. 

"  30th. — Began  our  intended  busi 
ness  of  laying  off  lots. 

'"'•April  2d. — A  blowing,  rainy  night. 
Our  straw,  upon  which  we  were  lying, 
took  fire  ;  but  I  was  luckily  preserved 
by  one  of  our  men's  awaking  when  it 
was  in  a  flame.  We  have  run  off  four 
lots  this  day. 

"4th. — This  morning,  Mr.  Fairfax 
left  us,  with  the  intention  to  go  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  We  sur 
veyed  two  lots,  and  were  attended 
with  a  great  company  of  people, — men, 
women,  and  children, — who  followed 
us  through  the  woods,  showing  their 
antic  tricks.  They  seeni  to  be  as  igno 
rant  a  set  of  people  as  the  Indians. 
They  would  never  speak  English  ;  but 
when  spoken  to,  they  all  spoke  Dutch. 
This  day  our  tent  was  blown  down  by 
the  violence  of  the  wind. 

"  6th. — The  last  night  was  so  intoler 
ably  smoky,  that  we  were  obliged  to 


CHAP.  III.] 


INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  YOUTH. 


leave  our  tent  to  the  mercy  of  the  wind 
and  fire.  Attended  this  day  by  the 
aforesaid  company. 

"  7th. — This  day  one  of  our  men 
killed  a  wild  turkey,  that  weighed 
twenty  pounds.  We  surveyed  fifteen 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  returned  to 
Vanmeter's  about  one  o'clock.  I  took 
my  horse,  and  went  up  to  see  Mr.  Fair 
fax.  "We  slept  in  Cassey's  house,  which 
was  the  first  night  I  had  slept  in  a 
house  since  we  came  to  the  Branch. 

"  8th. — We  breakfasted  at  Cassey's, 
and  rode  down  to  Vamneter's  to  get 
our  company  together,  which,  when  we 
had  accomplished,  we  rode  down  be 
low  the  Trougli,  to  lay  off  lots  there. 
The  Trough  is  a  couple  of  ledges  of 
mountains,  impassable,  running  side  by 
side  for  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  the 
river  between  them.  You  must  ride 
round  the  back  of  the  mountains  to 
get  below  them.  We  camped  in  the 
woods,  and  after  we  had  pitched  our 
tent  and  made  a  large  fire,  we  pulled 
out  our  knapsack  to  recruit  ourselves. 
Every  one  was  his  own  cook.  Our 
spits  were  forked  sticks ;  our  plates 
were  large  chips.  As  for  dishes,  we 
had  none. 

"  10th. — We  took  our  farewell  of  the 
Branch,  and  travelled  over  hills  and 
mountains  to  Codcly's,  on  Great  Caca- 
pehon,  about  forty  miles. 

"  12th. — Mr.  Fairfax  got  safe  home  ; 
and  I,  to  my  brother's  house  at  Mount 
Vernon  ;  which  concludes  my  journal." 


He  received,  the  year  after  the  time 


of  this  excursion,  the  appointment  of 
public  surveyor.     And  he  pros 
ecuted  the  duties  of  this  office 
with   diligence,  traversing  wild  lands 
between  the  Potomac  and  the  Rappa- 
hannock. 

The  original  record  of  his  appoint 
ment  is  still  extant  in  one  of  the  books 
in  the  county  clerk's  office,  at  the  town 
of  Fairfax,  the  county-seat  of  Culpep- 
per.  It  is  in  these  words  : 

"20th  July,  1749,  (o.  s.)  GEORGE 
WASHINGTON,  Gent.,  produced  a  com 
mission  from  the  president  and  master 
of  William  and  Mary  College,  appoint 
ing  him  to  be  surveyor  of  this  county, 
which  was  read,  and  thereupon  he  took 
the  usual  oaths  to  his  Majesty's  person 
and  government,  and  took  and  sub 
scribed  the  abjuration  oath  and  test, 
and  then  took  the  oath  of  surveyor  ac 
cording  to  law." 

The  privations  and  rough  fare  of  his 
life  in  the  woods  continued  for  three 
years.  Writing  to  a  friend,  he  says : 
"  Since  you  received  my  letter  in  Octo 
ber  last,  I  have  not  slept  above  three 
or  four  nights  in  a  bed ;  but,  after 
walking  a  good  deal  all  day,  I  have 
lain  down  before  the  fire  upon  a  little 
hay,  straw,  fodder,  or  a  bear's-skin, 
whichever  was  to  be  had,  with  man, 
wife,  and  children,  like  dogs  and  cats ; 
and  happy  is  he  who  gets  the  berth 
nearest  the  fire.  Nothing  would  make 
it  pass  off  tolerably  but  a  good  reward. 
A  doubloon  is  my  constant  gain  every 
day  that  the  weather  will  permit  my 
out,  and  sometimes  six  pistoles 

•»• 


38 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


The  coldness  of  the  weather  Avill  not 
allow  of  my  making  a  long  stay,  as  the 
lodging1  is  rather  too  cold  for  the  time 

o     o 

of  year.  I  have  never  had  my  clothes 
off,  but  have  lain  and  slept  in  them, 
except  the  few  nights  I  have  been  in 
Fredericktown."* 

These  experiences  in  the  wilderness 
essentially  served  important  purposes, 
which  were  to  be  accomplished  in  the 
future  ordering  of  events ;  and  in  which 
America  and  humanity  at  large  were 
interested. 

They  established  his  reputation  as  a 
young  man  of  energy,  diligence,  ability, 
and  integrity.  He  might  have  linger 
ed,  without  reproach,  among  the  pleas 
ures  of  Mount  Vernon  and  of  Belvoir ; 
for,  his  society  ever  was  the  delight  of 
his  brother  Lawrence,  and  at  the  hos 
pitable  mansion  and  in  the  elegant  so 
ciety  of  the  Fairfaxes,  he  would  always 
have  received  a  hearty  welcome.  But 
it  was  his  manly  choice,  faithfully  to 
fulfil  the  duties  of  his  chosen  occupa 
tion  as  a  land-surveyor,  although  re 
quired  by  them  to  brave  the  dangers 
and  endure  the  hardships  and  priva 
tions  of  life  in  the  woods.  None  that 
knew  him  needed  any  further  proofs  of 
his  title  to  their  esteem  and  confidence. 

Another  important  result  of  his  forest 
discipline,  was  the  development  of  his 
naturally  vigorous  frame.  He  was  re 
quired  to  ride  for  days  together  on 
horseback  through  wild  regions,  or  to 

0  Manuscript  letter  appended  to  his  journal,  and  ad 
dressed  to  a  friend  whom  he  calls  "  Dear  Richard."  It 
is  evidently  a  rough  draft  of  what  he  sent  to  his  friend. 


traverse  them  afoot,  continually  encoun 
tering  difficulties  which  put  to  a  severe 
test  his  agility  and  strength,  and  thus 
so  exercised  his  physical  powers,  that, 
w^hile  he  was  yet  in  youth,  he  had  the 
aspect,  the  port,  and  the  muscle  of  ma 
turity. 

The  nature  of  his  occupation  con 
tributed  also  to  his  ability,  when  cast 
ing  his  eye  over  an  extensive  region,  to 
form  at  a  glance  a  correct  estimate  of 
distances,  which,  to  any  one  who  was 
inexpert,  seemed  marvellous.  And  he 
learned,  by  long  practice,  to  discover 
in  the  dim.  distance  and  identify  objects 
which  no  common  eye  could  see. 

In  his  forest  experience  he  made  yet 
another  valuable  acquisition.  This  was 
his  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  hab 
its  and  opinions  of  backwoodsmen.  He 
met  them,  in  their  rambles,  took  part 
with  them  in  their  hunting  excursions, 
camped  with  them  in  the  woods,  sat 
with  them  in  their  log-cabins,  partook 
of  their  coarse  fare  ;  and  formed,  from 
his  own  observation,  a  just  estimate  of 
their  true  character,  so  that  afterwards, 
when  they  became  soldiers  of  his  ar 
mies,  he  thoroughly  understood  the  se 
cret  of  commanding  and  directing  their 
best  energies. 

And  he  enjoyed,  in  his  surveying  ex 
peditions  and  in  his  intercourse  with 
borderers  and  red-men,  very  favorable 
opportunities  for  gaining  a  knowledge 
of  Indian  life  in  its  best  and  its  worst 
phases.  He  heard  from  the  lips  of  the 
backwoodsman,  his  spirit-stirring  tales 
of  the  savage  cruelties  and  of  the  cun- 


CHAP.  III.] 


INCIDENTS  OF  HIS  YOUTH. 


39 


ning  and  the  treachery,  which  made 
the  word  Indian  a  signal  of  alarm.  He 
ascertained,  also,  by  means  of  his  per 
sonal  intercourse  with  these  wild  men, 
that  there  were  combined  with  their 
worst  traits  some  of  a  far  less  repug 
nant  nature.  A  knowledge  of  their  so 
cial  habits,  their  opinions,  their  preju 
dices,  predilections,  and  superstitions, 
their  artifices  in  war,  and  the  best 
modes  of  conciliating  and  controlling, 
or  of  contending  with  and  overpower 
ing  them,  he  acquired  in  the  very  re 
gions  where  they  made  their  haunts. 

There  was,  moreover,  an  important 
mental  influence  derived  from  his  fre 
quenting  primeval  forests,  and  moving 
among  the  sights  and  sounds  associated 
with  them.  Such  sights  and  sounds  do 
not  affect  only  the  poetic  and  imagina 
tive.  They  find  a  ready  response  in 
every  ingenuous  and  susceptible  mind. 
The  very  silence  of  the  deep  woods  is 
significant.  And  when  night  shuts  out 
all  that  the  eye  finds  in  them  that  is  of 
interest,  their  solemn  gloom,  broken 
only  by  the  glare  of  the  camp-fire  or 
by  the  light  of  the  pale  moon  and 
twinkling  stars,  awakens  thoughts  and 
emotions  which  produce  a  deep  and 
durable  impression  on  the  soul.  A  fa 
miliarity  with  Nature,  especially  in  the 
wild  grandeur  of  her  mountain  and 
forest  scenery,  ever  has  exerted  a  pow 
erful  influence  upon  the  human  mind 
and  heart. 

While  making  his  surveys,  Washing 
ton  was  frequently  led  to  visit  Green- 
way  Court ;  and  he  would  sometimes 


tarry  there  for  a  few  days.  On  these 
occasions  he  indulged  with  his  lordship 
in  his  favorite  field  sports,  availed  him 
self  of  the  rare  advantages  afforded  by 
his  well-selected  library,  and  enjoyed 
the  benefit  of  his  edifying  and  instruc 
tive  conversation.  It  appears  from  the 
young  surveyor's  diary,  and  it  is  a  sig 
nificant  record,  that  instead  of  light 
literature,  he  now  .devoted  his  hours 
for  reading  chiefly  to  Addison's  Spec 
tator  and  the  History  of  England. 

During  occasional  intermissions  of 
severe  duty,  he  resorted  either  to  his 
loved  home  at  his  mother's,  or  to  the 
delightful  residence  of  his  brother  LAW 
RENCE,  at  Mount  Vernon.  His  attach 
ment  to  this  brother  was  always  ardent 
and  devoted.  Lawrence  was  not  only 
an  accomplished  gentleman,  possessed 
of  those  qualities  which  command -def 
erence,  excite  regard,  and  kindle  affec 
tion,  but  he  had  the  practical  expe 
rience  of  a  soldier's  life  ;  and,  as  an  ac 
tive  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of 
Burgesses,  he  was  familiarly  acquaint 
ed  with  political  affairs.  From  inter 
course  with  him,  his  brother  George 
continued  to  gather  stores  of  valuable 
knowledge. 

His  employment  as  a  surveyor,  kept 
him  busily,  usefully,  and  profitably  oc 
cupied.  And  he  relied  upon  this  em 
ployment  for  his  support,  not  antici 
pating  by  loans  the  revenues  to  be  de 
rived  from  his  patrimonial  inheritance. 

His  father  had  bequeathed  to  the 
eldest  son,  Lawrence,  the  estate  after 
wards  called  Mount  Vernon.  To  Au- 


40 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


gustine,  the  second  son,  he  had  given 
the  old  homestead  in  Westmoreland 
county.  And  George,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  yeare,  was  to  inherit  the 
house  and  lands  in  Suffolk  county.  As 
yet,  however,  he  derived  no  benefit 
from  this  landed  property.  But  his  in 
dustry  and  diligence  in  his  laborious 
occupation  supplied  him  with  abundant 
pecuniary  means.  His  habits  of  life 
were  simple  and  economical ;  he  in 
dulged  in  no  gay  and  expensive  pleas 
ures  ;  in  early  youth  a  good  boy,  he 
had  now  become  an  industrious  young 


man ;    and  he  was  maturing  his  disci 
pline  for  a  step  yet  higher. 

When,  in  due  course  of  time,  he  re 
ceived  his  inheritance,  unimpaired  and 
unencumbered,  and  in  addition  to  it 
the  large  estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  be 
queathed  to  him  by  his  brother  Law 
rence,  and  also  of  valuable  lands  in 
Berkeley  county,  he  was  intellectually 
and  morally  qualified  to  enter  upon  the 
duties,  fulfil  the  obligations,  and  dis 
pense  the  hospitalities  and  bounties  of 
an  opulent  planter ;  intelligent,  honor 
able,  and  every  way  exemplary. 


CHAPTER    I  Y. 

1751,  1752, 

HIS     VOYAGE     TO      BARBADOES. 

Lawrence  Washington's  declining  Health. — His  Voyage  to  Barbadoes. — Is  accompanied  by  his  brother  George. — 
George's  return  to  Virginia. — Lawrence  goes  to  the  Bermudas. — His  return  to  Virginia. — His  Death. — Bequest 
of  Mount  Vernon  to  his  brother  George. — At  Barbadoes  George  contracts  the  Small-pox. — His  Journal. — Major 
Clarke's. — Dr.  Hilary. — Scenery  of  the  Island. — The  Surveyor-general  and  the  Judges. — Captain  Croftan. — Judge 
Maynard. — Club  Dinner. — Table  Fruits  of  the  Island. — Hospitality. — The  play  of  "George  Barmvell." — Dr. 
Lanahan. — Trial  of  Colonel  C. — Sails  for  Virginia. — Account  of  the  Governor  of  Barbadoes. — Description  of  the 
Island. — Its  Soil  and  Products. — Its  Social  Condition. — Its  Militia,  and  Military  Works. 


THE  health  of  LAWRENCE  Washing 
ton  awakened,  at  this  time,  saddening 
apprehensions.  A  deeply-seated  lung 
affection,  from  which  he  long  suffered, 
had  induced  him  to  take  a  voyage  to 
England.  This  gave  no  relief.  He 
then  resorted,  but  in  vain,  to  the  Bath 
Springs  of  Virginia.  And  now,  at  the 
instance  of  his  medical  advisers, 
he  proposed  to  sail  for  Barba 
does,  which  was  deemed  at  that  time 


If  SI. 


the  healthiest  island  in  the  West  Indian 
archipelago. 

He    sailed,    September   the   twenty- 
eighth,    accompanied    by   his    brother 
GEORGE  ;    and   reached   the   island  on 
the  third  day  of  November.     But  the 
experiment  of  a  few  weeks'  residence 
proved  utterly  unavailing.      It 
was    determined,    therefore,   to 
try   the    delightful    climate    of 
the   Bermudas.      George   was    in    the 


ClIAP.    IV.] 


HIS  VOYAGE  TO  BARBADOES. 


41 


mean  time  to  repair  to  Virginia,  and 
to  return  with  Lawrence's  wife,  that 
she  might  join  her  husband  in  the 
spring. 

Lawrence  accordingly  sailed  to  the 
Bermudas.  Before  the  lapse  of 
mauy  days  after  his  arrival, 
however,  he  wrote  discourag- 
ingly  :  "I  have  now  got  to  rny  last 
refuge,  where  I  must  receive  my  final 
sentence."  "If  I  grow  worse,  I  shall 
hurry  home  to  my  grave."  Soon  con 
vinced  that  he  should  no  longer  listen 
to  the  flattery  of  hope,  he  did  not  tar 
ry  at  the  Bermudas  for  his  wife  and 
brother,  but  he  informed  them  of  his 
intention  to  return  home  without  de 
lay.  This  he  happily  accomplished. 
But  it  was  only  to  linger  for  a  little 
while  ;  and  then,  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty-four  years,  to  be  removed 
ky  death  from  his  wife  and  his 
only  child,  an  infant  daughter. 
To  this  daughter  he  bequeathed 
Mount  Vernon.  But  she  died  at  an 
early  age  ;  and  the  estate,  according 
to  provisions  of  the  bequest  in  that 
event,  descended  to  the  favorite  broth 
er,  George.  Their  father,  AUGUSTINE 
Washington,  had  expressed  a  desire  in 
his  will,  that  should  Lawrence  die  with 
out  issue,  George  might  inherit  this  es 
tate.  Such  a  parental  preference  was 
calculated  to  throw  around  it  a  sacred 
interest.  And  it  thus  became  forever 
associated  with  the  august  name  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country.  It  was  his  happy 
home,  his  calm  retreat  from  life's  cares 
and  trials,  and  his  place  of  sepulture. 

VOL.  I.—  6 


IT  5  2  ' 


While  at  Barbadoes  with  his  brother, 
he  contracted  the  small-pox,  from  which 
he  suffered  severely.  He  bore  with  him 
through  life,  some  of  the  familiar  marks 
usually  left  by  that  disease.  But  his 
voyage  to  the  island,  his  short  residence 
there  and  his  voyage  home,  left  far 
more  pleasing  reminiscences. 

In  the  exercise,  both  of  his  habitual 
intelligent  observation  of  men  and 
things  and  of  his  characteristic  dili 
gence  and  industry,  he  kept  a  journal 
in  which  he  entered,  while  at  sea,  a 
daily  copy  of  the  ship's  log-book,  to 
gether  with  his  own  remarks ;  and, 
while  on  land,  a  brief  notice  of  every 
thing  that  arrested  his  attention. 

At  Barbadoes  he  took  notes  of  the 
state  of  civil  and  military  affairs  ;  of 
agriculture,  commerce,  and  social  life  ; 
and  many  of  his  observations  are  in 
dicative  of  qualities  and  attainments 
rarely  to  be  met  with  in  a  young  man 
of  but  nineteen  years  of  age. 

The  following  are  among  his  records 
at  the  island : 

"November  4th,  1751. — This  morn 
ing  received  a  card  from  Major  CLAEKE, 
welcoming  us  to  Barbadoes  with  an  in 
vitation  to  breakfast  and  dine  with  him. 
We  went ;  myself  with  some  reluctance, 
as  the  small-pox  was  in  the  family.  We 
were  received  in  the  most  kind  and 
friendly  manner  by  him.  Mrs.  Clarke 
was  much  indisposed  ;  insomuch,  that 
we  had  not  the  pleasure  of  her  com 
pany.  But  in  her  place  officiated  Miss 
ROBERTS,  her  niece,  and  an  agreeable 
young  lady.  After  drinking  tea,  we 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  I. 


were  again  invited  to  Mr.  CARTER'S, 
and  were  desired  to  make  his  house 
ours  till  we  could  provide  lodgings 
agreeable  to  our  wishes ;  which  offer 
we  accepted. 

"  5th. — Early  this  morning  came  Dr. 
HILARY,  an  eminent  physician,  recom 
mended  by  Major  CLARKE,  to  pass  his 
opinion  on  my  brother's  disorder  ; 
which  he  did  in  a  favorable  light,  giv 
ing  great  assurances  that  it  was  not  so 
fixed  but  that  a  cure  mis-lit  be  effectual- 

O 

ly  made.  In  the  cool  of  evening  we 
rode  out,  accompanied  by  Mr.  CARTER, 
to  seek  lodgings  in  the  country  as  the 
Doctor  advised  ;  and  we  were  perfectly 
enraptured  with  the  beautiful  prospects 
which  every  side  presented  to  our  view, 
—the  fields  of  cane,  corn,  fruit-trees, 
<fcc.,  in  a  delightful  green.  We  re 
turned  without  accomplishing  our  in 
tentions. 

"  7th. — Dined  with  Major  CLARKE, 
and  by  him  was  introduced  to  the  sur 
veyor-general  and  the  judges,  who  like 
wise  dined  there.  In  the  evening,  they 
complaisantly  accompanied  us  in  an 
other  excursion  into  the  country  to 
choose  lodgings.  We  pitched  on  the 
house  of  Captain  CROFTAN,  commander 
of  James's  Fort.  He  was  desired  to 
come  to  town  next  day,  to  propose 
terms.  We  returned  by  the  way  of 
Needham's  Fort. 

"  8th. — Came  Capt.  CROFTAN  with 
his  proposals,  which,  though  extrava 
gantly  dear,  my  brother  was  obliged  to 
accept.  Fifteen  pounds  a  month  were 
his  terms,  exclusive  of  liquor  and  wash 


ing,  which  we  find.      In  the  evening, 

CJ  /  O  / 

we  removed  some  of  our  things  up, 
and  went  ourselves.  It  is  very  pleas 
antly  situated  near  the  sea,  and  about 
a  mile  from  town.  The  prospect  is  ex 
tensive  by  land  and  pleasant  by  sea,  as 
we  command  a  view  of  Carlyle  Bay 
and  the  shipping. 

"  9th. — Received  a  card  from  Major 
CLARKE,  inviting  us  to  dine  with  him 
at  Judge  MAYNARD'S,  to-morrow.  He 
had  a  right  to  ask,  being  a  member  of 
a  club  called  '  The  Beef-steak  and 
Tripe,'  instituted  by  himself. 

"  10th. — We  were  genteelly  received 
by  Judge  MAYNARD  and  his  lady,  and 
agreeably  entertained  by  the  company. 
They  have  a  meeting  every  Saturday, 
—this  being  Judge  Maynard's  day. 
After  dinner  there  was  the  greatest 
collection  of  fruits  set  on  the  table  that 
I  have  yet  seen, — the  granadilla,  sapa- 
dilla,  pomegranate,  sweet  orange,  wa 
termelon,  forbidden  fruit,  apples,  gua- 
vas,  <fec.,  &c.  We  received  invitations 
from  every  gentleman  there.  Mr.  WAR 
REN  desired  Major  CLARKE  to  show  us 
the  way  to  his  house.  Mr.  RACKET  in 
sisted  on  our  coming,  Saturday  next,  to 
his,  it  being  his  day  to  treat  with  beef 
steak  and  tripe.  But,  above  all,  the 
invitation  of  Mr.  Maynard  was  most 
kind  and  friendly.  He  desired,  and 
even  insisted,  as  well  as  his  lady,  on 
our  coming  to  spend  some  weeks  with 
him ;  and  promised  that  nothing  should 
be  wanting  to  render  our  stay  agreea 
ble.  My  brother  promised  he  would 
accept  the  invitation  as  soon  as  he 


CHAP.  IV.] 


HIS  VOYAGE  TO  BARBADOES. 


43 


should  be  a  little  disengaged  from  the 
doctors. 

"  15th. — Was  treated  with  a  ticket 
to  see  the  play  of  'George  Barnwell' 
acted.  The  characters  of  Barnwell  and 
several  others,  were  said  to  be  well  per 
formed.  There  was  music  adapted  and 
regularly  conducted. 

"  17th. — Was  strongly  attacked  with 
the  small-pox.  Sent  for  Dr.  LANAHAN, 
whose  attendance  was  very  constant  till 
my  recovery  and  going  out, — which  was 
not  till  Thursday,  the  twelfth  of  De 
cember. 

"  December  12th. — Went  to  town  and 
called  on  Major  CLAKKE'S  family,  who 
had  kindly  visited  me  in  my  illness,  and 
contributed  all  they  could  in  sending 
me  the  necessaries  which  the  disor 
der  required.  On  Monday  last  began 
the  Grand  Session  ;  and,  this  day,  was 
brought  on  the  trial  of  Colonel  C.,  a  man 

o  ' 

of  opulence  and  of  infamous  character. 
He  was  brought  in  guiltless  and  saved 
by  a  single  evidence,  who  was  general 
ly  reckoned  to  have  been  suborned. 

"  22d. — Took  leave  of  my  brother, 
Major  CLARKE,  and  others,  and  em 
barked  on  board  the  'Industry'  for 
Virginia.  Weighed  anchor  and  got  out 
of  Carlyle  Bay  about  twelve  o'clock. 

"  The  governor  of  Barbadoes  seems 
to  keep  a  proper  state,  lives  very  re 
tired  and  at  little  expense,  and  is  a  gen 
tleman  of  good  sense.  As  he  avoids 
the  error  of  his  predecessor,  he  gives 
no  handle  for  complaint ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  by  declining  much  familiari 
ty,  he  is  not  over-zealously  beloved. 


"  There  are  several  singular  risings  in 
this  island,  one  above  another,  so  that 
scarcely  any  part  is  deprived  of  a  beau 
tiful  prospect,  both  of  sea  and  land ; 
and,  what  is  contrary  to  observation  in 
other  countries,  each  elevation  is  better 
than  the  next  below. 

"  There  are  many  delicious  fruits ; 
but,  as  they  are  particularly  described 
by  Mr.  HUGHES,  in  his  Natural  History 
of  the  island,  I  shall  say  nothing  fur 
ther  than  that  the  China  orange  is 
good.  The  avagavo  pear  is  generally 
much  admired,  though  none  pleases  my 
taste  so  well  as  the  pine. 

"  The  earth  in  most  parts  is  extreme 
ly  rich,  and  as  black  as  our  richest 
marsh-meadows.  The  common  produce 
of  the  cane  is  from  forty  to  seventy 
polls  of  sugar,  each  poll  valued  at  twen 
ty  shillings,  out  of  which  a  third  is  de 
ducted  for  expenses.  Many  acres  last 
year  produced,  in  value,  from  one  hun 
dred  and  forty  to  one  hundred  and  sev 
enty  pounds,  as  I  was  informed  by 
credible  authority ;  though  that  was  in 
ginger,  and  a  very  extraordinary  year 
for  the  sale  of  that  article. 

"  How  wonderful  that  such  a  people 
should  be  in  debt,  and  not  be  able  to 
indulge  themselves  in  all  the  luxuries 
as  well  as  necessaries  of  life  !  Yet  so  it 
happens.  Estates  are  often  alienated 
for  debts.  How  persons,  coming  to  es 
tates  of  two,  three,  or  four  hundred 
acres, — which  are  the  largest, — can 
want,  is  to  me  most  wonderful.  One 
third  of  their  land,  or  nearly  that  por 
tion,  is  generally  in  train  for  harvest. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  L 


The  rest  is  in  young  cane,  Guinea-corn, 
—which  greatly  supports  their  negroes, 
—yams,   plantains,   potatoes,    and    the 
like ;   and  some  part  is  left  waste  for 
stock.     Provisions  are  generally  very 
indifferent,  but  much  better  than  the 
.same  quantity  of  pasturage  would  af 
ford  in  Virginia.     The  very  grass  that 
"•rows  amonur  their  corn  is  not  lost,  but 

O  O  ' 

carefully  gathered  for  provender  for 
their  stock. 

"  Hospitality  and  a  genteel  behavior 
are  shown  to  every  gentleman  stranger 
by  the  gentlemen  inhabitants.  Taverns 
they  have  none,  except  in  the  towns ; 
so  that  travellers  are  obliged  to  go  to 

o  o 

private  houses.  The  people  are  said  to 
live  to  a  great  age  where  they  are  not 
intemperate.  They  are,  however,  very 
unhappy  in  regard  to  their  officers'  fees, 
which  are  not  paid  by  any  law.  They 
complain  particularly  of  the  provost- 
marshal  or  sheriff-general  of  the  island, 
patented  at  home,  and  rented  at  eight 
hundred  pounds  a  year.  Every  other 
officer  is  exorbitant  in  his  demands. 

"  There  are  few  who  may  be  called 
middling  people.  They  are  very  rich 
or  very  poor ;  for,  by  a  law  of  the 
island,  every  gentleman  is  obliged  to 
keep  a  white  person  for  every  ten  acres, 
capable  of  acting  in  the  militia ;  and, 
consequently,  the  persons  so  kept  can 
not  but  be  very  poor.  They  are  well 
disciplined,  and  appointed  to  theii  sev 
eral  stations,  so  that,  in  any  alarm,  every 
man  may  be  at  his  post  in  less  than  two 
hours.  They  have  large  intrenchments 
cast  up  wherever  it  is  possible  to  land  ; 


and,  as  nature  has  greatly  assisted,  the 
island  may  not  improperly  be  said  to 
be  one  entire  fortification." 

Among  the  illustrations  of  character 
afforded  by  these  minutes  may  be  par 
ticularly  noted,  a  lively  sense  of  gen 
erous  and  kind  hospitalities,  a  practi 
cal  interest  in  agricultural  pursuits,  a 
soldier's  observation  of  military  works, 
and  sagacious  views  of  the  moral  and 

o 

political  state  of  society.  It  may  be  re 
marked,  also,  that  the  journalist's  usual 
calmness  of  mind  is  at  once  changed  to 
a  glow  of  emotion,  by  the  charms  of 
natural  scenery,  so  that  he  could  indite, 
"  We  were  perfectly  enraptured  with 
the  beautiful  prospects  which  every  side 
presented  to  our  view."  And  we  have 
here,  in  striking  contrast  to  this,  an  in 
stance  of  his  characteristic  slight  regard 
to  personal  inconvenience  and  discom 
fort,  by  his  mentioning  in  brief  and 
general  terms,  the  fact  of  his  being  as 
sailed  by  a  malignant  and  deforming 
contagion  :  "  Was  strongly  attacked 
with  the  small-pox.  Sent  for  Dr.  LAX- 
AHAN,  whose  attendance  was  very  con 
stant  till  my  recovery  and  going  out." 

In  all  this  there  are  discoverable  in 
embryo,  those  very  qualities  of  sound 
good  sense  and  refined  emotion,  which, 
ever  after,  were  prominent  in  him,  as  the 
gentleman,  the  soldier,  and  the  planter ; 
and,  especially,  a  concern  for  the  wel 
fare  of  others,  and  a  reserve  in  what  re 
lated  to  self,  in  all  his  public,  social,  and 
domestic  occupations,  and,  eventually, 
in  his  rural  retirement  at  the  close  of 
his  career. 


LIFE  AID  TIMES 


OF 


WASHINGTON, 


BOOK   II. 

HIS    MILITARY  APPOINTMENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

1751—1754. 

WASHINGTON     A     MAJOR 

The  time  and  occasion  of  his  first  Military  Appointment. — Hereditary  Feuds  of  England  and  France. — Policy  of 
Great  Britain  in  America. — Policy  of  France. — De  Callieres. — King  William's  War. — Queen  Anne's  War. — 
King  George's  War. — Spottiswoode's  representations. — Virginia  divided  into  Districts. — Washington,  as  Adju 
tant-general  with  the  rank  of  Major,  intrusted  with  one  of  these  Districts. — Instructed  in  the  Art  of  War. — 
Major  Washington  appointed  for  the  Northern  Division  of  Virginia. — His  diligence  in  duty. — Remarkable  Syn 
chronism. — French  line  of  Posts.— Excitement  in  Virginia  respecting  this. — Major  Washington  envoy  to  the 
French. — Anecdote  of  the  Governor  and  the  young  Major. — The  Major's  instructions,  credentials,  and  at 
tendants. — His  Journal. — Rain  and  snow. — Frazier's. — His  Remarks  on  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio. — Shingiss. — 
Monacatoocha. — French  Deserters.— The  Half-King. — Council. — Washington's  Speech. — The  Half-King's  Reply. 
— Venango. — M.  Joncaire. — French  Claims,  Forces,  and  Forts. — M.  La  Force. — Rain  and  snow. — M.  Reparti. — 
Washington  delivers  the  Governor's  Letter  to  M.  St.  Pierre. — Describes  the  French  Fort. — Answer  to  the  Gov 
ernor's  Letter.  —Efforts  of  the  French  to  detain  Washington's  Indian  attendants. — Remarkable  Incidents  of  his 
return. — Murdering  Town.- — Shannopin's. — Dangerous  attempt  to  cross  the  River  on  a  raft. — Intensity  of  the 
cold. — Frazier's. — Indian  Warriors. — Youghiogheny  River. — Queen  Aliquippa. — Mr.  Gist's. — Wills  Creek. — Bel- 
voir. — Williaujgburg. — Waits  on  the  Governor. — Approval  of  the  Major's  conduct. — Anecdote  of  him  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. — New  Measures  of  the  Governor  and  Council. — Lord  Fairfax's  co-operation. 
— Washington's  Letter  to  Mr.  Corbin.— Colonel  Fry. — Is  appointed  Lieutenant-colonel. — Proceeds  to  Wills 
Creek. — Joined  by  Captain  Stephen. — Captain  Contrecceur  expels  Captain  Trent  from  the  Ohio. — French  and 
Indian  War  begins. 


1T51. 


IT  was  in  the  year  1751,  that  Wash 
ington  received  his  first  military 
appointment.  This  was  occa 
sioned  by  preparations  in  Virginia,  to 
meet  an  emergency  created  by  French 
claims  to  a  great  part  of  the  British 
territories  in  America. 

At  the  time  when  EDWARD  THE 
THIRD  of  England  asserted  his  right 
to  the  French  throne,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  a  spirit  of 
implacable  alienation  was  engendered 
between  the  two  rival  powers ;  and, 
fostered  by  their  rancorous  alterca 
tions  and  sanguinary  wars,  it  at  length 
reached  the  climax  of  their  settled  na 
tional  antipathy. 


Four  hundred  years  had  now  elapsed. 
During  this  period  America  was  dis 
covered,  and  colonies  of  the  two  nations 
settled  on  its  soil.  The  British  occu 
pied  the  Atlantic  coast  and  the  mouths 
of  rivers,  and  were  in  possession  of  all 
the  harbors  of  the  continent.  The 
French  settlements  were  on  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi. 

Had  it  been  the  policy  of  both  na 
tions  simply  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
their  respective  colonies,  the  time  would 
have  been  far  distant,  when  national 
rancor  could  devise  the  pretext  for  a 
bloody  conflict.  But  while  the  policy 
of  Great  Britain  was  to  strengthen  her 
settlements  along  the  seaboard,  that  of 


48 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  n. 


France  was  to  make  acquisitions  of  re 
gions  in  the  interior,  and  eventually  to 
limit  her  rival's  western  progress  by 
the  natural  cordon  of  the  Alleghanies. 

So  unscrupulous  was  the  ambition  of 
France  in  the  adoption  of  measures  to 
attain  her  object,  that,  finding  herself 
excluded  from  all  the  harbors,  it  was 
seriously  proposed, — and  that,  too,  at  a 
time  when  the  rival  nations  were  in 
comparative  amity, — to  make  conquest 
of  the  city  of  New  York.  It  was  un 
hesitatingly  admitted  that  this  would 
be  a  flagrant  outrage  of  the  law  of  na 
tions  ;  but,  said  DE  CALLLEKES,  who 
recommended  the  measure  to  his  coun 
trymen,  It  has  the  sanction  of  necessi 
ty.*  Thus  the  contest  was,  in  reality, 
between  social  progress  and  territorial 
aggrandizement. 

On  three  occasions,  between  the  mid 
dle  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries,  when  the  parent  countries 
were  in  arms  against  each  other,  their 
respective  colonists  in  America  were 
tempted  to  engage  in  bloody  conflict. 

The  bigoted  and  arbitrary  JAMES  II. 
of  England,  driven  from  his  throne  by 
his  indignant  subjects,  and  supplanted, 
according  to  their  wish,  by  WILLIAM, 
prince  of  Orange,  and  his  queen,  MAEY, 
James's  Protestant  daughter,  found  a 
refuge  at  the  court  of  Louis  XIV.  of 
France,  who  not  only  sympathized  with 
him  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  espoused 
his  cause  in  a  seven  years'  con- 

1689.  J 

test,  known  as  "  King  William's 

°  L6gitime  par  la  n6cessit6. 


169T. 


War."  During  this  period  the  tragic 
deeds  perpetrated  by  the  French  and 
Indians  in  America,  were  marked  with 
great  ferocity  and  cruelty.  And  the 
retaliation  which  these  deeds  provoked 
was,  although  far  less  abhorrent,  fear 
fully  desolating.  Port  Royal  in  Aca- 
die  was  captured  and  twice  plundered. 
Vigorous  measures  were  adopted  also, 
for  the  conquest  of  all  the  French  pos 
sessions  in  Canada.  At  length,  how 
ever,  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  stayed  for 
a  time  the  malignant  strife,  in 
which  both  parties  had  asso 
ciated  with  themselves  hordes  of  fierce, 
merciless  savages. 

The  death  of  James  II.  gave  occasion 
for  another  rupture  between  France 
and  England.  The  claim  to  the  British 
throne  inherited  by  James's  son,  JAMES 
FKANCTS  EDWAKD,  prince  of  Wales,  was 
maintained  by  Louis  XIV,  who  desired 
that  Queen  ANNE,  who  was  James's 
daughter  and  England's  choice,  should 
be  supplanted  by  the  Prince,  common 
ly  known  as  the  "  Pretender."  Now  be 
gan  "  Queen  Anne's  War,"  which 
continued  for  eleven  years  to 
embroil  the  colonists.  The  sanguinary 
scenes  of  the  preceding  war  were  re- 
enacted  by  the  French  and  Indians. 
And  the  English  colonists  once  more  en 
gaged  in  a  successful  expedition  against 
Port  Royal,  which  had  been  restored  to 
France.  But  peace  once  more  was  pro 
claimed  after  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht ;  and  now,  for  almost 
half  a  century,  British  colonists  were 
relieved  from  the  visitation  of  calami- 


1TO2. 


1T13. 


CHAP.  I] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


49 


1714. 


ties  such  as  once  had  desolated  their 
happy  homes. 

But  a  new  disagreement  arrayed 
England  and  France  against  each  other, 

o  O 

and  their  colonies  in  America  par 
took  of  the  evils  of  another  war.  The 
powers  of  Europe  had  formally  stipu 
lated,  in  the  terms  of  the  Prag 
matic  Sanction,  to  secure  the 
Austrian  succession  to  the  Archduchess 
MARIA  THERESA,  queen  of  Hungary. 
GEORGE  II.  strictly  kept  the  pledge 
given  by  Great  Britain.  Louis  XIV., 
of  France,  disregarded  it.  And,  more 
over,  he  covertly  abetted  Spain  in  a 
war  with  England  respecting  certain 
rights  of  commerce  ;  and  also  encour 
aged  and  assisted  the  young  Pretender, 
Prince  CHARLES  EDWARD,  grandson  of 
James  II.,  in  asserting  his  father  the 
elder  Pretender's  claim  to  the  British 
sceptre.  Hence  the  two  great  nations 
were  involved  once  more  in  war ;  and 
their  subjects  in  America  were  soon 
again  committing  hostilities  which  con 
stituted  what  is  known  among  us  as 
"  King  George's  War  The  Treaty 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle  brought  this 
to  a  close,  and  restored  to  France 
Louisburg  and  the  island  of  Cape  Bre 
ton  ;  important  acquisitions  made  by 
the  British-American  colonists  three 
years  before. 

The  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was, 
however,  as  ineffectual  as  all  others 
made  to  arrest  and  quench  the  heredi 
tary  feuds  which  set  at  irreconcilable 
variance  nations,  whose  opinions,  predi 
lections,  and  religious  doctrines  and 

VOL.  I.— 7 


1748. 


worship,  as  well  as  their  habitual  an 
tipathies,  conspired  to  make  them  nat 
ural  enemies. 

As  early  as  the  year  1715,  Colonel 
SPOTTISWOODE,  then  governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  urged,  with  great  earnestness, 
upon  the  British  government  the  abso 
lute  necessity  t)f  making  vigorous  re 
sistance  to  the  aggressive  policy  of 
France.  But  his  representations,  deem 
ed  extravagant,  were  then  unheeded. 
In  the  year  1751,  however,  such  was 
the  progress  of  the  adventurous  in 
truders,  that  it  was  found  advisable  in 
Virginia  to  take  precautionary  measures 
of  defence.  The  colony  was,  with  a 
view  to  this,  divided  into  districts,  in 
each  of  which  there  was  an  adjutant- 
general  or  military  inspector  with  the 
rank  of  major,  who  was  to  keep  the 
militia  in  constant  readiness  for  action. 

One  of  these  military  districts  was 
intrusted  to  Washington.  He  was  then 
but  nineteen  years  of  age  ;  yet,  his  ear 
ly  predilections  had  induced  him  to 
study  some  of  the  best  popular  treatises 
on  the  art  of  war.  His  brother  LAW 
REJSTCE,  Adjutant  MUSE,  of  Westmore 
land,  who  was  a  comrade  of  Lawrence's 
in  the  West  Indies,  JACOB  VANBRAAM, 
a  skilful  fencer,  and  other  soldiers  of 
experience,  had  already  imparted  to 
him  a  knowledge  of  tactics,  of  the 
manual  exercise,  and  of  the  use  of  the 
sword ;  and  he  was  recognized  as  a 
well-educated  officer. 

He  entered  with  great  zeal  upon  his 
duties.  When  ROBERT  DUSTWIDDEE,  the 
next  year  became  lieutenant-governor 


50 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


of  Virginia,  the  colony  was  divided  into 
four  military  districts.  Major  AVash- 
ington's  conduct  liad  already  won  for 
him  a  good  report.  He  was  appoint 
ed  for  the  northern  division.  The  coun 
ties  comprehended  in  this  division  he 
promptly  and  statedly  traversed ;  and 
lie  soon  effected  the  thorough  discipline 
of  their  militia  for  warlike  operations. 

It  was  amid  the  various  and  peculiar 
duties  required  by  this  position,  that 
his  characteristic  qualities  first  had  free 
exercise.  His  natural  dignity  com 
manded  a  ready  tribute  of  respect ;  his 
ability  was  universally  acknowledged 
with  deference  ;  and  his  integrity,  in 
dustry,  and  devotion  to  the  duties  of 
his  office,  exerted  that  magic  and  au 
thoritative  influence,  which  is  accorded 
to  an  honored  leader,  whom,  it  was  now 
manifest,  a  high  destiny  awaited.  And 
his  present  military  discipline  proved 
to  be  the  very  schooling  for  the  great 
exploits,  by  which  he  was  to  be  quali 
fied  to  act  as  chief  defender  of  the  cause 
of  the  united  colonies,  and  to  protect 
them  from  the  terrific  bolts  of  ven 
geance  with  which  they  were  to  be  as 
sailed.  By  a  remarkable  synchronism, 
Dr.  FRANKLIN  this  very  year  made  his 
memorable  experiments  in  electricity, 
by  which  he  discovered  that,  in  the  or 
dering  of  Providence,  means  are  pro 
vided  to  divest  the  thunder-cloud  of  its 
destructive  power,  and  to  render  its 
frowns  and  threats  harmless.* 

When   Major  Washington   had    for 

0  Dr.  FRANKLIN'S  experiments  were  made  in  June, 
1752.     See  his  Works,  vol.  v.  p.  177.     Boston,  1844. 


two  years  been  busily  occupied  in  his 
office,  the  lieutenant-governor  and  his 
council  were  informed  of  new  and  for 
midable  operations  of  the  French  ;  of 
their  preparation  to  establish  posts  and 
erect  fortifications  on  the  western  bor 
der  ;  of  their  troops  having  crossed  the 
northern  lakes  on  their  way  to  the 
Ohio,  and  having  ascended  the  Missis 
sippi  from  New  Orleans ;  and  of  their 
bold  and  avowed  purpose  to  adopt  all 
necessary  measures  to  possess  them 
selves  of  the  whole  extent  of  territory 
from  Louisiana  to  Canada. 

The  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  Old 
Dominion  throbbed  with  an  intense 
feeling.  The  lieutenant-governor,  who 
had  received  orders  from  the  Right 
Honorable  EARL  of  HOLDERNESSE  and 
instructions  from  the  king,  resolved  to 
depute  at  once  a  special  commissioner 
to  the  commandant  of  the  French  on 
the  Ohio,  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
from  him  his  intentions  and  ascertain 
ing  his  authority. 

It  was  an  expedition  of  more  than 
five  hundred  miles,  chiefly  through  an 
inhospitable  wilderness,  and  among 
savages.  The  difficulty  and  the  danger 
to  be  encountered  required  great  cau 
tion  in  selecting  the  person  to  whom 
the  commission  was  to  be  intrusted. 
The  lieutenant-governor  did  not  hesi 
tate,  however,  to  appoint  Major  Wash 
ington,  who  cheerfully  consented  to 
perform,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  the 
arduous  services  required.  He  was 
now  but  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Yet 
his  discipline  as  a  surveyor  of  wild 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


>1 


lands  and  his  military  experience  as  an 
adjutant,  eminently  fitted  him  for  this 
particular  duty.  The  governor,  who 
was  a  Scotchman,  facetiously  said  on 
the  occasion,  when  he  observed  the 
alacrity  of  the  young  major :  "  Ye're 
a  braw  lad  ;  and  gin  you  play  your 
cards  weel,  my  boy,  ye  shall  hae  nae 
cause  to  rue  your  bargain." 

His  INSTRUCTIONS  to  the  major  ex 
plain  the  nature  of  the  commission,  and 
comprehensively  set  forth  the  existing 
state  of  things : 

"  Whereas  I  have  received  informa 
tion  of  a  body  of  French  forces  being 
assembled  in  a  hostile  manner  on  the 
river  Ohio,  intending  by  force  of  arms 
to  erect  certain  forts  on  the  said  river, 
within  this  territory  and  contrary  to 
the  dignity  and  peace  of  our  sovereign, 
the  King  of  Great  Britain : 

"  These  are,  therefore,  to  require  and 
direct  you,  the  said  George  Washing 
ton,  forthwith  to  repair  to  Logstown 
on  the  said  river  Ohio  ;  and,  having 
there  informed  yourself  where  the  said 
French  forces  have  posted  themselves, 
thereupon  to  proceed  to  such  place ; 
and  being  there  arrived,  to  present 
your  credentials  together  with  my  let 
ter  to  the  chief  commanding  officer, 
and  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  majes 
ty  to  demand  an  answer  thereto. 

"  On  your  arrival  at  Logstown  you 
are  to  address  yourself  to  the  Half- 
king,  to  MAISTACATOOCHA,  and  other  the 
sachems  of  the  Six  Nations  ;  acquaint 
ing  them  with  your  orders  to  visit  and 
deliver  my  letter  to  the  French  com 


manding  officer,  and  desiring  the  said 
chiefs  to  appoint  you  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  their  warriors  to  be  your  safe 
guard  as  near  the  French  as  you  may 
desire,  and  to  wait  your  further  direc 
tion. 

"  You  are  diligently  to  inquire  into 
the  numbers  and  force  of  the  French 
on  the  Ohio  and  the  adjacent  country ; 
how  they  are  likely  to  be  assisted  from 
Canada ;  and  what  are  the  difficulties 
and  conveniences  of  that  communica 
tion,  and  the  time  required  for  it. 

"  You  are  to  take  care  to  be  truly 
informed  what  forts  the  French  have 
erected,  and  where ;  how  they  are  gar 
risoned  and  appointed,  and  what  is 
their  distance  from  each  other,  and 
from  Logstown  ;  and,  from  the  best  in 
telligence  you  can  procure,  you  are  to 
learn  what  gave  occasion  to  this  expe 
dition  of  the  French ;  how  they  are 
likely  to  be  supported,  and  what  their 
pretensions  are. 

"  When  the  French  commandant  has 
given  you  the  required  and  necessary 
dispatches,  you  are  to  desire  of  him  a 
proper  guard  to  protect  you,  as  far  on 
your  return  as  you  judge  for  your  safe 
ty,  against  any  straggling  Indians  or 
hunters  that  may  be  ignorant  of  your 
character  and  molest  you. 

"  Wishing  you  good  success  in  your 
negotiation,  and  a  safe  and  speedy  re 
turn,  I  am,  &c. 

"  ROBEET   DnrWTDDLE. 

"  WlLLIAMSBUKG,  30th    October. 

The  governor  furnished  him  at  the 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


1753. 


same  time  with  credentials,  in  which  Le 
speaks  of  "reposing  especial  trust  and 
confidence"  in  his  "ability,  conduct, 
and  fidelity."  And  he  furnished  also 
a  passport,  commanding  all  his  majes 
ty's  subjects,  and  requiring  "  all  in  al 
liance  and  amity  with  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain,"  "to  be  aiding  and  as 
sisting  as  a  safeguard"  to  his  express 
messenger. 

Only  twenty-four  hours  for  prepara 
tion  had  elapsed,  when  the  "  braw  lad " 
set  out  on  the  last  day  of  October,  1*753. 
His  attendants  at  first  were  his 
old  fencing-master,  Vanbraam, 
and  two  servants.  Vanbraam,  ac 
quainted  with  the  French  language, 
was  to  be  interpreter.  They  were  af 
terwards  joined  by  an  interpreter  of 
Indian  languages,  JOHN  DAVIDSON  ;  by 
an  experienced  backwoodsman,  CHRIS 
TOPHER  GIST,  as  guide ;  and  by  four 
other  persons  hired  as  "  servitors." 

Major  Washington's  journal  of  his 
tour  on  this  occasion,  brief  as  it  is,  is  a 
document  of  great  and  general  interest. 
It  tells,  in  terms  pleasingly  characteris 
tic,  his  experience  and  observations  in 
his  important  mission. 

The  subjoined  extracts,  while  they 
illustrate  the  course  of  our  narrative, 
afford  specimens  of  his  unpretending 
but  significant  daily  records. 

TOUR  OVER  THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS. 

"  I  was  commissioned  and  appointed 
by  the  Honorable  ROBERT  DINWIDDIE, 
Esq.,  governor  of  Virginia,  to  visit  and 
deliver  a  letter  to  the  commandant  of 


the  French  forces  on  the  Ohio,  and 
set  out  on  the  intended  journey  on  the 
same  day.  The  next,  I  arrived  at 
Fredericksburg,  and  engaged  Mr.  JA 
COB  VANBRAAM  to  be  my  French  inter 
preter,  and  proceeded  with  him  to 
Alexandria,  where  we  provided  neces 
saries.  From  thence  we  went  to  Win 
chester  and  got  baggage,  horses,  <fcc. ; 
and  from  thence  we  pursued  the  new 
road  to  Wills  Creek,  where  we  arrived 
on  the  fourteenth  of  November.  *  *  '• 

"  The  excessive  rains  and  vast  quan 
tity  of  snow  which  had  fallen,  prevent 
ed  our  reaching  Mr.  Frazier's,  an  Indian 
trader,  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek, 
on  the  Monongahela  River,  until  Thurs 
day  the  twenty-second.  *  *  * 

"  The  waters  were  quite  impassable 
without  swimming  our  horses,  which 
obliged  us  to  get  the  loan  of  a  canoe 
from  Frazier,  and  to  send  Barnaby 
Currin  and  Henry  Steward*  down  the 
Monongahela  with  our  baggage,  to  meet 
us  at  the  fork  of  the  Ohio,  about  ten 
miles ;  there  to  cross  the  Alleghany. 

"  As  I  got  down  before  the  canoe,  I 
spent  some  time  in  viewing  the  rivers 
and  the  land  in  the  fork,  which  I  think 
extremely  well  situated  for  a  fort,  as  it 
has  the  absolute  command  of  both 
rivers.  The  land  at  the  point  is  twen 
ty  or  twenty-five  feet  above  the  com 
mon  surface  of  the  water  ;  and  a  con 
siderable  bottom  of  fiat,  well-timbered 
land  around  it,  very  convenient  for 
building.  The  rivers  are  each  a  quar- 

°  These  persons  were  two  of  the  four  hired  "servi 
tors."     Barnaby  Currin  was  an  Indian  trader. 


UNIVERSITY 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


55 


"  30th. — We  set  out  about  nine 
o'clock,  with  the  Half-King,  JESKA- 
KATKE,  WHITE  THUNDER,  and  the 
HUNTER,  and  travelled  on  the  road 
to  Venango,  where  we  arrived  on  the 
fourth  of  December,  without  any  thing 
remarkable  happening  but  a  continued 
series  of  bad  weather. 

"  This  is  an  old  Indian  town,  situated 
at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  on  the 
Ohio ;  and  lies  near  north,  about  sixty 
miles  from  the  Logstown,  but  more 
than  seventy  the  way  we  were  obliged 
to  go. 

"  We  found  the  French  colors  hoisted 
at  a  house  from  which  they  had  driven 
Mr.  JOHN  FRAZIER,  an  English  subject. 
I  immediately  repaired  to  it  to  know 
where  the  commander  resided.  There 
were  three  officers,  one  of  whom,  Cap 
tain  JONCAIRE,  informed  me  that  he  had 
the  command  on  the  Ohio  ;  but  that 
there  was  a  general  officer  at  the  near 
fort,  where  he  advised  me  to  apply  for 
an  answer.  He  invited  us  to  sup  with 
them,  and  treated  us  with  the  greatest 
complaisance. 

"  The  wine,  as  they  dosed  themselves 
pretty  plentifully  with  it,  soon  banished 
the  restraint  which  at  first  appeared  in 
their  conversation,  and  gave  a  license 
to  their  tongues  to  reveal  their  senti 
ments  more  freely. 

"  They  told  me,  that  it  was  their  ab 
solute  design  to  take  possession  of  the 
Ohio,  and  by  G — d  they  would  do  it ; 
for,  that  although  they  were  sensible 
the  English  could  raise  two  men  for 
their  one,  they  knew  their  motions 


were  too  slow  and  dilatory  to  prevent 
any  undertaking  of  theirs. 

"  They  pretend  to  have  an  undoubt 
ed  right  to  the  river,  from  a  discovery 
made  by  one  La  Salle  sixty  years  ago  ; 
and  the  rise  of  this  expedition  is  to  pre 
vent  our  settling  on  the  river  or  waters 
of  it,  as  they  heard  of  some  families 
moving  out  in  order  thereto. 

"  From  the  best  intelligence  I  could 
get,  there  have  been  fifteen  hundred 
men  on  this  side  of  Ontario  Lake.  But 
upon  the  death  of  the  general  all  were 
recalled,  to  about  six  or  seven  hundred, 
who  were  left  to  garrison  four  forts, 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  or  thereabout,  in 
each.  The  first  of  them  is  on  French 
Creek,  near  a  small  lake,  about  sixty 
miles  from  Venango,  near  north-north 
west  ;  the  next  lies  on  Lake  Erie,  where 
the  greater  part  of  their  stores  is  kept, 
about  fifteen  miles  from  the  other. 
From  this,  it  is  one  hundred  and  twen 
ty  miles  to  the  carrying-place  at  the 
Falls  of  Lake  Erie,  where  there  is  a 
small  fort  at  which  they  lodge  their 
goods  in  bringing  them  from  Montreal, 
the  place  from  which  all  their  stores 
are  brought. 

"  The  next  fort  lies  about  twenty 
miles  from  this,  on  Ontario  Lake.  Be 
tween  this  fort  and  Montreal  there  are 
three  others,  the  first  of  which  is  nearly 
opposite  to  the  English  fort  Oswego. 
From  the  fort  on  Lake  Erie  to  Mon 
treal  is  about  six  hundred  miles,  which, 
they  say,  requires  no  more  (if  good 
weather)  than  four  weeks'  voyage,  if 
they  go  in  barks  or  large  vessels  so 


56 


[BOOK  II. 


that  they  may  cross  the  lake  ;  but  if 
they  come  in  canoes,  it  will  require  five 
or  six  weeks,  for  they  are  obliged  to 
keep  under  the  shore.  *  *  * 

"December  7th. — Monsieur  LA  FORCE, 
commissary  of  the  French  stores,  and 
three  other  soldiers,  came  over  to  ac 
company  us  up.  We  found  it  extreme 
ly  difficult  to  get  the  Indians  off  to-day, 
as  every  stratagem  had  been  used  to 
prevent  their  going  up  with  me.  * 

"  At  twelve  o'clock  we  set  out  for  the 
fort,  and  were  prevented  arriving  there 
until  the  eleventh  by  excessive  rains, 
snows,  and  bad  travelling  through 
many  mires  and  swamps.  *  *  ' 

"  12th. — I  prepared  early  to  wait 
upon  the  commander,  and  was  received 
and  conducted  to  him  by  the  second 
officer  in  command.  I  acquainted  him 
with  my  business,  and  offered  my  com 
mission  and  letter ;  both  of  which  he 
desired  me  to  keep,  until  the  arrival  of 
Monsieur  REPARTI,  captain  at  the  next 
fort,  who  was  sent  for  and  expected 
every  hour. 

"  This  commander  is  a  knight  of  the 
military  order  of  St.  Louis,  and  named 
LEGARDEUR  DE  ST.  PIERRE.  He  is  an 
elderly  gentleman,  and  has  much  the 
air  of  a  soldier.  He  was  sent  over  to 
take  the  command  immediately  upon 
the  death  of  the  late  general,  and  ar 
rived  here  about  seven  days  before  me. 

"  At  two  o'clock  the  gentleman  who 
was  sent  for  arrived,  when  I  offered  the 
letter,  &c.,  again,  which  they  received, 
and  adjourned  into  a  private  apartment 
for  the  captain  to  translate,  who  un 


derstood  a  little  English.  After  lie 
had  done  it,  the  commander  desired  I 
would  walk  in,  and  bring  my  inter 
preter,  to  peruse  and  correct  it,  which 
I  did. 

"  13th. — The  chief  officers  retired  to 
hold  a  council  of  war,  which  gave  me 
an  opportunity  of  taking  the  dimen 
sions  of  the  fort,  and  making  what  ob 
servations  I  could. 

"  It  is  situated  on  the  south  or  west 
fork  of  French  Creek,  near  the  water ; 
and  is  almost  surrounded  by  the  creek 
and  a  small  branch  of  it,  which  form  a 
kind  of  island.  Four  houses  compose 
the  sides.  The  bastions  are  made  of 
piles  driven  in  the  ground,  standing 
more  than  twelve  feet  above  it,  and 
sharp  at  top,  with  port-holes  cut  for 
cannon,  and  loop-holes  for  the  small 
arms  to  fire  through.  There  are  eight 
six-pound  pieces  mounted  in  each  bas 
tion,  and  one  piece  of  four  pound  be 
fore  the  gate.  In  the  bastions  are  a 
guard-house,  chapel,  doctor's  lodging, 
and  the  commander's  private  store, 
round  which  are  laid  platforms  for  the 
camion  and  men  to  stand  on.  There 
are  several  barracks  without  the  fort 
for  the  soldiers'  dwellings,  covered, 
some  with  bark  and  some  with  boards, 
made  chiefly  of  logs.  There  are  also 
several  other  houses,  such  as  stables, 
smith's  shop,  &c. 

"  I  could  get  no  certain  account  of 
the  number  of  men  here ;  but,  accord 
ing  to  the  best  judgment  I  could  form, 
there  are  a  hundred,  exclusive  of  offi 
cers,  of  whom  there  are  many.  * 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


57 


"  14th. — As  the  snow  increased  very 
fast,  and  our  horses  daily  became  weak 
er,  I  sent  them  off  unloaded,  *  *  *  in 
tending,  myself,  to  go  down  by  wa 
ter.  *  *  * 

"  I  was  inquiring  of  the  commander, 
by  what  authority  he  had  made  pris 
oners  of  several  of  our  English  sub 
jects  :  he  told  me  that  the  country  be 
longed  to  them ;  that  no  Englishman 
had  a  right  to  trade  upon  those  wa 
ters  ;  and  that  he  had  orders  to  make 
every  person  prisoner,  who  attempted 
it  on  the  Ohio  or  the  waters  of  it.  *  *  * 

"  This  evening  I  received  an  answer 
to  his  Honor  the  Governor's  letter, 
from  the  commandant. 

"15th. — The  commandant  ordered  a 
plentiful  store  of  liquor  and  provisions 
to  be  put  on  board  our  canoes,  and  ap 
peared  to  be  extremely  complaisant, 
though  he  was  exerting  every  artifice 
that  he  could  invent  to  set  our  Indians 
at  variance  with  us,  and  prevent  their 
going  until  after  our  departure  ;  pres 
ents,  rewards,  and  every  thing  that 
could  be  suggested  by  him  or  his 
officers. 

"  I  cannot  say  that  ever  in  my  life  I 
suffered  so  much  anxiety  as  I  did  in 
this  affair.  I  saw  that  every  stratagem 
which  the  most  fruitful  brain  could  in 
vent,  was  practised  to  win  the  Half- 
Kins:  to  their  interest.  *  *  * 

O 

"  16th. — We  had  a  tedious  and  very 
fatiguing  passage  down  the  Creek. 
Several  times  we  had  like  to  have 
been  staved  against  rocks ;  and  many 

times  were  obliged,  all  hands,  to  get 
VOL.I.— 8 


out  and  remain  in  the  water  half  an 
hour  or  more,  getting  over  the  shoals. 
At  one  place  the  ice  had  lodged,  and 
made  it  impassable  by  water ;  we  were, 
therefore,  obliged  to  carry  our  canoe 
across  the  neck  of  land,  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  over.  We  did  not  reach  Venango 
until  the  twenty-second,  where  we  met 
with  our  horses.  *  *  * 

"  23d. — Our  horses  were  now  so  weak 
and  feeble,  and  the  baggage  so  heavy 
(as  we  were  obliged  to  provide  all  the 
necessaries  which  the  journey  would 
require),  that  we  doubted  much  their 
performing  it.  Therefore,  myself  and 
others,  except  the  drivers,  who  were 
obliged  to  ride,  gave  up  our  horses  for 
packs,  to  assist  along  with  the  baggage. 

"  I  put  myself  in  an  Indian  walking- 
dress  and  continued  with  them  three 
days,  until  I  found  there  was  no  proba 
bility  of  their  getting  home  in  any  rea 
sonable  tune.  The  horses  became  less 
able  to  travel  every  day ;  the  cold  in 
creased  very  fast,  and  the  roads  were 
becoming  much  worse  by  a  deep  snow 
continually  freezing ;  therefore,  as  I 
was  uneasy  to  get  back  to  make  report 
of  my  proceedings  to  his  Honor  the 
Governor,  I  determined  to  prosecute 
my  journey,  the  nearest  way  through 
the  woods,  on  foot. 

"  Accordingly,  I  left  Mr.  VANBRAAM 
in  charge  of  our  baggage,  with  money 
and  directions  to  provide  necessaries, 
from  place  to  place,  for  themselves  and 
horses,  and  to  make  the  most  convenient 
dispatch  in  travelling. 

"  I  took  my  necessary  papers,  pulled 


58 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


off  my  clothes,  and  tied  myself  up  in  a 
rnatchcoat.  Then,  with  gun  in  hand 
and  pack  on  my  back,  in  which  were 
my  papers  and  provisions,  I  set  out 
with  Mr.  Gist,  fitted  in  the  same  man 
ner,  on  Wednesday  the  twenty-sixth. 

"The  day  following,  just  after  we 
had  passed  a  place  called  Murdering 
Town  (where  we  intended  to  quit  the 
path  and  steer  across  the  country  for 
Sliannopin's  Town),  we  fell  in  with  a 
party  of  French  Indians,  who  had  lain 
in  wait  for  us.  One  of  them  fired  at 
Mr.  Gist  or  me,  not  fifteen  steps  off,  but 
fortunately  missed.  We  took  this  fel 
low  into  custody,  and  kept  him  until 
about  nine  o'clock  at  night ;  then  let 
him  go,  and  walked  all  the  remaining 
part  of  the  night  without  making  any 
stop,  that  we  might  get  the  start  so  fur 
as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  their  pur 
suit  the  next  day ;  since  we  were  well 
assured  they  would  follow  our  track  as 
soon  as  it  was  light. 

"  The  next  day  we  continued  travel 
ling  until  quite  dark,  and  got  to  the 
river,  about  two  miles  above  Shanno- 
pin's.  We  expected  to  find  the  river 
frozen  ;  but  it  was  not,  only  about  fifty 
yards  from  each  shore.  The  ice,  I  sup 
pose,  had  broken  up  above,  for  it  was 
driving  in  vast  quantities. 

"  There  was  no  way  for  getting  over 
but  on  a  raft,  which  we  set  about  with 
but  one  poor  hatchet,  and  finished  just 
after  sunsetting.  This  was  a  whole 
day's  work ;  we  next  got  it  launched, 
then  went  on  board  of  it  and  set  off. 
But,  before  we  were  half  way  over,  we 


were  jammed  in  the  ice  in  such  a  man 
ner,  that  we  expected  every  moment 
our  raft  to  sink,  and  ourselves  to  perish. 
I  put  out  my  setting-pole  to  try  to  stop 
the  raft,  that  the  ice  might  pass  by, 
when  the  rapidity  of  the  stream  threw 
it  with  so  much  violence  against  the 
pole,  that  it  jerked  me  out  into  ten  feet 
water ;  but  I  fortunately  saved  myself 
by  catching  hold  of  one  of  the  raft-lo^s. 

**  O 

Notwithstanding  all  our  efforts,  we 
could  not  get  to  either  shore,  but  were 
obliged,  as  we  were  near  an  island,  to 
quit  our  raft  and  make  to  it. 

"  The  cold  was  so  extremely  severe, 
that  Mr.  Gist  had  all  his  fingers  and 
some  of  his  toes  frozen  ;  and  the  water 
was  shut  up  so  hard,  that  we  found  no 
difficulty  in  getting  off  the  island  on 
the  ice  in  the  morning,  and  went  to 
Mr.  Frazier's.  We  met  here  with  twen 
ty  warriors,  who  were  going  to  the 
southward  to  war ;  but,  coming  to  a 
place  on  the  head  of  the  Great  Ken- 
hawa,  where  they  found  seven  people 
killed  and  scalped  (all,  but  one  woman, 
with  very  light  hair),  they  turned  about 
and  ran  back,  for  fear  the  inhabitants 
should  rise  and  take  them  as  the  au 
thors  of  the  murder.  They  report,  that 
the  bodies  were  lying  about  the  house, 
and  some  of  them  much  torn  and  eaten 
by  the  hogs.  By  the  marks  which 
were  left,  they  say  they  were  French 
Indians,  of  the  OttaAva  nation,  who 
did  it. 

"  As  we  intended  to  take  horses  here, 
and  it  required  some  time  to  find  them, 
I  went  up  about  three  miles  to  the 


CHAP.  L] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


mouth  of  the  Youghiogheny  to  visit 
QUEE^ST  ALIQUIPPA,  who  had  expressed 
great  concern  that  we  passed  her  in  go 
ing  to  the  fort.  I  made  her  a  present 
of  a  matchcoat  and  a  bottle  of  rum, 
which  latter  was  thought  much  the 
better  present  of  the  two. 

"  Tuesday,  the  1st  of  January,  we  left 
Mr.  Frazier's  house,  and  arrived 
at  Mr.  Gist's,  at  Monongahela, 
the  2d,  where  I  bought  a  horse  and 
saddle.  The  6th,  we  met  seventeen 
horses,  loaded  with  materials  and  stores 
for  a  fort  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio ;  and, 
the  day  after,  some  families  going  out 
to  settle.  This  day  we  arrived  at  Wills 
Creek,  after  as  fatiguing  a  journey  as  it 
is  possible  to  conceive,  rendered  so  by 
excessive  bad  weather. 

"  From  the  first  day  of  December  to 
the  fifteenth,  there  was  but  one  day  on 
which  it  did  not  rain  or  snow  incessant 
ly  ;  and  throughout  the  whole  journey 
we  met  with  nothing  but  one  continued 
series  of  cold,  wet  weather,  which  oc 
casioned  very  uncomfortable  lodgings, 
especially  after  we  had  quitted  our 
tent,  which  was  some  screen  from  the 
inclemency  of  it. 

"  On  the  llth,  I  got  to  Belvoir,  where 
I  stopped  one  day  to  take  necessary 
rest,  and  then  set  out  and  arrived  in 
Williamsburg  the  16th,  when  I  waited 
upon  his  Honor  the  Governor,  with  the 
letter  I  had  brought  from  the  French 
commandant,  and  to  give  an  account 
of  the  success  of  my  proceedings." 

Captain  GIST  also  kept  a  journal  of 


this  expedition.*  And  some  passages 
of  it  afford  an  interesting  commentary 
on  what  Washington  has  more  briefly 
recorded : 

"  Wednesday,  26th. — The  major  de 
sired  me  to  set  out  on  foot  and  leave 
our  company,  as  the  creeks  were  frozen 
and  our  horses  could  make  but  little 
way.  Indeed,  I  was  unwilling  he  should 
undertake  such  a  travel,  who  had  never 
been  used  to  walking  before  this  time. 
But  as  he  insisted  on  it,  we  set  out 
with  our  packs,  like  Indians,  and  trav 
elled  eighteen  miles.  That  night  we 
lodged  at  an  Indian  cabin,  and  the  ma 
jor  was  much  fatigued.  It  was  very 
cold.  All  the  small  runs  were  frozen, 
so  that  we  could  hardly  get  water  to 
drink. 

"  Thursday,  2 7th. — We  rose  early  in 
the  morning,  and  set  out  about  two 
o'clock.  Got  to  Murdering  Town,  on 
the  southeast  Fork  of  Beaver  Creek. 
Here  we  met  with  an  Indian,  whom  1 
thought  I  had  seen  at  Joncaire's,  at  Ve- 
nango,  when  on  our  journey  up  to  the 
French  fort.  This  fellow  called  me  by 
my  Indian  name,  and  pretended  to  be 
glad  to  see  me.  He  asked  us  several 
questions,  as,  how  we  came  to  travel  on 
foot,  when  we  left  Venango,  where  we 
parted  with  our  horses,  and  when  they 
would  be  there.  Major  Washington 
insisted  on  travelling  the  nearest  way 
to  the  forks  of  the  Alleghany.  We 
asked  the  Indian  if  he  could  go  with 
us,  and  show  us  the  nearest  way.  The 

0  Published  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
Third  Series,  vol.  v. 


60 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


Indian  seemed  very  glad  and  ready  to 
go  with  us.  Upon  which,  we  set  out, 
and  the  Indian  took  the  major's  pack. 
We  travelled  very  briskly  for  eight  or 
ten  miles,  when  the  major's  feet  grew 
sore,  and  he  very  weary ;  and  the  In 
dian  steered  too  much  northeastwardly. 
"  The  major  desired  to  encamp,  on 
which  the  Indian  asked  to  carry  his 
gun.  But  he  refused  that,  and  then 
the  Indian  grew  churlish,  and  pressed 
us  to  keep  on,  telling  us  that  there  were 
Ottawa  Indians  in  these  woods,  and  that 
they  would  scalp  us  if  we  lay  out ;  but 
to  go  to  his  cabin,  and  we  should  be 
safe.  I  thought  very  ill  of  the  fellow, 
but  did  not  care  to  let  the  major  know  I 
mistrusted  him.  But  soon  he  mistrust 
ed  him  as  much  as  I.  He  said  he  could 
hear  a  gun  to  his  cabin,  and  steered  us 
more  northwardly.  We  grew  uneasy  ; 
and  then  he  said  that  two  whoops 
might  be  heard  to  his  cabin.  We 
went  two  miles  further.  Then  the  ma 
jor  said  he  would  stay  at  the  next 
water,  and  we  desired  the  Indian  to 
stop  at  the  next  water.  But  before 
we  came  to  water,  we  came  to  a  clear 
meadow.  It  was  very  light,  and  there 
was  snow  on  the  ground.  The  Indian 
made  a  stop,  and  turned  about.  The 
major  saw  him  point  his  gun  towards 
us  and  fire.  Said  the  major,  'Are  you 
shot?'  'No,'  said  I.  Upon  this,  the 
Indian  ran  forward  to  a  biff  standing 

o  o 

white  oak,  and  went  to  loading  his  gun  ; 
but  we  were  soon  with  him.  I  would 
have  killed  him,  but  the  major  would 
not  suffer  me  to  kill  him. 


"  We  let  him  charge  his  gun.  We 
found  he  put  in  a  ball.  Then  we  took 
care  of  him.  The  major  or  I  always 
stood  by  the  guns.  We  made  the  In 
dian  make  a  fire  for  us  by  a  little  run, 
as  if  we  intended  to  sleep  there.  I  said 
to  the  major,  'As  you  will  not  have 
him  killed,  we  must  get  him  away,  and 
then  we  must  travel  all  night,'  Upon 
this,  I  said  to  the  Indian,  'I  suppose 
you  were  lost,  and  fired  your  gun.' 
He  said  that  he  knew  the  way  to  his 
cabin,  and  that  it  was  but  a  little  way. 
'  Well,'  said  I,  '  do  you  go  home  ;  and, 
as  we  are  much  tired,  we  will  follow 
your  track  in  the  morning ;  and  here 
is  a  cake  of  bread  for  you,  and  you 
must  give  us  meat  in  the  morning.' 
He  was  glad  to  get  away.  I  followed 
him,  and  listened  until  he  was  fairly 
out  of  the  way.  Then  we  set  out  about 
half  a  mile,  when  we  made  a  fire,  set 
our  compass  and  fixed  our  course,  and 
travelled  all  night.  In  the  morning 
we  were  at  the  head  of  Piney  Creek. 

"Friday,  28th.— We  travelled  all  the 
next  day  clown  the  said  creek  ;  and, 
just  at  night,  we  found  some  tracks, 
where  Indians  had  been  hunting.  We 
parted  and  appointed  a  place,  a  dis 
tance  off,  where  to  meet,  it  being  then 
dark.  We  encamped,  and  thought  our 
selves  safe  enough  to  sleep. 

"Saturday,  29th. — We  set  out  early, 
got  to  Alleghany,  made  a  raft,  and, 
with  much  difficulty,  got  over  to  an 
island,  a  little  above  Shannopin's  Town. 
The  major  having  fallen  in  from  off  the 
raft,  and  my  fingers  being  frost-bitten, 


CllAP.    I.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MAJOR. 


61 


and  the  sun  down,  and  it  Ibeing  very 
cold,  we  contented  ourselves  to  encamp 
upon  the  island.  It  was  deep  water 
between  us  and  the  shore  ;  but  the  cold 
did.  us  some  service,  for  in  the  morning 
it  was  frozen  hard  enough  for  us  to  pass 
over  on  the  ice." 

Thus  was  this  expedition  accomplish 
ed,  through  rain  and  snow,  in  mid-win 
ter,  in  intensely  cold  weather,  and  amid 
sufferings  and  perils  that  required  the 
constant  exercise  of  extraordinary  reso 
lution,  fortitude,  and  endurance. 

The  future  chief,  habited  like  an  In 
dian,  with  his  gun  in  his  hand  and  his 
pack  on  his  back, — traversing  the  track 
less  wilderness, — attended  by  only  one 
companion, — making  his  way  through 
"  many  mires  and  swamps," — fording 
streams, — struggling  for  his  life  in  the 
rapid  current  of  a  river, — sometimes 
carrying  his  canoe,  and  "many  times 
obliged  to  remain  in  the  water  half  an 
hour  or  more,  getting  over  shoals," — • 
camping  out  in  the  woods  and  fields,— 
encompassed  by  hostile  savages, — amid 
hardships  almost  beyond  the  power  of 
his  iron  constitution  to  endure, — and 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  instant  death 
by  the  rifle  of  his  treacherous  Indian 
guide  !  Who  can  fail  to  recognize  here 
the  Divine  Hand  that  preserved  him 
amid  all  his  sufferings  and  dangers,  and 
that  turned  aside  the  deadly  ball  aimed 
at  him  ?  And  who  can  fail  to  admire, 
in  his  treatment  of  a  murderous  savage, 
his  noble  generosity  of  soul  ? 

Washington's  JOURNAL  was  submit 


ted  to  Governor  Dinwiddie.  The  con 
duct  of  the  young  major  met  with  his 
Excellency's  entire  approval,  and  crea 
ted  also  a  general  sentiment  of  admira 
tion. 

The  intentions  of  France  were  palpa 
ble  ;  and  her  encroachments  were,  at 
once,  to  be  repelled  with  vigor  and  de 
termination. 

By  order  of  the  governor  and  coun 
cil,  two  companies  of  a  hundred  men 
each,  were  raised  in  the  northern  coun 
ties,  and  Major  Washington  was  intrust 
ed  with  the  chief  command  of  them. 
His  journal  was  published  by  order  of 
the  governor,  was  widely  circulated  in 
Virginia  and  other  colonies,  and  was 

O  ' 

reprinted  in  England,  at  the  instance  of 
the  British  government,  as  an  unmask 
ing  of  the  secret  and  unwarrantable  de 
signs  of  France. 

A  martial  spirit  was  kindled  in  the 
Old  Dominion.  LORD  FAIRFAX,  as 
county-lieutenant,  with  the  control  of 
the  militia  of  his  county,  rendered,  at 
this  crisis,  important  services  to  his 
former  hunting-companion  and  sur 
veyor.  The  governor  appealed  to  the 
other  American  colonies,  and  urged 
them  to  a  prompt  and  energetic  co 
operation  with  him.  Messengers  were 
dispatched  to  friendly  Indian  tribes, 
for  the  purpose  of  enlisting  them  also 
in  the  cause.  And  the  Assembly  voted 
ten  thousand  pounds,  for  "  the  encour 
agement  and  protection  of  settlers  on 
the  Mississippi." 

Supplied  with  this  appropriation,  the 
governor  increased  the  number  of  com- 


62 


AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


panics  to  six,  of  fifty  men  each.  Major 
Washington  was  spoken  of  as  the  most 
suitable  leader  of  the  proposed  enter 
prise,  in  which  these  companies  were  to 
be  engaged ;  but,  in  a  manner  worthy 
of  his  character,  he  declined  the  post. 
In  a  letter  to  RICHARD  COK- 

1 7*5*1 '   BIN'  a  mem^)er  °f  the  governor's 

council,  he  says : 

"  In  a  conversation  with  you  at  Green 
Spring,  you  gave  me  some  room  to 
hope  for  a  commission  above  that  of 
major,  and  to  be  ranked  among  the 
chief  officers  of  this  expedition.  Tlie 
command  of  tlie  wliole  forces  is  what 
I  neither  look  for,  expect,  nor  desire ; 
for,  I  must  be  impartial  enough  to 
confess,  it  is  a  charge  too  great  for 
my  youth  and  inexperience  to  be  in 
trusted  with. 

"Knowing  this,  I  have  too  sincere  a 
love  for  rny  country  to  undertake  that 
which  may  tend  to  the  prejudice  of  it. 
But,  if  I  could  entertain  hopes,  that  you 
thought  me  worthy  of  the  post  of  lieu 
tenant-colonel,  and  would  favor  me  so 
far  as  to  mention  it  at  the  appointment 
of  officers,  I  could  not  but  entertain  a 
true  sense  of  the  kindness. 

"  I  natter  myself  that,  under  a  skilful 
commander,  or  man  of  sense, — whom  I 
most  sincerely  wish  to  serve  under,— 
with  my  own  application  and  diligent 
study  of  my  duty,  I  shall  be  able  to 
conduct  my  steps,  without  censure,  and, 
in  time,  render  myself  worthy  of  the 
promotion  that  I  shall  be  favored  with 


now. 


n 


The   newly  raised    companies   were 


placed  under  Colonel  JOSHUA  FRY,  and 
Lieutenant-colonel  Washington. 

O 

Large  grants  of  land  on  the  Ohio 
River  were  promised,  as  a  bounty,  to 
the  troops.  The  British  ministry,  also, 
authorized  the  governor  to  summon 
two  companies  from  New  York,  and 
one  from  South  Carolina ;  and  North 
Carolina  voted  supplies  and  troops. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Washington,  liav- 

O 

ing  collected  at  Alexandria  by  enlist 
ment  two  companies,  set  out  with  them 
on  the  second  day  of  April ;  and  at 
Wills  Creek  he  was  joined,  on 
the  twentieth,  by  Captain  STE- 
PITEN,  with  another  company. 

But  soon,  intelligence  of  a  daring  out 
rage  committed  by  the  French,  was  con 
veyed  to  him.  They  had  descended 
the  river  from  Venango,  with  a  mili 
tary  force  said  to  be  "upwards  of  a 
thousand  men,"  with  eighteen  pieces  of 
cannon,  sixty  bateaux,  and  three  hun 
dred  canoes,  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  CONTRECCEUR  ;  and  had  expelled 
from  their  post  a  party  acting  under 
the  direction  of  the  Ohio  Company. 

This  company,  an  association  of  Vir 
ginia  and  Maryland  planters  and  Lon 
don  merchants,  who  proposed  to  settle 
lands  on  the  Ohio,  had  received  from 
the  king,  in  the  year  1749,  a  grant  of 
six  hundred  acres,  with  the  exclusive 
right  of  trade  with  the  neighboring  In 
dians  ;  and  had  sent  out  a  party  of 
thirty  men  to  build  a  fort  at  or  near 
the  Fork  of  the  Ohio. 

Captain  TRENT,  also,  was  occupied 
there  in  enlisting  men  from  among  the 


CHAP.  II.] 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  BATTLE. 


03 


traders,  to  form  a  company  that  should 
co-operate  with  the  troops  under  Ma 
jor  Washington.  But,  at  the  time 
when  Captain  CONTRECCEUR  appeared, 
Captain  Trent  and  his  lieutenant,  Fra- 

zier,  were   absent,   and   Ensign  WARD 

'  '  ~ 

was  in  command.  He  had  with  him 
no  more  than  forty-one  men,  includ 
ing  the  Ohio  Company's  party.  The 
rash  thought  of  resistance,  he  could 
not  entertain.  At  the"  threatening  as 
well  as  peremptory  summons  of  the 
French  captain,  who  allowed  him  but 
an  hour  for  consideration,  he  capitu 
lated.  On  the  next  day  he  proceed 


ed  with  his  men  to  the  mouth  of  Red 
stone  Creek. 

The  French  now  seized  the  post  thus 
vacated ;  they  completed  the  unfinished 
work ;  and  they  named  it,  in  honor  of 
the  governor-general  of  Canada,  "Fort 
Duquesne." 

This  flagrant  act,  the  warrant  and 
the  signal  for  a  decided  opposition,  was 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  which 
continued  for  seven  years,  and  which 
constitute  what  is  known  as  the  SEVEN 
YEARS'  WAR,  or  the  FRENCH  AND  IN 
DIAN  WAR,  an  important  period  in  our 
ante-revolutionary  annals. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1754, 

WASHINGTON'S    FIRST    BATTLE. 

Captain  Contveccenr  in  possession  of  Captain  Trent's  post  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio. — Major  Washington  writes  to  the 
Governors  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  for  Reinforcements. — Repairs  to  Redstone  Creek. — Marches 
towards  Wills  Creek. — Reaches  the  Youghiogheny  River. — Is  unable  to  carry  his  Troops  across. — Explores  the 
river. — His  Account  of  his  Exploration  of  it. — Is  informed  by  the  Half-King  of  the  approach  of  the  French. — 
Makes  an  Intrenchment  at  the  Great  Meadows. — M.  La  Force,  with  fifty  men,  traced  to  a  spot  five  miles  distant. 
— A  detachment  sent  by  Washington  in  pursuit,  cannot  find  them. — The  Half  King  and  his  Warriors  six  miles 
off.— Washington  hastens  to  him.— A  Council  is  held.— They  agree  to  unite  in  an  Attack.— They  surprise  the 
French  in  their  lurking-place. — An  Engagement. — Defeat  and  Capture  of  the  French. — Death  of  M.  de  Jumon- 
ville. — Misrepresentations  respecting  his  death. — Washington  censured  by  French  writers. — His  vindication. 


CAPTAIN  CONTRECGEUR  and  his  troops 
were  now  in  full  possession  of  the  mili 
tary  work  commenced  by  Cap 
tain    TRENT,    whom    they    had 
driven  from  this  post  at  the  Fork  of 
the  Ohio. 

With  but  three  companies,  consisting 
of  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  Colonel 
Washington  could  not  prudently  pro 


ceed  to  the  fort,  to  attack  a  force  so 
very  greatly  superior  to  his  own  in 
numbers  and  equipment.  He  wrote, 
therefore,  to  the  governors  of  Virginia,' 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland,  and  asked 
for  additions  to  his  little  band. 

He  resolved  to  march  on,  however, 
while  the  proposed  enlistment  was  in 
progress ;  to  repair  to  the  mouth  of 


64 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  II. 


Redstone  Creek,  which  was  thirty-seven 
miles  from  the  captured  post ;  to  erect 
a  fort  there  ;  and  to  wait  for  reinforce 
ments  ;  but, — in  the  event  of  their  not 
reaching  him  in  time, — to  be  prepared 
for  a  retreat. 

On  the  first  day  of  May  he  set  out 
for  Wills  Creek.  His  march  was,  how 
ever,  very  tedious.  Many  and  great 
difficulties  were  encountered  in  his 
course  through  woods  and  marshes, 
and  among  rocks,  with  an  inadequate 
supply  of  provisions  for  his  men.  Hav 
ing,  on  the  twentieth  day  of  May, 
reached  the  Youghiogheny,  a  branch 
of  the  Monongahela,  he  found  it  impos 
sible  to  convey  his  troops  across  but 
by  the  tardy  process  of  building  a 
bridge.  His  effort  to  avoid  this  resort, 
he  has  himself  described.  And  his  ac 
count  affords  a  new  and  happy  illustra 
tion  of  his  characteristic  qualities  : 

"  On  the  twentieth  of  May,  I  em 
barked  in  a  canoe,  with  Lieutenant 
WEST,  three  soldiers,  and  an  Indian. 
Having  followed  the  river  for  about 
half  a  mile  we  were  obliged  to  go 
ashore,  where  we  found  a  trader  who 
seemed  to  discourage  my  attempt  to 
seek  a  passage  by  water,  which  caused 
me  to  change  my  intention  of  having 
canoes  made. 

"  I  ordered  the  troops  to  wade  the 
river,  as  the  waters  had  now  sufficiently 
subsided.  I  continued  to  descend  the 
river,  but  finding  our  canoe  too  small 
for  six  persons,  we  stopped  to  construct 
a  bark,  with  which  and  the  canoe  we 
reached  Turkey  Foot  just  as  the  night 


began.  Eight  or  ten  miles  further  on 
ward,  we  encountered  several  difficul 
ties  which  were  of  little  consequence. 
At  this  point  we  stopped  some  time  to 
examine  the  position,  and  found  it  well 
suited  for  a  fort,  being  at  the  mouth  of 
three  branches  or  small  rivers,  and  hav 
ing  a  gravelly  foundation. 

"  We  went  down  about  two  miles  to 
examine  the  course  of  the  river,  which 
is  straight,  with  "many  currents,  and  full 
of  rocks  and  rapids.  We  crossed  it, 
though  the  w^ater  was  high,  which  in 
duced  me  to  believe  the  canoes  would 
easily  pass,  but  this  was  not  effected 
without  difficulty. 

"  Besides  these  rapids  we  met  with 
others,  but  the  water  being  more  shal 
low  and  the  current  smoother,  we 
passed  them  easily.  We  then  found 
the  water  very  deep,  and  mountains 
rising  on  both  sides.  After  proceed 
ing  ten  miles,  we  came  to  a  fall  in  the 
river,  which  arrested  our  progress  and 
compelled  us  to  go  ashore,  and  desist 
from  any  further  attempt."* 

On  returning  to  his  men,  he  learned 
from  friendly  Indians,  sent  to  him  by 
his  ally,  the  Half-King,  TANACHAEISON, 
that  the  French,  rapidly  march 
ing  towards  him  and  now  near 
at  hand,  were  resolved  on  an 
encounter.  He  took  a  favorable  posi 
tion  at  a  level  spot,  in  a  glade,  near 
a  creek,  and  amid  gently  rising  hills, 


°  This  extract  is  from  a  journal  of  Washington's, 
which  was  taken  by  the  French  at  the  battle  of  the  Mo 
nongahela  ;  and  parts  of  which  were  published  at  Paris, 
in  1756, 


CHAP.  II.] 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  HATTLE. 


The  glade  was  known  as  "The  Great 
Meadows."  "  I  hurried  to  this  place," 
says  he,  "as  a  convenient  spot.  We 
have,  with  nature's  assistance,  made  a 
good  intrenchment,  and,  by  clearing 
the  bushes  out  of  these  meadows,  pre 
pared  a  charming  field  for  an  encoun 
ter."* 

Mr.  GIST,  who  now  visited  the  camp, 

reported,  that  the  day  before,  at 

'  ay     '  his  plantation,  thirteen  miles  dis- 

1751. 

tant,  he  had  seen  M.  LA  FORCE, 
a  French  officer,  with  fifty  men,  whose 
footsteps  he  traced  to  a  spot  five  miles 
from  the  Great  Meadows.  Seventy- 
five  of  Washington's  men  were  sent  in 
pursuit,  but  could  not  find  the  French 
roving  party. 

TAISTACIIARISOJST,  together  with  a  num 
ber  of  his  warriors,  was  but  six  miles 
from  the  spot.  He  also  sent,  after  eight 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  same  day, 
intelligence  of  a  French  detachment's 
being  near.  With  forty  of  his  men, 
Colonel  Washington,  at  once,  before 
ten  o'clock,  hastened  to  the  Indian 
camp,  regardless  of  a  heavy  rain  and 
a  night  of  intense  darkness,  and  of  ob 
stacles  offered  by  an  almost  impenetra 
ble  forest.  "  We  were,"  says  he,  "  fre 
quently  tumbled  one  over  another,  and 
often  so  lost  that  fifteen  or  twenty  min 
utes'  search  would  not  find  the  path 
again."f 

At  early  dawn,  he  met  in  council 
with  his  Indian  ally.  It  wTas  agreed  to 

°  Letter  to  Governor  DIXWIDDIE,  from  Great  Meadows, 
May  27th,  1754. 

f  Letter  to  Governor  DIMVIDDIE,  May  29th,  1754. 
VOL.  I.— 9 


unite  in  an  attack  upon  the  enemy ; 
Washington  to  be  on  the  right,  and 
Tanacharison  on  the  left. 

The  French  were  soon  traced  to  a 
secluded  nook,  among  rocks,  half  a  mile 
distant  from  the  common  road.  They 
were  surprised  in  their  lurking-place. 
They  were  attacked.  And  in  the  skir 
mish  which  ensued,  and  which 
lasted  about  fifteen  minutes,  **„  ' 

1754. 

the  French  party  was  defeated, 
eleven  of  their  number  being  killed, 
and  one  wounded.  Twenty-one  were 
captured.  Of  Washington's  party,  only 
one  was  killed,  and  two  or  three  were 
wounded.  The  Indians  sustained  no 
loss,  as  the  enemy's  fire  was  aimed  ex 
clusively  at  the  band  led  by  Washing 
ton.  The  prisoners  were  forthwith  sent 
to  Governor  DINWIDDIE. 

Of  the  slain  amonsr  the  French,  one 

O  / 

was  their  commander,  M.  DE  JUMON- 
VILLE.  And  as  the  alleged  particulars 
of  his  death  have  given  cause  to  an  un 
fortunate  and  false  representation  of  the 
fact,  and  as  French  writers  have,  in 
works  of  history,  biography,  and  poet 
ry,;};  put  on  record  sentiments  which 
would  detract  from  the  fair  fame  of 
Washington,  it  is  proper  that  the  means 
should  be  furnished  for  his  vindication. 
It  has  been  said,  that  Jumonville, 
having  been  surprised  and  twice  fired 
upon  by  the  English,  "  made  a  sign  that 
he  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  his 


J  M.  THOMAS  composed  and  published  in  1759,  a  poem 
on  the  subject,  remarkable  for  its  extravagance,  entitled, 
"  L'Assassinat  de  M.  de  Jumonville,  en  Amerique,  eL  la  Ven 
geance  de  ce  Muertre. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  II. 


commandant ;"  and  that  "lie  caused 
the  summons  to  be  read,  but  the  read 
ing  was  not  finished  when  the  English 
repeated  their  fire,  and  killed  him."'" 
It  has  been  said,  that  "the  English, 
ranged  in  a  circle  round  him,  listened 
to  the  representations  which  he  came 
to  make."  "  They  assassinated  Jumon- 
ville  and  immolated  eight  soldiers,  who 
fell  bleeding  by  the  side  of  their  chief." 
"  The  detachment  of  the  English  who 
committed  this  atrocity,  was  command 
ed  by  "Washington.  This  officer,  who 
afterwards  displayed  the  purest  virtues 
of  the  warrior,  the  citizen,  and  the  sage, 
was  then  no  more  than  twenty-two 
years  old.  He  could  not  restrain  the 
wild  and  undisciplined  troops  who 
marched  under  his  orders."f  Many 
other  French  writers  have  reiterated 
this  representation,  and  have  indulged 
in  strictures  marked  with  great  severi 
ty.  But  eloquence  and  poetry  have, 
on  this  occasion,  been  expended  upon 
a  fictitious  scene. 

The  origin  of  the  false  picture  may 
be  traced  to  a  Canadian,  MOUCEAU,  one 
of  Jumonville's  party,  who  escaped 
from  the  scene  of  the  engagement,  and 
to  some  savages,  who  said  that  they 
were  present  with  the  French.  But  no 
savages  whatever  were  seen  with  Ju- 
monville  at  the  time ;  and  Mouceau's 
account  has  no  confirmation  from  any 
source. 


3  M.  FLASSAN'S  Ilwtoire  de  la  Diplwn.  Fran$aise.  Tom. 
vi.  p.  28.  Paris,  1811. 

t  M.  LACIIETKLLE'S  IJhl.  de  France.  Tom.  ii.  p.  234. 
Paris,  1839. 


When  Washington  first  heard  of  the 
allegation,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Gover 
nor  Dinwiddie,  and  declared  that  the 
report  was  "  absolutely  false."  "  These 
officers,"  says  he,  alluding  to  Major 
DKOUILLON  and  M.  LA  FORCE,  who 
were  among  the  captives  on  the  occa 
sion,  "  pretend  they  were  coining  on  an 
embassy  ;  but  the  absurdity  of  this  pre 
text  is  too  glaring,  as  you  will  see  by 
the  instructions  and  summons  inclosed. 
Their  instructions  were,  to  reconnoitre 
the  country,  roads,  creeks,  and  the  like, 
as  far  as  the  Potomac,  which  they  were 
about  to  do. 

"  These  enterprising  men  were  pur 
posely  chosen  out,  to  procure  intelli 
gence  which  they  were  to  send  back 
by  some  brisk  dispatches,  with  the 
mention  of  the  day  that  they  were  to 
serve  the  summons,  which  could  be 
with  no  other  view,  than  to  get  a  suffi 
cient  reinforcement  to  fall  upon  us,  im 
mediately  after.  This,  with  several 
other  reasons,  induced  all  the  officers 
to  believe  firmly,  that  they  were  sent 
as  spies  rather  than  any  thing  else,  and 
has  occasioned  my  detaining  them  as 
prisoners,  though  they  expected,  or  at 
least  had  some  faint  hope,  that  they 
should  be  continued  as  ambassadors. 

"  They,  finding  that  we  were  en 
camped,  instead  of  coming  up  in  a  pub 
lic  manner,  sought  out  one  of  the  most 
secret  retirements,  fitter  for  a  deserter 
than  an  ambassador  to  encamp  in,  and 
stayed  there  two  or  three  days,  send 
ing  spies  to  reconnoitre  our  camp,  as 
we  are  told,  though  they  deny  it. 


CHAP.  II.] 


WASHINGTON'S  FIRST  BATTLE. 


07 


Their  whole  body  moved  back  near 
two  miles ;  and  they  sent  off  two  run 
ners  to  acquaint  Contrecoeur  with  our 
strength,  and  where  we  were  encamped. 
Now,  thirty-six  men  would  almost  have 
been  a  retinue  for  a  princely  ambassa 
dor,  instead  of  a  pet  it. 

"  Why  did  they,  if  their  designs  were 
open,  stay  so  long  within  five  miles  of 
us,  without  delivering  their  message  or 

O  O 

acquainting  me  with  it  ?  Their  wait 
ing  could  be  with  no  other  design,  than 
to  get  detachments  to  enforce  the  sum 
mons  as  soon  as  it  was  criven. 

o 

"  They  had  no  occasion  to  send  out 
spies,  for  the  name  of  an  ambassador  is 
sacred  among  all  nations  ;  but  it  was 
by  the  track  of  those  spies  that  they 
were  discovered,  and  that  we  got  intel 
ligence  of  them.  They  would  not  have 
retired  two  miles  back  without  deliver 
ing  the  summons,  and  sought  a  skulk- 
ing-place  (which,  to  do  them  justice, 
was  done  with  great  judgment),  but  for 
some  special  reason.  Besides,  the  sum 
mons  is  so  insolent,  and  savors  so  much 
of  gasconade,  that  if  two  men  only  had 
come  to  deliver  it  openly,  it  would  have 
been  too  great  an  indulgence  to  send 
them  back."* 

In  two  other  letters  to  the  governor, 
he  refers  to  the  subject.  "I  have 
heard,"  says  he,  "  since  they  went  away, 
that  they  should  say  they  called  to  us 
not  to  fire ;  but  that  I  know  to  be  false, 
for  I  was  the  first  man  that  approached 
them,  and  the  first  whom  they  saw ; 

°  Letter  to  Governor  DINWIDDIE,  from  the  camp  at  the 
Great  Meadows,  May  29th,  1754. 


and  immediately  upon  it,  they  ran  to 
their  arms,  and  fired  briskly  till  they 
were  defeated."  "These  deserters  cor 
roborate  what  the  others  said  and  we 
suspected.  La  Force's  party  were  sent 
out  as  spies,  and  were  to  show  that  sum 
mons  if  discovered  or  overpowered  by 
a  superior  party  of  ours."f 

In  his  journal  which  was  taken  by 
the  French,  and  published  at  Paris,  he 
says :  "  They  pretend  that  they  called 
to  us,  as  soon  as  we  were  discovered, 
which  is  absolutely  false  ;  for  I  was  at 
the  head  of  the  party  in  approaching 
them,  and  I  can  affirm,  that,  as  soon  as 
they  saw  us,  they  ran  to  their  arms, 
without  calling,  which  I  should  have 
heard,  had  they  done  so."^ 

The  Half-King,  expressing  his  opinion 
of  the  real  intentions  of  Jumonville  and 
his  party,  said,  that  they  had  "  bad 
hearts,"  and  that  they  "  never  designed 
to  come  but  in  a  hostile  manner." 

The  fate  of  Jumonville  surely  cannot, 
in  the  face  of  Washington's  arguments 
and  averment,  be  termed  an  "  assassina 
tion,"  without  an  utter  disregard  both 
of  the  import  of  the  word,  and  of  the 
claims  of  truth.  And  it  is  incumbent 
upon  grave  historians  and  biographers 
of  France,  to  cease  from  reiterating  and 
perpetuating  so  flagrant  a  falsehood, 
calculated  to  tarnish  the  character  of 
one  whose  name  History  has  enrolled 
amonir  those  of  the  wisest  and  the  best 

o 

that  have  adorned  humanity. 

f  Letter  to  Governor  DIXWIDDIE,  -without  date  ;  and  a 
letter  to  him,  dated  Great  Meadows,  June  10th,  1754. 
J  See  note  on  page  64. 


CHAPTER    III. 


1754, 

WASHINGTON'S    CAPITULATION    OF    FORT    NECESSITY. 

Washington  at  the  Great  Meadosvs. — Death  of  Colonel  Fry. — Prayers  in  the  camp  at  Fort  Necessity.— Letter  on  tho 
subject,  from  "William  Fairfax  to  Washington. — Dissatisfaction  among  the  officers  at  the  Fort. — Embarrassments 
occasioned  by  Royal  Commissions. — Rank  of  Lieutenant-colonel  Washington  and  Captain  Mackay.— Washington 
proceeds  to  the  Monongahela. — French  Spies. — Captain  Mackay  joins  Washington. — Retreat  to  the  Great 
Meadows. — Fort  Necessity  attacked  by  the  French  and  Indians.— Washington  capitulates. — Terms  of  the  Ca 
pitulation. — Artifice  of  M.  de  Villiers. — Washington  withdraws  to  Wills  Creek.- — Encounters  Indian  allies  of  the 
French. — Proceeds,  with  Captain  Mackay,  to  the  Governor. — Approval  of  his  conduct. — The  Governor's  new  Ex 
pedition. — The  Expedition  abandoned. — The  Governor's  Independent  Companies. — Washington  resigns  his  Com 
mission. — Governor  Sharpe,  commander-in-chief. — Colonel  Fitzhugh's  Letter,  requesting  Washington  to  return 
to  the  Army. — Washington's  spirited  Reply. — The  King's  Order  respecting  Rank. — Effects  produced  by  this 
Order. 


1T51. 


WASHINGTON  was  now  encamped  at 
the  Great  Meadows.  Colonel 
FRY,  who  had  long  "been  pre 
vented  by  sickness  from  joining  him, 
died  at  Wills  Creek  on  the  last  day  of 
May  ;  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Washing 
ton,  next  to  him  in  rank,  succeeded  in 
command. 

A  pleasing  moral  and  religious  asso 
ciation  with  Washington  and  his  men 
at  their  Fort  Necessity,  is  "his  custom 
to  have  prayers  in  the  camp."  His  af 
fectionate  friend,  the  Honorable  WIL 
LIAM  FAIRFAX,  of  Belvoir,  wrote  to  him, 
while  at  the  Great  Meadows,  "  I  will 
not  doubt  your  having  public  prayers 
in  the  camp,  especially  when  the  Indian 
families  are  your  guests  ;  that  they,  see 
ing  your  plain  manner  of  worship,  may 
have  their  curiosity  excited  to  be  in 


formed  why  we  do  not  use  the  ceremo 
nies  of  the  French,  which,  being  well 
explained  to  their  understanding,  will 
more  and  more  dispose  them  to  receive 
our  baptism,  and  unite  in  strict  bonds 
of  cordial  friendship." 

As  to  religious  influences  upon  the 
red  men,  which  may  have  been  exerted 
in  this  manner,  we  are  not  informed, 
but  the  fact  of  there  being  stated  reli- 


at    the 


well 


gious  services  at  tiie  camp,  is 
known.  A  public  recognition  of  the 
providence  of  God,  and  of  the  duty  of 
prayer  to  him,  was  the  rule  of  Wash 
ington  throughout  his  military  career. 

A  trial  of  his  principles,  and  a  severe 
test  of  his  fortitude  and  prudence,  oc 
curred  at  this  time. 

The  brave  officers  of  his  little  band, 
while  they  were  encountering  the  pe- 


ClIAP.  III.] 


HIS  CAPITULATION  OF  FORT  NECESSITY. 


69 


culiar  trials  of  wilderness  warfare,  were 
so  very  poorly  compensated,  in  com 
parison  with  officers  of  the  king's  troops, 
that  dissatisfaction,  murmurings,  and,  at 
length,  loud  complaints  ensued.  Then 
followed,  as  a  natural  consequence,  irre 
pressible  emotions  of  jealousy,  and 
threats  of  abruptly  abandoning  the  ser 
vice.  It  was  a  crisis  which  called  for 
the  exercise  of  great  tact  and  talent. 
But  the  emergency  served  to  exempli 
fy  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  future 
father  of  his  country.  In  letters  to  the 
governor,  he  set  forth,  with  great  ear 
nestness  and  in  explicit  terms,  the  fact, 
the  causes,  and  the  only  effectual  reme 
dy  of  the  discontent.  And,  at  the  same 
time,  he  quieted,  in  a  good  measure, 
the  prevailing  turbulence,  by  skilfully 
touching  those  chords  in  the  hearts  of 
his  comrades,  which,  he  well  knew, 
would  respond  to  sentiments  of  honor, 
patriotism,  and  loyalty. 

Another  incident  occurred  soon  after, 
which  he  controlled  with  the  consum 
mate  skill  of  an  experienced  master  in 
the  management  of  human  passions. 

It  was  a  rule,  adopted  by  the  British 
ministry,  in  ordering  military  affairs  in 
the  colonies,  that  officers  with  royal 
commissions  should  take  precedence  of 
all  others.  The  operation,  however,  of 
the  principle  involved  in  this,  always 
tended  to  provoke  jealousy  and  create 
discord. 

When  an  independent  company  of  a 
hundred  men,  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  MACKAY,  who  had  a  royal  commis 
sion,  went  from  South  Carolina  to  the 


Great  Meadows,  a  case  presented .  itself 
which  was  exceedingly  embarrassing. 
According  to  the  established  rule,  he 
took  rank  of  Colonel  "Washington,  who, 
as  a  colonial  officer,  had  received  his 
commission  from  Governor  Dinwiddie. 
The  captain,  although  on  terms  of  per 
fect  harmony  with  Washington,  could 
not  consistently  receive  orders  from 
him  as  a  superior  officer.  The  encamp 
ment,  also,  of  the  king's  captain  and  his 
company,  was  quite  apart  from  that  of 
the  troops  under  the  colonial  colonel. 
In  the  event  of  a  conflict  with  the  ene 
my, — and  one  was  constantly  expected, 
—this  point  of  rank  might  be  the  cause 
of  serious  evils. 

The  colonel  wrote  to  the  governor, 
asking  him  promptly  to  decide  the  mat 
ter.  The  governor  expressed  doubts. 
The  embarrassment  increased.  The 
colonel's  officers  and  men  could  not 
brook  the  thought  of  their  commander's 
deposition  from  his  grade  ;  and  they 
cherished  angry  party  feelings,  which 
must  have  led  to  ruinous  results,  had 
they  not  been  immediately  and  judi 
ciously  controlled. 

In  these  circumstances,  Washington, 
with  a  bold  hand,  cut  what  could 
not  be  untied.  After  enlarging  and 
strengthening  his  Fort  Necessity,  he  re 
solved  to  leave  Captain  Mackay  and 
his  men  in  charge  of  it,  and  to  proceed 
with  his  regiment  to  the  Monongahela. 

He  accordingly  set  out,  and  advanced 
thirteen  miles  to  Gist's  plantation.  But, 
before  he  reached  this  spot,  he  met  with 
unexpected  formidable  difficulties,  in 


70 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IL 


making  a  road  for  his  artillery,  and  in 
quieting  the  noisy  cupidity  and  elud 
ing  the  sly  artifices  of  pretended  In 
dian  allies,  who  proved  to  be  French 
spies.  lie  advised  with  his  officers  ; 
he  concluded,  instead  of  marching  fur 
ther,  to  wait  there  for  the  enemy  ;  and 
he  prepared  for  an  encounter,  as  he 
learned  that  the  French  mi^ht  be  ex- 

O 

pected  very  soon. 

At  his  request,  Captain  MACK  AY, 
joined  him  with  his  company.  Credi 
ble  accounts  of  the  enemy's  reinforce 
ment  and  great  strength,  it  was  agreed, 
however,  rendered  a  retreat  advisable. 
The  troops,  too,  were  quite  exhausted 
with  fatigue,  having  borne  on  their 

O          t  O 

backs  heavy  burdens,  and  having  drag 
ged  over  rough  roads  nine  swivels.  So 
poorly,  moreover,  were  they  supplied 
with  horses,  that  the  colonel  himself, 
having  dismounted  and  having  laded 

o  o 

his  war-steed  with  public  stores,  went 
on  foot,  sharing  the  hardships  of  the 
common  soldiers. 

The  troops  succeeded,  with  great  dif 
ficulty,  in  reaching  the  Great  Meadows, 

after  two   days'  march.      They 

were   compelled  to  halt  there. 

For  eight  days  they  had  eaten 
no  bread,  and  had  taken  little  of  any 
other  food.  They  could  retreat  no  fur 
ther.  Here,  then,  it  was  resolved  to 
make  a  stand.  Trees  were  felled,  and 
a  log  breastwork  was  raised  at  the  fort. 
Two  days  elapsed  ;  and  then,  early  in 

the  morning,  a  sentinel,  wound- 

-,    ,         ,,  . 

e"  'jy  the  enemy,  gave  the  sig 
nal  of  their  approach.      Before 


July  3, 


noon,  distant  firing  was  heard  ;  and  the 
enemy,  consisting  of  French  troops  and 
of  Indians,  reached  a  wood,  the  third  of 
a  mile  from  Fort  Necessity.  Washing 
ton  drew  up  his  regiment  of  three  hun 
dred  and  five  men,  including  officers. 

O 

and  waited  for  an  assault. 

For  nine  hours, — the  rain,  without 
intermission,  pouring  down  in  torrents, 
—both  parties  kept  up  a  desultory 
fire  of  small-arms.  By  that  time,  the 
French  had  killed  all  the  horses  and 
the  cattle  at  the  fort ;  the  rain  had 
filled  all  the  trenches  ;  the  firearms  of 
many  of  the  Virginia  troops  were  out 
of  order ;  twelve  men  of  these  troops 
were  killed,  and  forty-three  wounded. 

At  eight  o'clock,  the  French  pro 
posed  a  parley.  Washington  declined 
they  urged ;  and  Captain  Vanbraam 
was  then  deputed  to  them.  Very  soon 
he  brought  with  him  from  M.  BE  VIL- 
LIERS,  the  French  commander,  proposed 
articles  of  capitulation. 

The  overpowering  number  of  the  en 
emy  induced  Washington  to  come  t< 
terms.     He  consented,  after  a  modifica 
tion  of  the  proposed  articles,  to  leave 
his  fort  the  next  morning ;  but 
he   was    to    leave   it   with   the  ' 

175-1. 

honors  of  war,  and  with  the  un 
derstanding  that  he  should  surrender 
nothing  but  his  artillery.  The  pris 
oners,  of  Jumonville's  party,  it  was 
stipulated,  should  be  returned ;  and. 
for  a  year's  time,  no  fort  should  be 
built  at  this  post,  or  anywhere  beyond 
the  Alleghanies  on  lands  belonging  to 
France. 


CHAP.  III.] 


HIS  CAPITULATION  OF  FORT  NECESSITY. 


The  articles  of  capitulation,  written 
in  the  French  language,  were  professed 
ly  interpreted  by  Vanbraam.  But  they 
were  read  by  him  hastily,  at  night,  in 
the  open  air,  by  the  flickering  light  of 
a  candle,  during  a  violent  rain.  The 
transaction  was,  altogether,  a  confused 
and  hurried  one.  And  so  bungling  and 
blind  was  Vanbraam's  English  oral  in- 

O 

terpretation,  —  the  interpretation  made 
by  a  Dutchman,  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  either  English  or  French,  —  that, 
not  perhaps  through  any  treachery  of 
his,  but  rather  through  the  vindictive 
feelings  and  artful  contrivance  of  M.  de 
Villiers,  brother  of  Jumonville,  —  Wash 
ington  and  his  officers  were  betrayed 
into  a  pledge  which  they  would  never 
have  consented  to  give,  and  an  act  of 
moral  suicide  which  they  could  never 
have  deliberately  committed.  They 
understood,  from  Vanbraam's  interpre 
tation,  that  no  fort  was  to  be  built  be 
yond  the  mountains,  on  lands  belonging 
to  the  ~king  of  France  /  but  the  terms 
of  the  articles  are,  "neither  in  this 
place,  nor  beyond  the  mountains."* 
They  understood,  from  Vanbraam's  in 
terpretation,  that  the  prisoners  were  to 
be  returned,  who  had  been  taken  at 
the  time  of  the  death  of  Jumonville  ; 
but  the  terms  of  the  articles  are,  "pris 
oners  tcdzen  at  Jumonmllds  as-sassina- 


The  terms  in  which  M.  de  Villiers 
afterwards  boasted  of  his  diplomacy  on 

°  Dans  ce  lieu-ci,  ni  deja  de  la  hauteur  dcs  tcrrcs. 
f  Les  prisonnicrs  fait  dans  1'assassinat  du  Sieur  dc  Ju 
monville. 


the  occasion,  are  at  once  an  exposure  of 
his  artifice,  and  a  vindication  of  the 
character  of  those  whom  he  attempted 
to  confound  with  self-condemnation. 

When  the  account  which  de  Villiers 
gave  of  the  battle  was  communicated 
to  Washington,  he   made   these   com 
ments  upon  it : 

"  It  is  very  extraordinary,  and  not 
less  erroneous  than  inconsistent.  He 
says  the  French  received  the  first  fire. 
It  is  well  known,  that  we  received  it  at 
six  hundred  paces'  distance.  He  also 
says,  our  fears  obliged  us  to  retreat  in 
a  most  disorderly  manner,  after  the  ca 
pitulation.  How  is  this  consistent  with 
his  other  account  ?  He  acknowledges 
that  we  sustained  the  attack  warmly, 
from  ten  in  the  morning  until  dark,  and 
that  he  called  first  to  parley,  which 
strongly  indicates  that  we  were  not 
totally  absorbed  in  fear.  If  the  gen 
tleman,  in  his  account,  had  adhered  to 
the  truth,  he  must  have  confessed  that 
we  looked  upon  his  offer  to  parley  as 
an  artifice  to  get  into  and  examine  our 
trenches,  and  refused  on  that  account; 
until  they  desired  an  officer  might  be 
sent  to  them,  and  gave  their  parole  for 
his  return.  He  might,  also,  if  he  had 
been  as  great  a  lover  of  truth  as  he  was 
of  vainglory,  have  said,  that  we  abso 
lutely  refused  their  first  and  second 
proposals,  and  would  consent  to  capitu 
late  on  no  other  terms  than  such  as  we 
obtained. 

"  That  we  were,  wilfully  or  ignorant- 
ly,  deceived  by  our  interpreter  in  re 
gard  to  the  word  'assassination,'  I  do 


To, 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


aver,  and  will  to  my  dying  moment ; 
so  will  every  officer  who  was  present. 
The  interpreter  was  a  Dutchman,  little 
acquainted  with  the  English  tongue, 
and  therefore  inicrlit  not  advert  to  the 

O 

tone  and  meaning  of  the  word  in  Eng 
lish  ;  but,  whatever  his  motives  were 
for  so  doing,  certain  it  is  he  called  it 
the  '  death,'  or  the  '  loss,'  of  the  Sieur 
Jumonville.  So  we  received,  and  so 
we  understood  it,  until,  to  our  great 
surprise  and  mortification,  we  found  it 
otherwise  in  a  literal  translation."* 

On  the  morning  after  the  signing  of 
the   articles  of  capitulation,  Washing 
ton,    amid   the   beating    of   his 
IT « -t'   drums,  and  with  his  colors  fly 
ing,   set   out  for   Wills   Creek. 
He    had,   however,   scarcely    left    the 
Meadows,  when  he  encountered  a  hun 
dred  Indians,  allies  of  the  French,  who 
greatly  annoyed  him  with  their  hostile 
purposes  and  their  rapacity. 

On  reaching  Wills  Creek,  he  hasten 
ed  with  Captain  Mackay  to  the  gover 
nor  at  Williamsburg,  whom  they  par 
ticularly  informed  of  the  events  of  their 
expedition.  Both  the  governor  and 
council  highly  approved  of  the  con 
duct  of  the  commander,  officers,  and 
men.  The  House  of  Burgesses  voted 
thanks  to  them  for  their  bravery ;  and 
a  pistole, — a  Spanish  gold  coin,  worth 
about  three  dollars  and  a  half, — was 
presented,  as  a  gratuity,  to  every  sol 
dier. 

The  governor,  glowing  with  intense 

0  Writings  of  WASHINGTON,  vol.  ii.  pp.  4G3,  404 


feelings  of  loyalty,  but  quite  uneduca 
ted  in  the  art  of  war,  projected  a  new 
expedition  against  the  French  intruders. 
Colonel  Washington  was  to  complete 
the  companies  in  his  regiment,  and  to 
hasten,  then,  as  fast  as  possible,  to  Colo 
nel  INNES,  at  Wills  Creek  ;  and,  there 
uniting  his  forces  with  the  troops  from 
North  Carolina  and  New  York,  to  cross 
the  mountains  and  capture  Fort  Du- 
quesne. 

This  project  Washington  earnestly 
opposed,  and  it  was  abandoned. 

Among  the  many  striking  pictures 
in  the  gallery  which  illustrates  his  life 
and  character,  there  is  not  another  more 
expressive  of  his  distinguishing  traits. 
His  letter  on  the  subject  of  the  expedi 
tion,  addressed  to  the  Honorable  WIL 
LIAM  FAIRFAX,  then  a  member  of  the 
council,  is  a  remarkable  production. 
His  manner  is  respectful,  but  his  rea 
soning  severe.  He  sets  forth  the  gov 
ernor's  scheme  as  unadvisable  and  im 
practicable. 

As  he  was  then  little  more  than  twen 
ty-two  years  of  age,  his  firm  op 
position  to  the  will  of  his  supe- 
riors  might  seem  presumptuous  ; 
but,  so  proper  was  the  conduct  of  his 
procedure,  and  so  cogent  and  conclu 
sive  were  his  reasonings,  that  the  gov 
ernor  and  council  yielded  to  the  con 
trol  of  his  master-spirit. 

Yet  the  fire  of  the  governor's  flaming 
zeal  was  not  extinguished.  As  the 
British  government  granted  to  him 
ten  thousand  pounds  sterling,  with  the 
promise  of  an  additional  grant  of  the 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAPITULATION  AT  FORT  NECESSITY. 


73 


same  amount,  and  two  thousand  stand 
of  arms ;  and  as  the  Burgesses  voted 
twenty  thousand  pounds  for  the  public 
exigencies,  his  determination  led  him 
to  form  yet  another  scheme. 

He  resolved  to  raise  an  army,  con 
sisting  of  ten  independent  companies 
of  a  hundred  men  each.  No  officer  of 
the  late  Virginia  regiment  was  to  hold 
rank  higher  than  a  captain  ;  and,  in  ad 
dition  to  this  injudicious  and  unjust  pro 
vision,  every  colonial  captain  was  to 
yield  precedence  to  a  captain  royally 
commissioned.  By  this  scheme,  Wash 
ington  was  to  rank  but  as  the  captain 
of  a  company,  and  was  to  be  the  infe 
rior  of  certain  officers  who  had  been 
under  his  command.  With  due  regard 
to  self-respect,  he  could  not  thus  do  vio 
lence  to  his  sentiments  as  a  man  and  a 
soldier.  He  resigned  his  commission. 

With  a  view  to  prosecute  the  war, 
the  king  soon  after  appointed  Gov 
ernor  SHAEPE,  of  Maryland,  his  com- 
mander-in-chief ;  and  Colonel  FITZ- 
HUGII,  at  General  Sharpe's  instance, 
earnestly  requested  Washington  to  re 
turn  to  the  army.  "  I  am.  confident," 
said  Colonel  Fitzhugh,  "that  the  gen 
eral  has  a  very  great  regard  for  you, 
and  will,  by  every  circumstance  in  his 
power,  make  you  happy.  For  my  part, 
I  shall  be  extremely  fond  of  your  con 
tinuing  in  the  service,  and  would  ad 
vise  you  by  no  means  to  quit  it.  In 
regard  to  the  independent  companies, 
they  will  in  no  shape  interfere  with 
yon,  as  you  will  hold  your  post  during 
their  continuance  here,  and,  when  the 

Vol.  1.— 10 


regiment  is  reduced,  will  have  a  sepa 
rate  duty." 

In  reply  to  this,  Washington  wrote, 
with  great  respect,  but  in  a  tone  of 
deep  emotion  and  in  terms  memorably 
emphatic :  "  You  make  mention,"  said 
he,  "of  my  continuing  in  the  service, 
and  retaining  my  colonel's  commission. 
The  idea  has  filled  me  with  surprise ; 
for,  if  you  think  me  capable  of  holding 
a  commission  that  has  neither  rank  nor 
emolument  annexed  to  it,  you  must  en 
tertain  a  very  contemptible  opinion  of 
my  weakness,  and  believe  me  to  be 
more  empty  than  the  commission  itself. 
Besides,  sir,  if  I  had  time,  I  could  enu 
merate  many  good  reasons  that  for 
bid  all  thoughts  of  my  returning ;  and 
which,  to  you  or  any  other  person, 
would,  upon  the  strictest  scrutiny,  ap 
pear  to  be  well  founded."* 

So  fully  was  he  aware  of  disingenu- 
ousness  and  unfair  dealing,  in  the  con 
cocting  of  the  governor's  extraordinary 
scheme  of  independent  companies,  by 
which  colonial  superior  officers  were  to 
be  set  aside,  regardless  of  the  services 
which  they  had  rendered,  and  of  all 
conventionalities  of  military  life,  that 
he  added,  in  the  same  letter  to  Colonel 
Fitzhugh,  "  The  information  I  have  re 
ceived  shall  not  sleep  in  silence,  that 
those  peremptory  orders  from  home, 
which,  you  say,  could  not  be  dispensed 
with,  for  reducing  the  regiment  into  in 
dependent  companies,  were  generated 
and  liatclied  at  Wills  Creelc.  Ingenuous 

0  Letter   to   Colonel  WILLIAM   FITZIICGII,   November 
15th,  1754. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II 


treatment  and  plain  dealing  I  at  least 
expected."* 

The  step  which  Washington  took  in 
resigning  his  commission,  is  by  no  means 
to  be  regarded  as  an  impulse  of  extreme 
sensitiveness,  or  of  wounded  pride.  In 
the  measure  adopted  by  the  governor, 
there  was  involved  a  principle,  which 
could  not  be  practically  sanctioned  by 
the  colonies,  without  a  dereliction  of 
self-respect,  as  well  as  a  humiliating  in 
difference  to  the  claims  of  common  jus 
tice  and  of  honor. 

Washington's  suspicion  of  unfairness 
was  also  the  more  manifest,  as  the  king's 
order  did  not  arrive  until  the  following 
spring.  But  the  language  of  this  order 
exhibited  then,  in  a  stronger  light  than 
ever,  the  odiousness  as  well  as  unrea 
sonableness  of  the  required  humiliation. 
"All  troops,"  says  the  order,  "serving 
by  commission  signed  by  us,  or  by  our 
general  commanding  in  chief  in  North 
America,  shall  take  rank  before  all 
troops  which  may  serve  by  commission 
from  any  of  the  governors,  lieutenant 
or  deputy  governors,  or  president  for 
the  time  being.  And  it  is  our  further 
pleasure,  that  the  general  and  field  offi 
cers  of  the  provincial  troops  shall  have 

0  The  "  peremptory  orders  from  home"  were  a  fiction, 
as  was  afterwards  proved. 


no  rank  with  the  general  and  field  offi 
cers  who  serve  by  commission  from  us , 
but  that  all  captains  and  other  inferior 
officers  of  our  forces,  who  are  or  may 
be  employed  in  North  America,  are, 
on  all  detachments,  courts-martial,  and 
other  duty,  wherein  they  may  be  joined 
with  officers  serving  by  commission  from 
the  governors,  lieutenant  or  deputy  gov 
ernors,  or  president  for  the  time  being, 
of  the  said  provinces,  to  command  and 
take  post  of  the  said  provincial  officers 
of  the  like  rank,  though  the  commis 
sions  of  the  said  provincial  officers  of 
like  rank  should  be  of  elder  date."f 

The  natural  consequence  of  such  an 
expression  of  royal  authority  was,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  the  aliena 
tion  of  many  a  good  and  true  colonist's 
loyal  feeling.  And  in  the  American 
heart  there  was  thus  fostered,  more  and 
more,  by  innumerable  temptations  to 
jealousy,  and  provocations  to  an  indig 
nant  sense  of  injustice  and  wrong,  that 
deep,  prevailing,  and  powerful  emotion, 
which  eventually  drove  the  colonies, 
"appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of 
the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  their  in 
tentions,"  to  assert  their  rights,  and  de 
clare  their  national  independence. 


f  Order  of  the  kinj 
12th,  1754. 


dated   St.  James's,   Novembei 


CHAPTER    IY. 


1754,  1755. 

DEFENCE      OF      THE      COLONIES. 

The  Albany  Convention. — Presents  to  the  Six  Nations.— Speech  on  the  occasion  by  Hendrick. — Plan  of  a  Union  of 
the  Colonies. — Franklin's  Plan. — Biographical  Notice  of  him. — Account  of  the  Plan  proposed  by  him. — The 
Plan  disapproved  of.  in  America  and  in  England. — Reasons  assigned  for  this  disapproval. — New  Scheme. — Taxa 
tion  of  the  Colonies. — Historical  coincidences. — Franklin's  Scheme  for  founding  Western  Colonies. — His  predic 
tion  of  the  growth  and  population  of  the  Ohio  valley. — The  policy  of  Great  Britain  in  not  favoring  this  Scheme. 
— Vigorous  measures  against  the  French  proposed. — French  opposition  to  settlements  on  the  Ohio  by  the  Ohio 
Company. — The  French  seize  British  traders. — The  Twightwees  seize  French  traders. — Energetic  action  of  the 
British  government. — Admiral  Boscawen,  Sir  Edward  Hawke.  Admiral  Holborne,  and  Admiral  Byng. — Destruc 
tion  of  the  French  West  India  trade,  and  capture  of  French  merchantmen  and  seamen. — Hostilities  on  the 
American  lakes. • — Massacres  by  savages. — The  Duke  of  Cumberland's  arrangements  for  a  Campaign  in  America. 
— Appointment  of  Braddock  as  commander-in-chief. — His  army  and  officers. — His  arrival  in  Virginia. — General 
confidence  in  the  success  of  his  Expedition. 


June  19, 
1754. 


THE  same  year  that  Washington  was 
occupied  at  the  Great  Meadows  resist 
ing  French  encroachments,  there  was 
held,  at  Albany,  a  convention  of  com 
missioners,  convened  by  order 
of  the  British  Board  of  Trade, 
with  a  view  to  conciliate  and 
secure  as  allies  of  Great  Britain,  the 
most  powerful  of  the  Indian  tribes,  the 
Six  NATIONS. 

These  were  New  York  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  consisted  of  the  Senecas, 
Mohawks,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  Cayu- 
gas,  and  Tuscaroras,  all  of  whom  spoke 
the  same  language.  An  ancient  con 
federacy  of  the  first  five  tribes  was 
formed  about  the  middle  of  the  six 
teenth  century ;  and  the  Tuscaroras, 
driven  from  North  Carolina  in  1714, 
joined,  at  that  period,  their  Iroquois 


brothers  in  New  York.  These  six  kin 
dred  nations,  thus  leagued,  were  very 
formidable.  And  as  they  were  impla 
cable  enemies  of  the  Algonquin  allies 
of  the  French,  it  was  now  deemed  im 
portant  to  secure  their  friendship  and 
co-operation  on  the  eve  of  another  war 
with  France.  It  was  accordingly  pro 
posed  to  make  presents  to  them,  and 
effect  the  renewal  of  an  existing  treaty. 
The  colonies  represented  in  the  con 
vention  were  those  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecti 
cut,  New  York,  and  Maryland.  The 
lieutenant-governor  of  Virginia  did  not 
deem  it  advisable  to  send  delegates, 
preferring  to  take  an  independent, 
and,  as  he  thought,  more  expeditious 
course ;  and  indulging  the  thought, 
that  he  could  eifect,  in  his  own  way 


70 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


"  a  peace  between  the  northern  and 
southern  Indians,  and  a  strict  alliance 
between  them  and  all  British  subjects 
on  the  continent."  It  was  the  vain  and 
illusive  hope  of  a  mind  imwisely  san 
guine. 

The  delegates,  as  was  proposed,  held 
conferences  with  the  Indians,  and  dis 
tributed  among  them  the  numerous  and 
gaudy  presents  wrhich  the  several  colo 
nies  provided.  But  they  received,  from 
the  eloquent  lips  of  the  Mohawk  sa 
chem,  HENDRICK,  a  cutting  rebuke  for 
the  prevailing  neglect  of  warlike  de 
fences.  "  It  is  your  fault,  brethren," 
said  he,  "  that  we  are  not  strengthened 
by  conquest.  We  would  have  gone 
and  taken  Crown  Point,  but  you  hin 
dered  us.  We  had  concluded  to  go 
and  take  it,  but  we  were  told  that  it 
was  too  late,  and  that  the  ice  would 
not  bear  us.  Instead  of  this,  you  burnt 
your  own  fort  at  Saratoga,  and  ran 
away  from  it,  which  was  a  shame  and 
a  scandal.  Look  around  your  country 
and  see :  you  have  no  fortifications 
about  you, — no,  not  even  to  this  city. 
It  is  but  one  step  from  Canada  hither, 
and  the  French  may  easily  come  and 
turn  you  out  of  your  doors.  You  are 
desirous  that  wre  should  open  our  minds 
and  our  liearts  to  you.  Look  at  the 
French !  They  are  men  /  they  are 
fortifying  everywhere.  But, — we  are 
ashamed  to  say  it, — you  are  like  wo 
men  ;  bare  and  open,  without  any  for 
tifications." 

The  subject  of  devising  a  plan  of  co 
lonial  union  and  confederation,  for  se 


curity  and  defence,  was  submitted  to 
the  convention.  The  delegates  unani 
mously  agreed,  that  such  a  measure  was 
"  absolutely  necessary  ;"  and  a  commit 
tee  was  appointed,  to  receive  proposed 
schemes  and  to  digest  a  plan. 

A  distinguished  pre-eminence  in  the 
convention  was  now  won  by  a  delegate 
from  Pennsylvania,  BENJAMIN  FRANK- 
LIN,  the  committee  having  selected  and 
approved  the  plan*  which  he  devised, 
and  having  recommended  its  adoption. 

The  whole  number  of  delegates  ap 
pointed  was  twenty-five,  every  one  ot 
whom  was  in  atteudance.f  And  there 
were  among  them  a  number  of  the 
master-spirits  of  the  times, — men  who 
subsequently  exerted  a  memorable  in 
fluence  in  the  direction  of  political  af 
fairs.  But,  among  them  all,  there  was 
not  one  other,  around  whom  clustered 
destinies  so  remarkable  as  those  which 
awaited  the  career  of  Franklin.  With 
his  manly  presence,  his  large  frame,  his 
ample  forehead,  and  his  expressive  coun 
tenance,  mingling  blandness  with  firm 
ness,  his  eye  sparkling  with  intelligence 
and  his  lip  curved  with  good-nature,  he 

°  The  Plan  is  inserted  in  full,  at  the  end  of  this  chap 
ter.  See  [A]. 

f  The  delegates  were  :  Theodore  Atkinson,  Richard 
Wibird,  Mcshech  Weave,  and  Henry  Shcrlnirne,  of  New 
Hampshire  ;  Samuel  Welles,  John  Chandler,  Thomas 
Hutchinson,  Oliver  Partridge,  and  John  Worthington, 
of  Massachusetts ;  William  Pitkin,  Roger  Wolcott,  and 
Elisha  Williams,  of  Connecticut ;  Stephen  Hopkins,  and 
Martin  Howard,  of  Rhode  Island  ;  James  Delancey,  Jo 
seph  Muvray,  William  Johnson,  John  Chambers,  and 
William  Smith,  of  New  York  ;  John  Perm,  Richard  Pe 
ters,  Isaac  Norris,  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  Benjamin  Tasker,  and  Ahraham  Barnes,  of  Mary 
land. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


DEFENCE  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


ever  was  a  conspicuous  object  of  attrac 
tion  and  kind  interest. 

And  his  personal  history  possessed  a 
charm,  from  its  pleasing  illustration  of 
the  true  secret  of  success  in  life. 

He  had  risen  from  poverty  and  ob 
scurity  in  his  native  city  of  Boston,  to 
great  prominence  among  the  politicians 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  literary  and 
scientific  men  of  his  time.  And  he  had 
accomplished  this  by  dint  of  his  extra 
ordinary  force  of  character.  His  fore 
fathers  were  Englishmen,  mechanics, 
residing  in  the  village  of  Ecton,  North 
amptonshire.  All  his  brothers  were 
put  to  trades  in  Boston.  His  father,  a 
man  of  strong  mind  and  solid  judgment, 
who  migrated  to  America  in  the  year 
1685,  was  a  tallow-chandler  and  soap 
boiler  ;  and  Benjamin,  the  youngest  of 
his  sons,  was  employed  in  cutting  candle- 
wicks,  filling  moulds,  attending  shop, 
and  going  on  errands.  But  the  boy's 
active  mind  could  not  long  brook 
drudgery  like  this.  He  was  appren 
ticed  to  his  brother  James,  a  printer. 
He  now  began  to  indulge  his  passion 
for  literature.  He  wrote  ballads  and 
songs,  which  his  brother  printed,  and 
which  he  was  sent  about  the  town  to 
sell. 

To  a  newspaper,  published  by  his 
brother,  and  called  The  New  England 
Courant,  Benjamin  secretly  contributed 
articles  which  were  well  received.  As 
an  author,  and  very  soon  himself  a 
printer  and  editor,  he  now  rose  rapid 
ly  in  favor  with  the  public. 

He  removed   to    Philadelphia.      By 


industry,  thrift,  and  stern  integrity  of 
character  he  accumulated  property. 
He  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  estab 
lishment  of  literary,  scientific,  and  be 
nevolent  institutions,  and  in  providing 
a  system  of  military  discipline  for  Penn 
sylvania.  He  made  important  discov 
eries  in  science,  especially  in  relation  to 
electricity  and  lightning,  and  attracted 
the  attention  of  European  savans. 

He  was  chosen  clerk  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appoint 
ed  postmaster  of  Philadelphia,  and  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  provincial  leg 
islature.  He  now  gave  his  thoughts 
more  and  more  to  public  affairs.  In 
the  year  1753,  he  was  appointed  post 
master-general  of  America  ;  and,  the 
next  year,  he  was  one  of  the  delegates 
from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Albany  con 
vention,  where  we  now  find  him  with 
his  plan  of  a  colonial  union. 

He  was  not  a  novice  as  a  politician 
and  legislator.  The  vital  importance 
of  a  union  of  the  colonies,  he  had  al 
ready  urged  in  a  spirited  article  pub 
lished  in  his  paper,  the  Pennsylvania 
Gazette.  To  this  article  he  appended, 
in  his  favorite  style  of  speaking  by  sym 
bols,  a  wood-cut  which  became  a  very 
popular  device  in  the  Revolutionary 
war, — representing  a  snake  in  separate 
parts,  the  parts  designated  by  the  ini 
tial  letters  of  the  names  of  the  respec 
tive  colonies,  with  a  motto  in  large  cap 
itals,  "jora  OR  DIE." 

The  plan  proposed  a  general  govern 
ment,  to  be  administered  by  a  gover 
nor-general  appointed  and  supported 


78 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  n. 


by  the  king ;  and  a  council,  chosen  by 
the  colonial  Assemblies,  for  ordering 
all  Indian  treaties,  and  for  the  defence, 
support,  increase,  and  extension  of  the 
colonies, — the  plan  to  receive  the  sanc 
tion  of  an  act  of  parliament.  "  The 
colonies  so  united,"  he  justly  remarks, 
"  would  have  been  sufficiently  strong 
to  defend  themselves.  There  would 
then  have  been  no  need  of  troops  from 
England ;  of  course,  the  subsequent  pre 
text  for  taxing  America,  and  the  bloody 
contest  it  occasioned,  would  have  been 
avoided.  But  such  mistakes  are  not 
new ;  history  is  full  of  the  errors  of 
states  and  princes. 

'  Look  round  the  habitable  world,  how  few 
Know  their  own  good,  or,  knowing  it,  pursue.'"* 

Franklin's  plan,  with  a  few  modifica 
tions,  was  adopted  by  the  convention ; 
and  there  were  appended  to  it  reasons 
and  motives  for  each  article.  But,  on 
its  being  submitted  to  the  Assemblies, 
it  was  rejected  by  them  all  on  the 
ground  of  its  savoring  too  much  of 
royal  prerogative.  And  when  it  was 
received  in  England  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  they  thought,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  it  was  quite  too  deeply  tinctured 
with  popular  privilege.  It  was,  there 
fore,  not  even  submitted  to  the  notice 
of  the  king. 

The  proposal,  that  the  united  colo 
nies  should  be  their  own  defenders, 
without  the  aid  of  the  mother  country, 
was  viewed  with  suspicion  and  jealousy. 

°  FRANKLIN'S  Autobiography,  in  his  Works,  vol.  i.  ch.  x. 
p.  178. 


They  would  thus  be  led,  it  was  sup 
posed,  to  indulge,  unduly,  feelings  of 
self-importance  and  of  confidence  in 
their  own  strength,  and  perhaps,  as 
was  apprehended,  grow  quite  too  mili 
tary. 

There  was  devised,  therefore,  a  new 
mode  of  accomplishing  the  various  ob 
jects  had  in  view.  This  was,  a  recourse 
to  occasional  meetings  of  the  governors, 

O  O 

attended  by  one  or  two  members  of 
their  respective  councils, — to  concert 
measures,  erect  forts,  and  raise  troops, 
—and  to  be  supplied  with  means  de 
rived  from  a  tax  on  the  colonies  ly  act 
of  parliament. 

Thus  the  cardinal  principle  on  which 
turned  the  destiny  of  a  mighty  empire 
in  the  new  world,  was  distinctly  set 
forth  at  that  time.  But,  from  its  first 
promulgation  to  the  period  of  our  na 
tional  independence,  the  voice  of  the 
people  loudly  and  perseveringly  con 
demned  it,  refusing  to  submit  to  any 
measure  whatever,  by  which  their  lib 
erties  would  be  impaired  by  TAXATION 

WITHOUT   REPRESENTATION. 

It  is  a  coincidence  worthy  of  being 
noted,  that  not  only  the  same  year,  but 
the  same  month,  that  dates  WASHING 
TON'S  engagement  in  his  first  important 
military  operations,  by  which  he  was 
prepared  for  the  part  he  was  to  take 
in  our  war  of  the  Revolution,  FRANK 
LIN  was  busied  with  his  plan,  which 
was  the  embryo  of  our  national  con 
federation  and  our  union  of  States.  It 
was  on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1754, 
that  Washington  surrendered  Fort  Ne- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


DEFENCE  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


cessity,  and  that  Franklin's  plan  was 
considered ;  and  on  the  fourth  day  of 
July,  1776,  after  an  interval  of  just 
twenty-two  years,  Washington  was  at 
the  head  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  Franklin  was 
signing  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independence ! 

Franklin  was  twenty-six  years  older 
than  Washington,  being  born  January 
6th,  1706,  Old  Style ;  and,  at  the  time 
of  the  Albany  convention,  he  was  at 
the  age  of  forty-eight. 

Another  scheme  proposed  by  him, 
the  same  year,  with  a  view  to  the  secu 
rity  and  defence  of  the  colonies  on  the 
Atlantic  border,  was  the  proposal  to 
found  two  strong  western  colonies. 

With  his  sagacious  mind,  he  foresaw 
and  confidently  predicted  what  would 
inevitably  result  from  the  occupation 
of  the  region  which  the  western  colo 
nies  were  to  occupy.  "  The  great  coun 
try,"  said  he,  "  back  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains,  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio, 
and  between  that  river  and  the  lakes, 
is  now  well  known,  both  to  the  English 
and  French,  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in 
North  America,  for  the  extreme  rich 
ness  and  fertility  of  the  land ;  the 
healthy  temperature  of  the  air,  and 
mildness  of  the  climate  ;  the  plenty  of 
hunting,  fishing,  and  fowling ;  the  fa 
cility  of  trade  with  the  Indians ;  and 
the  vast  convenience  of  inland  naviga 
tion  or  water-carriage  by  the  lakes  and 
great  rivers,  many  hundred  leagues 
around. 

"  From,  these  natural  advantages  it 


must  undoubtedly, — perhaps  in  less 
than  another  century, — become  a  popu 
lous  and  powerful  dominion ;  and  a 
great  accession  of  power  either  to  Eng 
land  or  France."* 

It  was  his  scheme,  therefore,  to  an 
ticipate,  frustrate,  and  effectually  con 
trol  the  ambitious  purposes  of  the 
French  government,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  secure  the  friendship  and  trade 
of  all  the  neighboring  powerful  Indian 
tribes. 

It  was  a  noble  scheme.  But  the 
policy  of  Great  Britain,  dictated  by  an 
undue  regard  to  the  interests  of  trade 
and  commerce,  was,  to  occupy  the  At 
lantic  coast,  and  not  the  interior  of  the 
country ;  and  the  suspicion  and  jealousy 
which  frowned  upon  the  Albany  plan 
of  union,  assumed  a  more  decided  ex 
pression  against  inland  settlements. 

The  British  government  concluded 
to  take  into  its  own  hands  the  work 
of  repelling  and  chastising  French  in 
truders  ;  and  to  accomplish  this,  neither 
by  a  colonial  union,  nor  by  inland  set 
tlements.  It  resolved,  however,  to 
adopt  prompt  and  vigorous  measures 
for  maintaining  its  claim  to  the  Ohio 
lands.  The  French,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  just  as  resolute  in  asserting  prior 
claims.  The  settlement  on  the  Ohio 
being  calculated,  as  they  thought,  to 
despoil  them  of  the  harvest  of  their  In 
dian  trade,  to  break  the  chain  of  their 
communication  between  Canada  and 

0  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  70. — His  Plan  for  set 
tling  two  western  colonies,  with  reasons  for  the  plan,  is 
appended  to  this  chapter.  See  [B] . 


80 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


Louisiana,  and  to  nip  the  flattering 
promise  of  their  ambitious  projects,  the 
governor  of  Canada  had  written  to  the 
governors  of  New  York  and  Pennsyl 
vania,  threatening  to  seize  all  British 
subjects  who  encroached  upon  the  In 
dian  trade. 

In  the  year  1753,  the  French  seized 
certain  British  traders  found  among  the 
Miamis  and  Piankeshaws,  or,  as  they 
were  called  by  the  English,  Twight- 
wees.  Upon  this,  the  Twightwees,  al 
lies  of  Great  Britain,  seized  several 
French  traders,  and  sent  them  to  Penn 
sylvania  as  reprisals ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  they  expressed  great  dissatisfac 
tion  at  the  Ohio  Company's  uncere 
monious  settlement  among  them,  with 
out  permission,  and  upon  lauds  not 
purchased.  The  exclusive  right,  also, 
which  the  Company  claimed,  excited 
the  jealousy  and  caused  the  opposition 
of  private  traders,  who  were  not  inac 
tive  in  fanning  the  flame  of  dissatisfac 
tion  which  had  already  been  kindled 
among  the  Indian  tribes. 

An  impending  conflict  with  France, 
a  threatened  rupture  with  the  Twight 
wees,  the  claims  of  the  Ohio  Company, 
and  the  rights  of  Indian  trade,  were 
subjects  which  demanded  the  imme 
diate  attention  of  the  governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  whose  jurisdiction  then  extended 
to  the  Ohio  and  the  Twightwee  country. 

The  proceedings  of  the  French,  in 
dispossessing  Captain  Trent  of  his  post 
at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio,  and  them 
selves  building  a  fort  there,  and  in 
compelling  Colonel  "Washington  to  sur 


render  Fort  Necessity,  greatly  added 
to  the  excitement  which  the  subject 
created  in  the  mother  country. 

The  government  voted  a  million  of 
pounds  sterling  for  the  defence  of  the 
American  colonies.  Admiral  BOSCA- 
WEIST  sailed  with  a  fleet  to  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland.  Sir 
EDWARD  HAWKE,  Admiral  HOLBORNE, 
and  Admiral  BYISTG  also  took  the  sea 
with  three  squadrons.  And  British 
cruisers  and  privateers  made  fearful 
havoc  with  the  French  West  India 
trade.  During  the  year,  three  hun 
dred  French  merchant  ships  and  eight 
thousand  French  seamen  were  cap 
tured.  On  the  American  lakes,  also, 
and  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and 

o 

Pennsylvania,  there  was  waged  a  des 
ultory  but  fearfully  afflictive  warfare, 
accompanied  with  all  the  atrocity  of 
savage  massacres. 

The  arrangements  for  a  campaign 
against  the  French  in  America  were 
committed  to  Prince  WILLIAM  AUGUS 
TUS,  duke  of  Cumberland,  surviving 
son  of  the  king,  and  at  that  time  chief 
manager  of  British  military  operations. 
Holding  a  commission  in  the  Guards, 
and  being  well  acquainted  with  their 
thorough  discipline,  he  chose,  as  the 
major-general  for  the  proposed  expedi 
tion,  an  officer  for  forty  years  connected 
with  them,  and  celebrated  as  a  disci 
plinarian  and  tactician.  The  duke, 
stern,  harsh,  and  tyrannous,  was  the  ob 
ject  of  general  fear  and  hatred.  But 
Iscipline  was  his  boast, — uncompro- 
minny  discipline. 


CHAP.  IV.J 


DEFENCE  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


81 


lie  found  an  officer  after  his  own 
heart,  in  Major-general  EDWARD  BEAD- 
DOCK,  who  had  served  under  him  in 
Scotland,  in  his  expedition  against  the 
Pretender,  Charles  Edward,  in  1746. 
Braddock  was  accordingly  appointed 
commander-in-chief  of  his  majesty's 
forces  in  America.  The  duke  then 
conveyed  to  him  a  set  of  instructions 
on  the  conduct  of  his  expedition,  and 
repeatedly  cautioned  him,  orally  and 
in  writing,  to  beware  of  an  ambuscade. 

Flushed  with  the  hope  of  making 
short  work  with  the  French  and  their 
savage  allies,  General  Braddock  sailed 
from  Cork,  in  Ireland,  on  the  four 
teenth  day  of  January,  with 
two  regiments  of  foot,  consist 
ing  each  of  five  hundred  British  regu 
lars,  under  Colonel  DUNBAR  and  Colo 
nel  Sir  PETER  HALKET,  officers  of  high 
repute  for  ability  and  experience. 

VOL.  I.-ll 


1755. 


Before  the  end  of  February  Brad- 
dock    reached   Virginia ;     and, 
soon  after,  the  transports  which  I  c*'  *°* 

1  755* 

carried   the   troops   arrived   at 
Alexandria. 

Never  before  had  such  an  army  been 
seen  in  the  colonies.  Their  appearance 
and  movements, — the  perfection  of  mili 
tary  discipline, — created  universal  ad 
miration,  and  inspired  very  great  confi 
dence  in  the  triumphant  issue  of  the 
expedition.  All  colonial  jealousies  and 
sectional  disagreements  were  merged  in 
the  general  and  heart-cheering  senti 
ment,  that  the  long-subsisting  and  vex 
atious  altercations  with  the  French  and 
their  savage  allies  were  about  to  be  ef 
fectually  terminated,  to  the  future  peace 
and  comfort  of  his  majesty's  loyal  sub 
jects  in  America,  So  great  was  the 
confidence  reposed  in  the  skill  and 
prowess  of  British  regulars. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  IY. 


[A.] 

FRANKLIN'S  SHORT  HINTS  FOR  UNITING  THE 
NORTHERN  COLONIES. 

A  Governor-general. 

To  be  appointed  by  the  king. 

To  be  a  military  man. 

To  have  a  salary  from  the  crown. 

To  have  a  negation  on  all  acts  of  the  grand 
council,  and  carry  into  execution  whatever  is 
agreed  on  by  him  and  that  council. 

Grand  Council. 

One  member  to  be  chosen  by  the  Assem 
bly  of  each  of  the  smaller  colonies,  and  two 
or  more  by  each  of  the  larger,  in  proportion 
to  the  sums  they  pay  yearly  into  the  general 
treasury. 

Members'  Pay. 

shillings  per  diem,  during  their  sitting, 

and  mileage  for  travelling  expenses. 

Place  and  Time  of  Meeting. 

To  meet times  a  year  at  the  capital  of 

each  colony  in  course,  unless  particular  circum 
stances  and  emergencies  require  more  frequent 
meetings  and  alteration  in  the  course  of  places. 
The  governor-general  to  judge  of  those  circum 
stances,  etc.,  and  call  by  his  writs. 

General  Treasury. 

Its  fund,  an  excise  on  strong  liquors,  pretty 
equally  drunk  in  the  colonies,  or  duty  on  liquor 

imported,  or shillings  on  each  license  of  a 

public  house,  or  excise  on  supei-fluities,  as  tea, 
etc.,  etc.  Ah1  which  would  pay  in  some  propor 
tion  to  the  present  wealth  of  each  colony,  and 


increase  as  that  wealth  increases,  and  prevent 
disputes  about  the  inequality  of  quotas.  To  be 
collected  in  each  colony  and  lodged  in  their 
treasury,  to  be  ready  for  the  payment  of  orders 
issuing  from  the  governor-general  and  grand 
council  jointly. 

Duty  and  power  of  the  Governor-general  and 
Grand  Council. 

To  order  all  Indian  treaties.  Make  all  Indian 
purchases  not  within  proprietary  grants.  Make 
and  support  new  settlements  by  building  forts, 
raising  and  paying  soldiers  to  garrison  forts,  de 
fend  the  frontiers,  and  annoy  the  enemy.  Equip 
guard-vessels  to  scour  the  coasts  from  privateers 
in  time  of  war,  and  protect  the  trade,  and  every 
thing  that  shall  be  found  necessary  for  the  de 
fence  and  support  of  the  colonies  in  general,  and 
increasing  and  extending  their  settlements,  etc. 

For  the  expense  they  may  draw  on  the  fund 
in  the  treasury  of  any  colony. 

Manner  of  forming  this  Union. 

The  scheme,  being  first  well  considered,  cor 
rected,  and  improved  by  the  commissioners  at 
Albany,  to  be  sent  home,  and  an  act  of  parlia 
ment  obtained  for  establishing  it. 


[B.] 

FRANKLIN'S  PLAN  FOR  SETTLING  TWO  WEST 
ERN  COLONIES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA,  WITH 
REASONS  FOR  THE  PLAN. 

The  great  country  back  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains,  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  and  be 
tween  that  river  and  the  lakes,  is  now  well 
known,  both  to  the  English  and  French,  to  be 
one  of  the  finest  in  North  America,  for  the  ex- 


CHAP.  IV.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


treme  richness  and  fertility  of  the  land  ;  the 
healthy  temperature  of  the  air,  and  mildness  of 
the  climate  ;  the  plenty  of  hunting,  fishing,  and 
fowling  ;  the  facility  of  trade  with  the  Indians  ; 
and  the  vast  convenience  of  inland  navigation 
and  water-carriage  by  the  lakes  and  great  rivers, 
many  hundreds  of  leagues  around. 

From  these  natural  advantages  it  must  un 
doubtedly, — perhaps  in  less  than  another  cen 
tury, — become  a  populous  and  powerful  do 
minion  ;  and  a  great  accession  of  power  either 
to  England  or  France. 

The  French  are  now  making  open  encroach 
ments  on  these  territories,  in  defiance  of  our 
known  rights ;  and,  if  we  longer  delay  to  settle 
that  country,  and  suiFer  them  to  possess  it, 
these  INCONVENIENCES  AND  MISCHIEFS  will  prob 
ably  follow : 

1.  Our  people,  being  confined  to  the  country 
between   the   sea   and    the   mountains,    cannot 
much  more  increase  in  number ;  people  increas 
ing  in  proportion  to  their  room,  and  means  of 
subsistence. 

2.  The  French  will  increase  much  more  by 
that  acquired  room  and  plenty  of  subsistence, 
and  become  a  great  people  behind  us. 

3.  Many  of  our  debtors  and  loose  English 
people,  our  German  servants,  and  slaves,  will 
probably   desert  to   them,   and   increase   their 
numbers   and   strength   to   the    lessening    and 
weakening  of  ours. 

4.  They  will  cut  us  off  from  all  commerce  and 
alliance  with  the  western  Indians,  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  Britain  by  preventing  the  sale  and 
consumption  of  its  manufactures. 

5.  They  will,  both  in  time  of  peace  and  war, 
— as  they  have  always  done  against  New  Eng 
land — set  the  Indians  on  to  harass  our  frontiers, 
kill  and  scalp  our  people,  and  drive  in  the  ad 
vanced  settlers ;  and  so,  in  preventing  our  ob 
taining  more  subsistence  by  cultivating  of  new 
lands,  they  discourage  our  marriages,  and  keep 
our  people  from  increasing  ;   thus, — if  the  ex 
pression  may  be  allowed, — killing  thousands  of 
our  children  before  they  are  born. 

If  two  strong  colonies  of  English  were  settled 
between  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie,  in  the  places 
hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  these  ADVANTAGES 
might  be  expected : 


1.  They  would  be  a  great  security  to  the  fron 
tiers  of  our  other  colonies,  by  preventing  the 
incursions  of  the  French  and   French  Indians 
of  Canada  on  the  back  parts  of  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Virginia,    and   the   Carolinas ;    and 
the   frontiers   of  such  new  colonies  would  be 
much  more  easily  defended,  than  those  of  the 
colonies  last  mentioned  now  can  be,  as  will  ap 
pear  hereafter. 

2.  The  dreaded  junction  of  the  French  settle 
ments  in  Canada  with  those  of  Louisiana  would 
be  prevented. 

3.  In  case  of  a  war,  it  would  be  easy,  from 
those  new  colonies,  to  annoy  Louisiana,  by  go 
ing  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi ;    and  the 
southern  part  of  Canada,  by  sailing  over  the 
lakes,  and  thereby  confine  the  French  within 
narrow  limits. 

4.  We  could  secure  the  friendship  and  trade 
of  the   Miamis   or   Twightwees, — a   numerous 
people  consisting  of  many  tribes,  inhabiting  the 
country  between  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie  and 
the  south  end  of  Lake  Huron  and  the  Ohio, — 
who  are  at  present  dissatisfied  with  the  French, 
and  fond  of  the  English,  and  would  gladly  en 
courage  and  protect  an  infant  English  settle 
ment  in  or  near  their  country,  as  some  of  their 
chiefs  have  declared  to  the  writer  of  this  me 
moir.     Further,  by  means  of  the  lakes,  the  Ohio, 
and  the  Mississippi,  our  trade  might  be  extend 
ed  through  a  vast  country,  among  many  nu 
merous  and  distant  nations,  greatly  to  the  bene 
fit  of  Britain. 

5.  The  settlement  of  all  the  intermediate  lands 
between  the  present  frontiers  of  our  colonies,  on 
one  side,  and  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  on 
the  other,  would  be  facilitated  and  speedily  exe 
cuted,  to  the  great  increase  of  Englishmen,  Eng 
lish  trade,  and  English  power. 

The  grants  to  most  of  the  colonies  are  of  long, 
narrow  slips  of  land,  extending  west  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  South  Sea,  They  are  much  too 
long  for  their  breadth, — the  extremes  at  too 
great  a  distance, — and  therefore  unfit  to  be 
continued  under  their  present  dimensions. 

Several  of  the  old  colonies  may  conveniently 
be  limited  westward  by  the  Alleghany  or  Appa 
lachian  Mountains,  and  new  colonies  formed 
west  of  those  mountains. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  II. 


A  single  old  colony  does  not  seem  strong 
enough  to  extend  itself  otherwise  than  inch  by 
inch.  It  cannot  venture  a  settlement  far  dis 
tant  from  the  main  body,  being  unable  to  sup 
port  it ;  b?;t  if  the  colonies  were  united  under 
a  governor-general  and  grand  council,  agreea 
bly  to  the  Albany  plan,  they  might  easily,  by 
their  joint  force,  establish  one  or  more  new  colo 
nies,  whenever  they  should  judge  it  necessary 
or  advantageous  to  the  interest  of  the  whole. 

But,  if  such  a  union  should  take  place,  it  is 
proposed  that  two  charters  be  granted,  each  for 
some  considerable  part  of  the  lands  west  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Virginia  mountains,  to  a 
number  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  Britain  ; 
with  such  Americans  as  shall  join  them  in  con 
tributing  to  the  settlement  of  those  lands,  either 
by  paying  a  proportion  of  the  expense  of  mak 
ing  such  settlements,  or  by  actually  going 
thither  in  person,  and  settling  themselves  and 
families. 

That  by  such  charters  it  be  granted,  that 
every  actual  settler  be  entitled  to  a  tract  of  — 

acres  for  himself,  and acres  for  every  poll 

in  the  family  he  carries  with  him  ;  and  that 
every  contributor  of  -  -  guineas  be  entitled 
to  a  quantity  of  acres,  equal  to  the  share  of  a 
single  settler,  for  every  such  sum  of  guineas  con 
tributed  and  paid  to  the  colony  treasurer ;  a 

contributor  of shares  to  have  an  additional 

share  gratis  ;  that  settlers  may  likewise  be  con 
tributors,  and  have  right  of  land  in  both  capaci 
ties. 

That  as  many  and  as  great  privileges  and 
powers  of  government  be  granted  to  the  con 
tributors  and  settlers,  as  his  majesty  in  his  wis 
dom  shall  think  most  fit  for  their  benefit  and 
encouragement,  consistent  with  the  general 
good  of  the  British  empire  ;  for,  extraordinary 
privileges  and  liberties,  with  lands  on  easy  terms, 
are  strong  inducements  to  people  to  hazard  their 
persons  and  fortunes  in  settling  new  countries. 
And  such  powers  of  government  as, — though 
suitable  to  their  circumstances,  and  fit  to  be 
trusted  with  an  infant  colony, — might  be  judged 
unfit  when  it  becomes  populous  and  powerful, 
these  might  be  granted  for  a  term  only  ;  as  the 
choice  of  their  own  governor  for  ninety-nine 
years ;  the  support  of  government  in  the  colo 


nies  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island, — which 
now  enjoy  that  and  other  like  privileges, — being 
much  less  expensive  than  in  the  colonies  under 
the  immediate  government  of  the  crown,  and 
the  constitution  more  inviting. 

That  the  first  contributors  of  the  amount  of 
guineas,  be  empowered  to  choose  a  trea 
surer  to  receive  the  contribution. 

That  no  contribution  be  paid,  till  the  sum  of 
—  thousand  guineas  be  subscribed. 

That  the  money  thus  raised  be  applied  to  the 
purchase  of  the  lands  from  the  Six  Nations  and 
other  Indians,  and  of  provisions,  stores,  arms, 
ammunition,  carriages,  etc.,  for  the  settlers,  who, 
after  having  entered  their  names  with  the  trea 
surer,  or  person  by  him  appointed  to  receive 
and  enter  them,  are,  upon  public  notice  given 
for  that  purpose,  to  rendezvous  at  a  place  to  be 
appointed,  and  march  in  a  body  to  the  place 
destined  for  their  settlement,  under  the  charge 
of  the  government  to  be  established  over  them. 
Such  rendezvous  and  march,  however,  not  to  be 
directed  till  the  number  of  names  of  settlers  en 
tered,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  amount  at  least 
to thousand. 

It  is  apprehended,  that  a  great  sum  of  money 
might  be  raised  in  America,  on  such  a  scheme 
as  this  ;  for  there  are  many  who  Avould  be  glad 
of  any  opportunity,  by  advancing  a  small  sum. 
at  present,  to  secure  land  for  their  children, 
which  might  in  a  few  years  become  very  valua 
ble  ;  and  a  great  number,  it  is  thought,  of 
actual  settlers  might  likewise  be  engaged, — 
some  from  each  of  our  present  colonies, — suffi 
cient  to  carry  it  into  full  execution  by  their 
strength  and  numbers  ;  provided  only,  that  the 
crown  would  be  at  the  expense  of  removing  the 
little  forts  the  French  have  erected  in  their  en 
croachments  on  his  majesty's  territories,  and 
supporting  a  strong  one  near  the  Falls  of  Ni 
agara,  with  a  few  small  armed  vessels,  or  half- 
galleys,  to  cruise  on  the  lakes. 

For  the  security  of  this  colony  in  its  infancy, 
a  small  foil  might  be  erected,  and  for  some  time 
maintained,  at  Buffalo  Creek  on  the  Ohio,  above 
the  settlement ;  and  another,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tioga,  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Erie,  Avhere 
a  port  should  be  formed  and  a  town  erected, 
for  the  trade  of  the  lakes.  The  colonists  for 


CHAP.  IV.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


this  settlement  might  march  by  land  through 
Pennsylvania. 

The  river  SCIOTO,  which  runs  into  the  Ohio 
about  two  hundred  miles  belo\v  Lo<>-stown,  is 

O 

supposed  the  fittest  seat  for  the  other  colony  ; 
there  being,  for  forty  miles  on  each  .side  of  it 
and  quite  up  to  its  heads,  a  body  of  all  rich 
land  ;  the  finest  spot  of  its  bigness  in  all  North 
America,  and  has  the  particular  advantage  of 
sea-coal  in  plenty, — even  above  ground  in  two 
places, — for  fuel  Avhen  the  woods  shall  be  de 
stroyed.  This  colony  would  have  the  trade  of 
the  Miamis  or  Twightwees  ;  and  should,  at  first, 
have  a  small  fort  near  Ilochockin,  at  the  head 
of  the  river  ;  and  another  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wabash.  Sandusky,  a  French  fort  near  the 
Lake  Erie,  should  also  be  taken  ;  and  all  the 
little  French  forts  south  and  west  of  the  lakes, 
quite  to  the  Mississippi,  be  removed,  or  taken 
and  garrisoned  by  the  English.  The  colonists 
for  this  settlement  might  assemble  near  the 
heads  of  the  rivers  in  Virginia,  and  inarch  over 
land  to  the  navigable  branches  of  the  Kenhawa, 
where  they  might  embark  with  all  their  bag 
gage  and  provisions,  and  fall  into  the  Ohio  not 
far  above  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto.  Or  they 
might  rendezvous  at  Wills  Creek,  and  go  down 
the  Monongahela  to  the  Ohio. 

The  fort  and  armed  vessels  at  the  strait  of 
Niagara,  would  be  a  vast  security  to  the  fron 
tiers  of  these  new  colonies  against  any  attempts 
of  the  French  from  Canada.  The  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  "VVabash  would  guard  that  river, 
the  Ohio,  and  the  Catuva  River,  in  case  of  any 
attempt  from  the  French  of  the  Mississippi. 
Every  fort  should  have  a  small  settlement  round 
it,  as  the  fort  would  protect  the  settlers,  and  the 
settlers  defend  the  fort  and  supply  it  with  pro 
visions. 

The  difficulty  of  settling  the  first  English  col 
onies  in  America,  at  so  great  a  distance  from 
England,  must  have  been  vastly  greater  than 
the  settling  these  proposed  new  colonies ;  for  it 
would  be  the  interest  and  advantage  of  all  the 
present  colonies  to  support  these  new  ones,  as 
they  would  cover  their  frontiers  and  prevent 


the  growth  of  the  French  power  behind  or  near 
their  present  settlements  ;  and  the  new  conntrj 
is  nearly  at  equal  distance  from  all  the  old  colo 
nies,  and  could  easily  be  assisted  from  all  oi 
them. 

And  as  there  are  already,  in  all  the  old  colo 
nies,  many  thousands  of  families  that  arc  ready 
to  swarm,  wanting  more  land,  the  richness  and 
advantage  of  the  Ohio  country  would  draw 
most  of  them  thither,  were  there  but  a  tolerable 
prospect  of  a  safe  settlement.  So  that  the  new 
colonies  would  soon  be  full  of  people  ;  and,  from 
the  advantage  of  their  situation,  become  much 
more  terrible  to  the  French  settlements  than 
those  are  now  to  us.  The  gaining  of  the  back 
Indian  trade  from  the  French  by  the  navigation 
of  the  lakes,  etc.,  would  of  itself  greatly  weaken 
our  enemies,  it  being  now  their  principal  sup 
port.  It  seems  highly  probable  that,  in  time, 
they  must  be  subjected  to  the  British  crown,  or 
driven  out  of  the  country. 

Such  settlements  may  better  be  made  now, 
than  fifty  years  hence  ;  because  it  is  easier  to 
settle  ourselves,  and  thereby  prevent  the  French 
from  settling  there,  as  they  seem  now  to  intend, 
than  to  remove  them  when  strongly  settled. 

If  these  settlements  are  postponed,  then  more 
forts  and  stronger,  and  more  numerous  and  ex 
pensive  garrisons  must  be  established,  to  secure 
the  country,  prevent  their  settling,  and  secure 
our  present  frontiers  ;  the  charge  of  which  may 
probably  exceed  the  charge  of  the  proposed  set 
tlements,  and  the  advantages  nothing  near  so 
great. 

The  fort  at  Oswego  should  likewise  be 
strengthened,  and  some  armed  half-galleys  or 
other  small  vessels  kept  there,  to  cruise  on  Lake 
Ontario,  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Pownall  in  his  pa 
per  laid  before  the  commissioners  at  the  Albany 
treaty. 

If  a  fort  was  also  built  at  Tirondequat  on 
Lake  Ontario,  and  a  settlement  made  there  near 
the  lake  side,  where  the  lands  are  said  to  be 
good,  much  better  than  at  Oswego,  the  people 
of  such  settlement  would  help  to  defend  both 
forts  on  any  emergency. 


CHAPTER    Y. 


1754,  1755, 

WASHINGTON  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA. 

His  Military  predilections. — Is  invited  by  General  Braddock  to  become  one  of  his  Aids. — Captain  Orme's  Letter  on 
the  subject. — Meeting  of  the  Colonial  Governors. — Washington  present  at  the  meeting. — His  opinion  of  Gover 
nor  Shirley.— Braddock  at  Fredericktown. — Condition  of  the  Army. — Franklin  A'isits  Braddock. — He  procures  an 
ample  supply  of  wagons  and  horses. — Character  of  Braddock,  in  the  opinion  of  Washington,  of  William  Shirley, 
and  of  Franklin. — Great  delays. — Braddock  consults  Washington. — Washington's  advice.— Council  of  War. — 
Washington's  advice  prevails. — He  is  attacked  with  a  fever,  and  is  compelled  to  tarry  behind  the  advanced  de 
tachment  of  the  Army. — Captain  Morris's  letter  to  him. — Washington  reaches  the  advanced  detachment. — The 
Army  fords  the  Monongahcla. — Washington's  admiration  of  the  scene. — The  advanced  column  of  the  Army 
assailed  by  the  enemy  in  ambush. — The  advanced  column  of  the  British  troops  panic-struck. — Conduct  of  the 
Virginia  troops. — Captain  Orme's  account  of  the  scene.— Washington's  account  of  it. — The  killed  and  wounded. 
— Braddock's  and  Washington's  papers  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands. — Eumor  of  Washington's  death. — Effect  of 
Braddock's  defeat. — Washington's  Reflections  on  the  subject.— His  wonderful  preservation. — Is  visited  by  an 
Indian  chief  and  his  warriors,  with  a  tribute  of  their  veneration. — Washington  orders  wagons  for  the  wounded. 
— The  General  borne  from  the  field. — His  death  and  burial. — Washington  reads  the  Funeral  Service. — Brad- 
dock's  self-confidence  the  chief  cause  of  his  disaster. — Contrecoeur' s  conduct. — M.  Beaujeu  and  his  party.— Their 
unexpected  and  wonderful  triumph.— Character  and  conduct  of  Washington  on  the  occasion. — Anticipations  of 
his  destiny. 


HAVING  resigned  his  commission, 
Washington  was  without  employment 
as  a  military  man.  But  there  was 
slumbering  in  his  bosom  many  a  high 
resolve,  which  needed  only  a  suitable 
occasion  for  its  indulgence.  And  he 
felt,  instinctively,  that  it  was  not  yet 
the  hour  for  his  repose  from  public 
duty.  He  spoke  of  his  "  reluctance  to 
quit  the  service,"  and  said,  "my  incli 
nations  are  strongly  bent  to  arms."* 
Ill  at  ease  in  his  .retirement,  he  was 
ready,  therefore,  to  meet  with  cheer 
fulness  the  summons  which  soon  called 
him  once  more  to  the  camp. 

0  Letter  to  Colonel  FITZHUGH,  November  15th,  1754. 


Not  long  after  Braddock's  arrival  in 
Virginia,  he  sought  out  Washington, 
well  known  to  him  by  fame  ;  he  learn 
ed  the  story  of  his  retirement  from  the 
service ;  he  heartily  commended  his 
spirited  conduct  on  the  occasion  ;  and 
he  invited  him.  to  become  one  of  his 
aids,  retaining  his  rank  as  colonel,  and 
acting  as  a  volunteer.  This  proposi 
tion  fully  met  the  views  and  wishes 
of  Washington.  He  promptly  accept 
ed  Braddock's  invitation ;  and  he  be 
came  a  member  of  the  general's  mili 
tary  family. 

Captain  ROBERT  ORME,  one  of  the 
aids  of  Braddock,  had  written  to  Wash 
ington,  in  these  words : 


CHAP.  V.] 


BATTLE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA. 


87 


WlLLIAMSBURG,  March  2,  1755. 

Sin : — Tlie  general  having  been  in 
formed  that  you  expressed  some  desire 
to  make  the  campaign,  but  that  you 
declined  it  upon  some  disagreeableness 
which  you  thought  might  arise  from 
the  regulations  of  command,  has  order 
ed  me  to  acquaint  you,  that  he  will  be 
very  glad  of  your  company  in  Jiisfami- 
ly,  by  which  all  inconveniences  of  that 
kind  will  be  obviated.  I  shall  think 
myself  very  happy,  to  form  an  acquaint 
ance  with  a  person  so  universally  es 
teemed,  and  shall  use  every  opportuni 
ty  of  assuring  you  how  much  I  am,  sir, 
Your  most  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  ORME,  Aid-de-camp. 

A  few  days  after,  the  general  held  a 
meeting  at  his  headquarters  in  Alexan 
dria,  with  six  of  the  colonial  governors : 
DmwiDDiE,  of  Virginia  ;  DELANCEY,  of 
New  York  ;  SIIARPE,  of  Maryland  ; 
DOBBS,  of  North  Carolina ;  SHIRLEY,  of 
Massachusetts ;  and  MORRIS,  of  Penn 
sylvania.  At  this  meeting  a  plan  for 
concert  in  action  was  devised.  Brad- 
dock  was  to  proceed  against  Fort  Du- 
quesne  ;  Shirley  against  Niagara ;  and 
Sir  William  Johnson  against  Crown 
Point.  The  subjects  discussed  and  the 
arrangements  made,  by  the  commander- 
in-chief  and  the  council  of  governors, 
possessed  a  momentous  interest. 

At  this  meeting  Washington  was,  by 
invitation,  present.  He  was  introduced 
to  the  governors ;  and  they  accorded 
to  him  marked  expressions  of  esteem. 
Referring  to  the  occasion,  he  says  : 


"  I  have  had  the  honor  to  be  intro 
duced  to  several  governors,  and  of  be 
ing  well  received  by  them  ;  especially 
Mr.  SHIRLEY,  whose  character  and  ap 
pearance  have  perfectly  charmed  me 
I  think  his  every  word  and  action  dis 
cover  in  him  the  gentleman  and  po 
litician.  I  heartily  wish  the  same 
unanimity  may  prevail  among  us,  as 
appeared  to  exist  between  him  and  his 
Assembly  when  they,  to  expedite  the 
business  and  to  forward  his  journey 
hither,  sat  till  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock 
every  night."'x" 

Braddock  proceeded  on  his  way  to 
wards  Wills  Creek,  where  the  several 
divisions  of  his  troops,  which  had  pur 
sued  different  routes,  afterwards  united, 
and,  including  the  provincials,  formed 
an  army  of  two  thousand  men. 

Washington,  detained  at  home  fora 
few  days  by  private  duties  there,  over 
took  the  general  at  Fredericktown, 
Maryland,  and  was  now  with  him. 
But  the  army,  to  the  annoyance  and 
vexation  of  Braddock,  was  at  a  stand. 
Contracts  for  provisions,  and  for  horses 
and  baggage-wagons,  were  unfulfilled  ; 

OO     O  O  '  * 

and    to    advance    without    these,   was 
deemed  utterly  impracticable. 

Braddock  was  exasperated.  He  pro 
posed  to  send  an  armed  force  into  the 
counties  of  Lancaster,  York,  and  Cum 
berland,  Pennsylvania,  "to  seize  as 
many  of  the  best  carriages  and  horses 
as  should  be  wanted,  and  to  compel  as 
many  persons  into  the  service  as  would 

o  Letter  to  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX,  April  23d,  1755. 


88 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[IJOOK    II. 


be  necessary  to  drive  and  take  care  o: 
them."      In    this    emergency    suitable 
measures   of   relief   were   devised    by 
Franklin.      "  Our  Assembly,"  says  he, 
"  apprehending,  from  some  information, 
that  the  general  had  received  violent 
prejudices  against  them,  as  averse  to 
the  service,  wished  me  to  wait   upon 
him,   not  as  from  them,   but  as  post 
master-general,  under  the  guise  of  pro 
posing  to  settle  with  him  the  mode  of 
conducting,  with  most  celerity  and  cer 
tainty,  the  dispatches  between  him  and 
the  governors  of  the  several  provinces, 
with  whom  he  must  necessarily  have 
continual  correspondence  ;  and  of  which 
they  proposed  to  pay  the  expense.    My 
son  accompanied  me  on  this  journey. 

"  We  found  the  general  at  Frederick- 
town,  waiting  impatiently  for  the  return 
of  those  he  had  sent  through  the  back 

O 

parts  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  to  col 
lect  wagons.  I  stayed  with  him  several 
days,  dined  with  him  daily,  and  had 
full  opportunities  of  removing  his  prej 
udices  by  the  information  of  what  the 
Assembly  had,  before  his  arrival,  ac 
tually  done,  and  were  still  willing  to 
do,  to  facilitate  operations.  When  I 
was  about  to  depart,  the  returns  of  the 
wagons  to  be  obtained  were  brought 
in,  by  which  it  appeared,  that  they 
amounted  only  to  twenty-five,  and  not 
all  of  these  were  in  serviceable  condi 
tion.  The  general  and  all  the  officers 
were  surprised ;  declared  the  expedi 
tion  was  at  an  end,  being  impossible  ; 
and  exclaimed  against  the  ministers,  for 
ignorantly  sending  them  into  a  country 


destitute  of  the  means  of  conveying 
their  stores  and  baggage,  not  less  than 
a  hundred  and  fifty  wagons  being  ne 
cessary. 

"  I  happened  to  say,  I  thought  it  was 
a  pity  they  had  not  been  landed  in 
Pennsylvania,  as  in  that  country  almost 
every  farmer  had  his  wagon.  The  gen 
eral  eagerly  laid  hold  of  my  words,  and 
said,  'Then  you,  sir,  who  are  a  man  of 
interest  there,  can  probably  procure 
them  for  us ;  and  I  beg  you  to  under 
take  it.'  I  asked  what  terms  were  to 
be  offered  the  owners  of  the  wagons : 

o 

and  I  was  desired  to  put  on  paper  the 
terms  that  appeared  to  me  necessary. 
This  I  did,  and  they  were  agreed  to, 
and  a  commission  and  instructions  were 
prepared  immediately." 

The  energy  and  personal  influence  of 
Franklin  soon  produced  the  most  cheer 
ing  results.     He  published  an  advertise 
ment,  and  an  address  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  counties  of  Lancaster,  York,  and 
Cumberland,    appealing    to   their   self- 
interest  and  to  their  loyalty.     "  I  re 
ceived    from    the    general,"    says    he, 
"about  eight  hundred   pounds,  to  be 
disbursed    in    advance-money    to    the 
wagon   owners ;    but,  that   sum   being 
insufficient,    I    advanced    upwards    of 
two   hundred   pounds   more ;    and,   in 
tivo  weeks,  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
wagons,  with  two  hundred  and   fifty- 
nine  carrying-horses  were  on  their  way 
to  the  camp."     "  The  owners,  however, 
alleging   they  did  not   know    General 
Braddock,  nor  what  dependence  might 
je  had  on  his  promise,  insisted  on  niy 


CHAP.  V.] 


BATTLE  OF  THE  MOXOXGAIIELA. 


89 


bond  for  the  performance,  which  I  ac 
cordingly  gave  them."* 

But  for  the  timely  services  thus  ren 
dered  by  Franklin,  disastrous  conse 
quences  must  inevitably  have  ensued 
from  the  general's  exasperation  and 
rashness. 

He  was  not  devoid  of  noble  senti 
ments  and  generous  impulses ;  but  his 
temper  and  conduct  afforded  ample 
proof,  that  he  was  very  deficient  in 
some  of  the  essential  qualities  upon 
which  depend  the  influence  and  success 
of  a  military  chief. 

Washington  saw  this  ;  and,  in  one  of 
his  letters,f  he  says,  "  The  general,  from 
frequent  breaches  of  contract,  has  lost 
all  patience  ;  and,  for  want  of  that  tem 
per  and  moderation  which  should  be 
used  by  a  man  of  sense  upon  these  oc 
casions,  will,  I  fear,  represent  us  in  a 
light  we  little  deserve  ;  for,  instead  of 
blaming  the  individuals,  as  he  ought, 
he  charges  all  his  disappointments  to 
public  supineness,  and  looks  upon  the 
country,  I  believe,  as  void  of  honor  and 
honesty.  We  have  frequent  disputes 
on  this  head,  which  are  maintained  with 
warmth  on  both  sides,  especially  on  his, 
as  he  is  incapable  of  arguing  without  it, 
or  giving  up  any  point  he  asserts,  be  it 
ever  so  incompatible  with  reason  or 
common  sense." 

WILLIAM  SHIRLEY,  son  of  the  gover 
nor,  was  Braddock's  secretary.  In  a 
letter  to  Governor  Morris,  he  says, 

°  FRANKLIN'S  Autobiography  in  bis  Works,  vol.  i.  ch.  x. 
pp.  182,  183,  187. 

f  Letter  to  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX,  June  7th,  1755. 
VOL.  I.— 12 


"We  have  a  general  most  judiciously 
chosen,  for  being  disqualified  for  the 
service  he  is  employed  in,  in  almost 
every  respect?  % 

He  was  haughty,  self-conceited,  self- 
willed,  imperious,  and  obstinate.  He 
was  also  excessively  severe.  And  he 
greatly  lacked  the  prudence  and  cau 
tion  which,  in  such  a  warfare  as  he  was 
about  to  wage,  were  absolutely  essen 
tial  to  his  success.  In  the  temper  of 
his  patron,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
who  refused  to  accept  the  loyal  offers 
of  the  Scottish  lowland  lords,  before 
the  battle  of  Culloden,  Braddock  now 
spurned  the  thought  of  employing  In 
dian  allies  ;  and,  regardless  of  the  dan 
gers  against  which  he  had  been  cau 
tioned,  he  trusted  implicitly  to  the 
prowess  of  his  brave  troops. 

"  He  was,  I  think,  a  brave  man,"  says 
Franklin,  "  and  might  probably  have 
made  a  figure  as  a  good  officer  in  some 
European  war.  But  he  had  too  much 
self-confidence,  too  high  an  opinion  of 
the  validity  of  regular  troops,  and  too 
mean  a  one  of  both  Americans  and  In 
dians.  George  Croghan,  our  Indian 
interpreter,  joined  him  on  his  march, 
with  one  hundred  of  those  people,  who 
might  have  been  of  great  use  to  his 
army  as  guides  and  scouts,  if  he  had 
treated  them  kindly ;  but  he  slighted 
and  neglected  them,  and  they  gradual 
ly  left  him. 

"  In  conversation  with  him  one  day, 
he  was  giving  me  some  account  of  his 

%  Colonial  Records,  vol.  vi.  p.  405 


90 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


intended  progress.  '  After  taking  Fort 
Duquesne,'  said  lie,  '  I  am  to  proceed  to 
Niagara ;  and,  having  taken  that,  to 
Frontenac,  if  the  season  will  allow  time, 
and  I  suppose  it  will ;  for  Duquesne 
can  hardly  detain  me  above  three  or 
four  days,  and  then  I  see  nothing  that 
can  obstruct  my  march  to  Niagara.' 
Having  before  revolved  in  my  mind 
the  long  line  his  army  must  make,  in 
their  march  by  a  very  narrow  road  to 
be  cut  for  them  through  the  woods  and 
bushes,  and  also  what  I  had  read  of  a 
former  defeat  of  fifteen  hundred  French 
who  invaded  the  Illinois  country,  I  had 
conceived  some  doubts  and  some  fears 
for  the  event  of  the  campaign.  But  I 
ventured  only  to  say,  '  To  be  sure,  sir, 
if  you  arrive  well  before  Duquesne, 
with  these  fine  troops,  so  well  provided 
with  artillery,  the  fort,  though  com 
pletely  fortified  and  assisted  with  a 
strong  garrison,  can  probably  make  but 
a  short  resistance.  The  only  danger 
I  apprehend  of  obstruction  to  your 
march,  is  from  the  ambuscades  of  the 
Indians,  who,  by  constant  practice,  are 
dexterous  in  laying  and  executing  them ; 
and  the  slender  line,  near  four  miles 
long,  which  your  army  must  make,  may 
expose  it  to  be  attacked  by  surprise  in 
its  flanks,  and  to  be  cut  like  a  thread 
into  several  pieces,  which,  from  their 
distance,  cannot  come  up  in  time  to 
support  each  other.' 

"  He  smiled  at  my  ignorance,  and  re 
plied,  '  These  savages  may  indeed  be  a 
formidable  enemy  to  your  raw  Ameri 
can  militia ;  but,  upon  the  king's  regu 


lar  and  disciplined  troops,  sir,  it  is  im 
possible  they  should  make  any  impres 
sion.'"* 

The  army,  provided  with  wagons, 
horses,  and  every  necessary  supply, 
now  moved  on.  But  the  month  of 
June  had  already  arrived.  And 
so  many  and  great  delays  oc- 
curred,  chiefly  from  rough  roads, 
that  the  general  indulged  serious  doubts 
of  the  feasibility  of  reaching  the  French 
fort  before  the  close  of  the  season.  He 
consulted  privately  with  Washington. 
who  advised  him  to  proceed.  "  I  urged 
him,  in  the  warmest  terms  I  was  able," 
says  Washington,  "  to  push  forward,  if 
he  even  did  it  with  a  small  but  chosen 
band,  with  such  artillery  and  light 
stores  as  were  necessary ;  leaving  the 
heavy  artillery,  baggage,  and  the  like, 
with  the  rear  division  of  the  army,  to 
follow  by  slow  and  easy  marches,  which 
they  might  do  safely  while  we  were  ad 
vanced  in  front.  As  one  reason  to  sup 
port  this  opinion,  I  urged,  that,  if  we 
could  credit  our  intelligence,  the  French 
were  weak  at  the  Fork,  at  present,  but 
hourly  expected  reinforcements,  wrhich, 
to  my  certain  knowledge,  could  not  ar 
rive  with  provisions  or  any  supplies 
during  the  continuance  of  the  drought, 
as  the  Buffalo  River,  down  which  was 
their  only  communication  to  Venango, 
must  be  as  dry  as  we  now  found  the 
great  crossing  of  the  Youghiogheny, 
which  may  be  passed  dry-shod. "f 

°  FRANKLIN'S  Autobiography  in  his  Works,  vol.  i.  ch.  x. 
pp.  189,  190. 
f  Letter  to  JOIIN  A.  WASHINGTON,  June  28th,  1755. 


CHAP.  V.] 


BATTLE  OF  THE  MONONGAIIELA. 


91 


Ill  a  council  of  war,  held  on  the  occa 
sion,  the  advice  of  Washington  prevail 
ed.  The  general,  with  twelve  hundred 
men,  carrying  a  small  supply  of  neces 
sary  stores  and  a  few  pieces  of  light  ar 
tillery,  moved  forward ;  and  Colonel 
DUISTBAR,  with  six  hundred  men,  and 
the  heavy  baggage,  followed,  by  slow 
marches. 

Washington  accompanied  the  gen 
eral,  in  the  advanced  corps.  But  when 
four  days  had  passed,  and  the  general, 
with  his  corps,  had  reached  a  spot  but 
nineteen  miles  from  the  Little  Meadows, 
a  painful  incident  occurred,  which  great 
ly  distressed  the  mind  of  Wash- 
„  '  inorton,  yet  served  to  exhibit,  in 

I  T  5 « j  •  *  i/ 

a  strong  light,  his  energy  and 
determination. 

When  the  army  had  advanced  about 
ten  miles  from  Wills  Creek,  he  was 
seized  with  a  violent  fever,  by  which 
he  was  prostrated.  Yet  he  continued 
with  the  army.  Too  feeble  to  ride  on 
horseback,  he  was  carried  in  a  covered 
wagon,  until  his  physician  advised  and 
the  general  required,  that  he  should  not 
continue  with  the  advanced  division. 
To  this  he  yielded  his  reluctant  consent 
on  the  absolute  condition,  that,  before 
the  army's  reaching  the  French  fort,  ar 
rangements  should  be  made  for  his  re 
joining  it.  "  I  had,"  says  he,  "  the  gen 
eral's  word  of  honor,  pledged  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  that  I  should  be 
brought  up,  before  he  arrived  at  Fort 
Duquesne."* 

°  Letter  to  JOHN  A.  WASHINGTON,  June  28th,  1755. 


Attended  by  a  small  guard,  and 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  Colonel  DUR 
BAR  with  the  rear  army,  he  continued 
for  some  days  in  a  state  of  extreme  de 
bility.  Colonel  Dunbar's  division  did 
not  reach  him  for  eight  days.  His  fe 
ver  moderated  at  this  time ;  but  his 
weakness,  as  he  himself  admitted,  was 
"  excessive."f 

One  of  the  general's  aids-de-camp, 
Captain  ROGER  MORRIS,  had  written  to 
him  from  the  great  crossing  of  the 
Youghiogheny,  "I  am  desired  by  the 
general  to  let  you  know,  that  he 
marches  to-morrow  and  next  day,  but 
that  he  shall  halt  at  the  Meadows  two 
or  three  days.  It  is  the  desire  of  every 
individual  in  the  family,  and  the  gen 
eral's  positive  commands  to  you,  not  to 
stir  but  by  the  advice  of  the  person  un 
der  whose  care  you  are,  till  you  are  bet 
ter,  which  we  all  hope  will  be  very 
soon."  On  the  thirtieth  day  of  June, 
he  said,  in  a  letter  to  Captain  ORME, 
one  of  the  general's  aids,  "  As  the  doc 
tor  thinks  it  imprudent  for  me  to  use 
much  exercise  for  two  or  three  days, 
my  movements  will  be  retarded."^  But 
he  husbanded  his  strength  ;  he  took  ad 
vantage  of  every  moment  possible  for 
him  to  proceed ;  when  prevented  by 
rain  from  continuing  with  the  front  of 
Colonel  Dunbar's  detachment,  he  joined 
the  rear  ;  yet  he  moved  onward. 

It  was  with  great  effort  and  with 
pain,  that  he  persevered  in  his  purpose ; 
but  he  at  length  succeeded,  to  his  own 

f  Letter  to  EOBEIIT  ORME,  June  30th,  1755. 
J  Ibid. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  II. 


great  satisfaction,  and  to  the  surprise  of 
the  general,  in  reaching  the  advanced 
detachment,  near  the  junction  of  the 
Youghiogheny  and  Monongahe- 
Jllly  8'  la  rivers,  within  fifteen  miles 

1  Too* 

of  the  French  fort.  "On  the 
eighth  day  of  July,"  says  he,  in  a  mem 
orandum,  "I  rejoined,  in  a  covered 
wa^on,  the  advanced  division  of  the 

O         i 

army,  under  the  immediate  command 
of  the  general.  On  the  ninth,  I  attend 
ed  him,  on  horseback,  though  very  low 
and  weak." 

This,  however,  was  an  eventful  day, 

long  to  be  remembered,  which, 

'   while  it  veiled  others  with  the 

1  755. 

ffloom  of  misfortune  and  calami- 

o 

ty,  shed  around  him  and  his  exploits 
the  brightness  of  a  glorious  halo. 

O  O 

Early  in  the  morning  the  army  ad 
vanced,  in  good  health  and  high  spirits, 
and  in  perfect  military  order,  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  majestic  Monongahe- 
la.  To  reach  the  French  fort  it  was 
necessary,  first,  to  ford  the  river  and 
march  for  some  distance  on  its  south 
bank ;  then,  to  return  to  the  north 
bank  by  fording  the  stream  again. 
This  the  well-disciplined  troops  success 
fully  accomplished.  And  the  manner 
of  their  doing  it  was  so  truly  admira 
ble,  that  Washington,  who  beheld  the 
scene  with  intense  interest,  often  recur 
red  to  it  with  the  deepest  emotion. 

After  crossing  to  the  northern  mar 
gin  of  the  river,  ten  miles  from  the 
fort,  an  advanced  column  of  the  troops 
marched  over  a  plain  and  up  an  ascent 
between  two  ravines.  But  the  remain 


ing  columns  had  scarcely  forded  the 
stream,  when,  on  a  sudden,  heavy  dis 
charges  of  musketry  were  heard  on  the 
front  and  on  the  right  flaiik  of  the  ad 
vanced  party.  The  hostile  forces,  con 
sisting  of  French  troops  and  of  Indians, 
concealed  in  the  ravines  and  behind 
trees,  kept  up  a  destructive  fire,  delib 
erately  singling  out  their  victims,  and 
prostrating  on  the  field,  among  the 
killed  and  wounded,  more  than  half  of 
the  whole  army  which  so  lately  pre 
sented  a  model  of  military  order,  disci 
pline,  and  prowess. 

The  advanced  column,  panic-struck, 
had  retreated  in  dismay,  falling  back 
upon  the  detachment  which  next  fol 
lowed.  The  contagion  of  alarm  here 

O 

seized  the  regular  troops,  who,  for  the 
first  time,  heard  the  Indian  yell  and 
war-whoop,  and  were  standing  in  pla 
toons,  and  receiving  the  deadly  fire  of 
foes  who  were  invisible. 

Of  the  whole  army,  no  part,  except 
ing  only  the  Virginia  troops,  manifested 
the  presence  of  mind  called  for  by  the 
emergency.  They  scattered,  and  be 
took  themselves  to  trees,  from  behind 
which  they  assailed  the  enemy,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Indian  warfare. 

In  an  account  of  the  battle,  given  by 
Captain  OKME,  he  says :  "  The  men  were 
so  extremely  deaf  to  the  exhortation  of 
the  general  and  the  officers,  that  they 
fired  away,  in  the  most  irregular  man 
ner,  all  their  ammunition,  and  then  ran 
off,  leaving  to  the  enemy  the  artillery, 
ammunition,  provision,  and  baggage ; 
nor  could  they  be  persuaded  to  stop  till 


CHAP.  V.] 


BATTLE  OF  THE  MONONGAHELA. 


they  got  as  far  as  Gist's  plantation ;  nor 
there  only  in  part,  many  of  them  pro 
ceeding  as  far  as  Colonel  DUNBAR'S 
party,  who  lay  six  miles  on  this  side. 
The  officers  were  absolutely  sacrificed 
by  their  good  behavior,  advancing 
sometimes  in  bodies,  sometimes  separ 
ately,  hoping  by  such  example  to  engage 
the  soldiers  to  follow  them ;  but  to  no 
purpose.  The  general  had  five  horses 
shot  under  him,  and  at  last  received  a 
wound  through  the  right  arm  into  his 
lungs,  of  which  he  died  on  the  13th 
instant.  Secretary  SHIRLEY  was  shot 
through  the  head ;  Captain  MORRIS, 
wounded.  Colonel  WASHINGTON  had 
two  horses  shot  under  him,  and  his 
clothes  shot  through  in  several  places, 
behaving  the  whole  time  with  the  great 
est  courage  and  resolution.  Sir  PETER 
HALKET  was  killed  upon  the  spot. 
Colonel  BURTON  and  Sir  JOHN  ST. 
CLAIR  were  wounded."* 

Our  "  well-armed  troops,  chiefly  regu 
lars,  were  struck  with  such  a  panic," 
says  Washington,  "that  they  behaved 
with  more  cowardice  than  it  is  possible 
to  conceive.  The  officers  behaved  gal 
lantly  in  order  to  encourage  their  men, 
for  which  they  suffered  greatly,  there 
being  nearly  sixty  killed  and  wounded ; 
a  large  proportion  of  the  number  we 
had."  "  In  despite  of  all  the  efforts  of 
the  officers  to  the  contrary,  they  ran  as 
sheep  pursued  by  dogs,  and  it  was  im 
possible  to  rally  them."  "  The  general 
was  wounded,  of  which  he  died  three 

0  Letter  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  July,  1755. 


days  after.  Sir  PETER  HALKET  was 
killed  in  the  field,  where  died  many 
other  brave  officers.  I  luckily  escaped 
without  a  wound,  though  I  had  four 
bullets  through  my  coat,  and  two  horses 
shot  under  me.  Captains  ORME  and 
MORRIS,  two  of  the  aids-de-camp,  were 
wounded  early  in  the  engagement,  which 
rendered  the  duty  harder  upon  me,  as  I 
was  the  only  person  then  left  to  dis 
tribute  the  general's  orders,  which  I 
was  scarcely  able  to  do,  as  I  was  not 
half  recovered  from  a  violent  illness  that 
had  confined  me  to  my  bed  and  a  wagon 
for  above  ten  days.  I  am  still  in  a  weak 
and  feeble  condition,  which  induces  me 
to  halt  here  two  or  three  days,  in  the 
hope  of  recovering  a  little  strength  to 
enable  me  to  proceed  homeward."f 

The  whole  number  of  British  officers 
was  eighty-six,  twenty-six  of  whom  were 
killed,  and  thirty-seven  wounded.  The 
killed  and  wounded  of  the  British 
army  was  seven  hundred  and  fourteen. 
The  French  had  but  three  officers  killed 
and  four  wounded,  and  about  sixty  sol 
diers  and  Indians  killed  and  wounded. 
Braddock's  official  papers  were  taken  by 
the  enemy,  and  also  Washington's  pri 
vate  journal,  and  his  official  correspond 
ence  during  the  preceding  year's  cam 
paign. 

A  rumor  was  circulated  that  Wash 
ington  was  ainons;  the  slain.  He  heard 

o  o 

of  this  when  on  his  way  homeward,  and 
in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  brothers,  he 
wrote :  "  As  I  have  heard,  since  my  ar- 

f  Letter  to  Mrs.  MARY  WASHINGTON,  July  IGth,  1755. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BooK  II. 


rival  at  this  place,*  a  circumstantial  ac 
count  of  iny  death  and  dying  speech,  I 
take  this  early  opportunity  of  contra 
dicting  the  first,  and  of  assuring  you 
that  I  have  not  as  yet  composed  the  lat 
ter.  But,  by  the  all-powerful  dispensa 
tion  of  Providence,  I  have  been  pro 
tected  beyond  all  human  probability  or 
expectation;  for  I  had  four  bullets 
through  my  coat,  and  two  horses  shot 
under  me,  yet  escaped  unhurt,  although 
death  was  levelling  my  companions  on 
every  side  of  me."f 

The  story  of  Braddock's  ill-fated  ex 
pedition  was  at  first  scarcely  credited. 
The  thought  of  a  possibility  of  his  de 
feat  had  not  been  harbored.  Arrange 
ments  had  actually  been  made  in  Phila 
delphia  for  the  celebration  of  his  antici 
pated  valiant  achievement,  and  money 
had  been  raised  there  by  subscription 
for  bonfires  and  illuminations. 

"Washington's  reflections  on  the  catas 
trophe  inculcate  a  precept  wThich  should 
not  be  forgotten  amid  assurances  of  con 
scious  power,  and  flatteries  of  self-com 
placency.  "It  is  true  we  have  been 
beaten — shamefully  beaten  by  a  hand 
ful  of  men  who  only  intended  to  molest 
and  disturb  our  march.  Victory  was 
their  smallest  expectation.  But  see  the 
wondrous  works  of  Providence  and  the 
uncertainty  of  human  things !  We,  but 
a  few  moments  before,  believed  our 
numbers  almost  equal  to  the  Canadian 
force ;  they  only  expected  to  annoy  us. 
Yet,  contrary  to  all  expectation  and 

0  Fort  Cumberland. 

t  Letter  to  JOHN  A.  WASHINGTON,  July  18th,  1755. 


human  probability,  and  even  to  the  com 
mon  course  of  things,  we  were  totally 
defeated,  and  sustained  the  loss  of  every 
thing."} 

Washington's  wonderful  preservation, 
and  escape  without  a  wound,  amid  so 
many  and  great  dangers,  became,  very 
naturally,  a  general  topic  of  conversa 
tion  throughout  the  colonies. 

The  divine  purpose  in  the  preserva 
tion  of  his  life  was  also  recognized  by 
an  Indian  chief  and  his  warriors,  who 
were  present  at  Monongahela  and  in  the 
battle.  Washington,  having  occasion  to 
explore  some  wrestern  wild  lands  about 
fifteen  years  after  the  time  of  the  battle, 
went  in  company  with  his  friend  Dr. 
Craik,  to  a  spot  near  the  junction  of  the 
Great  Kenhawa  and  Ohio  rivers.  While 
there  he  was  visited  by  a  sachem  and 
his  party,  who  had  heard  of  his  arrival 
in  the  forest,  and  who  came  to  him  with 
a  tribute  of  their  homage. 

O 

The  old  chief  said  that  he  was  present 
at  the  battle,  and  among  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  French ;  that  he  singled 

'  o 

him  out,  and  repeatedly  fired  his  rifle  at 
him;  that  he  ordered  his  young  war 
riors  also  to  make  him  their  only  mark ; 
but  that  on  finding  all  their  bullets 
turned  aside  by  some  invisible  and  in 
scrutable  interposition,  he  was  convinced 
that  the  hero  at  whom  he  had  so  often 
and  so  truly  aimed,  must  be,  for  some 
wise  purpose,  specially  protected  by  the 
Great  Spirit.  He  now  came,  therefore, 
to  testify  his  veneration. 

i  Letter  to  ROBERT  JACKSON,  August  2d,  1765. 


OF  IHB 

. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1755—1757, 

WASHINGTON,    THE    VIRGINIA    COMM  ANDEK-IN-CHIEF. 

Colonel  Dunbar  retreats,  after  General  Braclclock's  defeat,  and  conducts  his  army  to  Philadelphia. — He  refi  ses  to 
protect  the  frontiers. — Invidious  comparisons  between  Virginia  troops  and  Braddock's  veterans. — Dr.  Frar.klin's 
remarks  on  British  regulars. — The  military  spirit  aroused  in  Virginia. — The  House  of  Burgesses  vote  a  liberal 
grant  to  Washington,  and  his  surviving  officers  and  men,  on  their  return  from  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela. — 
They  appoint  him  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Virginia  troops. — Governor  Dinwiddie  commends  him  to  the  notice 
of  the  British  government. — Incursions  of  the  Indians. — A  detachment  of  the  militia  repels  them. — Defects  of  the 
militia  system. — Army  regulations. — Contest  between  roy^  and  provincial  officers. — Captain  Dagworthy's 
claims. — Washington's  visit  to  General  Shirley. — Results  of  his  visit. — Condition  of  the  frontier. — Washington's 
Appeal  in  behalf  of  the  borderers.  His  character  traduced. — His  vindication. — Letters  addressed  to  him  by  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  ;  by  Landon  Carter ;  and  by  Colonel  Fairfax. — The  army  increased. — The 
Assembly's  proposed  line  of  forts. — Peyton  Randolph's  company  of  gentlemen. — Washington  builds  the  proposed 
forts. — His  address  to  Lord  Loudoun. — Meeting  of  the  Governors. — Colonel  Stanwix,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Middle  and  Southern  provinces. — Fort  Cumberland  committed  to  Maryland's  keeping. — Washington's  inter 
course  with  Colonel  Stanwix. — His  illness. — Results  accomplished  by  him. — His  proposed  capture  of  Fort  Du- 
quesne.  » 


THE  deplorable  result  of  Braddock's 
formidable  expedition,  not  only  created 
a  general  and  startling  sensation  through 
out  the  colonies,  but  prompted  new  and 
powerful  emotions  of  self-reliance. 

And  the  subsequent  conduct  of  Col. 
Dunbar,  in  abandoning  the  colonies, 
tended  greatly  to  increase  this  state  of 
feeling.  In  command  of  the  rear  de 
tachment  of  Braddock's  army,  he  was 
forty  miles  from  the  scene  of  action  dur 
ing  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela.  But 
the  retreating  troops  of  the  advanced 
detachment  fell  back  upon  his  party ; 
and,  in  the  consternation  of  their  night, 
they  spread  the  contagion  of  their 
panic. 

To  disappoint  the  French  and  Indians, 

V0j     I.— 18 


should  they  continue  in  pursuit,  the  ar 
tillery  and  all  the  stores  that  could  not  be 
removed,  were  now  destroyed ;  and  the 
colonel  hurried  on  his  march.  He  was, 
at  that  time,  in  command  of  more  than 
a  thousand  men.  The  important  obli 
gation  devolved  upon  him,  to  protect 
the  settlements.  He  received  urgent 
communications  from  the  governors  of 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania, 
requesting  that  detachments  of  his  army 
might  be  posted  on  their  frontiers,  now 
in  a  state  of  great  alarm.  But,  regard 
less  of  their  appeals,  and  adopting  no 
measures  of  resistance  nor  of  defence  in 
behalf  of  the  colom'es,  he  rapidly  pur 
sued  his  march  to  Philadelphia,  to  what 
he  called  his  winter-quarters ;  for  the 


98 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


purpose,  it  would  appear,  rather  of  re 
ceiving  than  of  affording  protection. 

The  complaints  created  by  this  pro 
ceeding  were,  of  course,  loud  and  gen 
eral.  In  the  irritation  which  it  pro 
duced,  the  intrepidity  of  brave  Virginia 
troops  was  insidiously  contrasted  with 
the  cowardly  conduct  of  professed  vet 
erans.  In  some  terse  remarks  on  the 
subject,  Dr.  Franklin  says :  "  This  whole 
transaction  gave  us  Americans  the  first 
suspicion,  that  our  exalted  ideas  of  the 
prowess  of  British  regular  troops  had 
not  been  well  founded."* 

The  news  of  Dunbar's  conduct  was 
received  while  the  Virginia  Assembly 
was  in  session.  And  it  convinced  the 
minds  of  members  of  the  Assembly,  that 
the  time  had  come  for  a  resort  to  vioror- 

O 

ous  measures  of  self-preservation. 

Washington,  still  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  his  fever,  repaired  to  Mount 
Vernon  for  at  least  a  temporary  relief 
from  toil,  and  for  the  recruiting  of  his 
energies.  He  felt,  with  the  whole  com 
munity,  that  an  important  crisis  had  ar 
rived.  The  military  spirit  was  abroad. 
The  sound  of  martial  music,  and  the 
signs  of  warlike  preparations,  were  heard 
and  seen  at  every  step. 

The  House  of  Burgesses  made  a  lib 
eral  appropriation  for  the  public  ser 
vice.  They  voted  to  Colonel  Washing 
ton,  and  to  all  the  surviving  officers  and 
privates  with  him  at  the  Monongahela, 
a  liberal  grant,  in  consideration  of 
"their  gallant  behavior  and  their 

0  Dr.    FRANKLIN'S  Autobiography,  near  the  close  of 
chapter  x.  ;  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  192. 


losses."  They  increased  the  regiment  to 
sixteen  companies ;  and  they  appointed 
Colonel  Washington  to  the  chief  com 
mand,  with  unusual  evidences  of  their 
consideration. 

His  character  and  talents  were  appre 
ciated  more  highly  than  ever.  He  was 
the  favorite  soldier  and  the  military 
master-spirit  of  Virginia.  The  House 
of  Burgesses  authorized  him  to  name  his 
field-officers ;  they  allowed  him  an  aid- 
de-camp  and  secretary;  and  tliev  en- 

*/     '  »/ 

titled  him,  in  his  commission,  "  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  raised, 
or  to  be  raised,  in  the  colony  of  Vir 
ginia." 

Governor  Dinwiddie,  in  one  of  his 
official  communications  to  the  British 
government,  spoke  of  the  Virginia 
colonel  as  "  a  man  of  great  merit  and 
resolution  ;"  and  he  added,  u  I  am  con 
vinced,  had  Braddock  survived,  he  would 
have  recommended  him  to  royal  favor." 
But  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  people 
was  far  more  efficacious  in  promoting 
his  influence,  and  in  forwarding  his  ulti 
mate  purposes,  than  all  that  could  have 
been  derived  from  royal  favor.  It  is  a 
memorable  fact,  that  Washington,  with 

'  O  i 

all  his  acknowledged  merits,  was  never 
favored  with  even  one  testimony  of  ap 
probation  from  the  King  or  the  Min 
istry. 

It  was  but  a  month  after  his  return 
from  the  Monongahela,  that  he  received 
his  new  commission.  But  he  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  his  office  promptly 
and  energetically.  He  visited  all  the 
outposts,  even  to  Fort  Dinwiddie,  and 


CHAP.  VI.] 


VIRGINIA  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


99 


acquired  a  particular  knowledge  of  his 
field  of  labor. 

At  this  time,  an  incursion  of  the  In 
dians  on  the  western  border  of  the  prov 
ince  created  great  alarm.  Their  rav 
ages  were  bloody  and  dreadful ;  and  the 
fears  which  they  created  were  not  less 
desolating  to  many  a  happy  home  on 
the  frontier.  A  detachment  of  the  mi 
litia  was  sent  against  the  invaders  :  a 

O 

prompt  and  severe  infliction  taught  them 
that  their  depredations  and  massacres 
would  meet  with  speedy  vengeance ;  and 
thus  they  were  effectually  restrained,  for 
a  time,  from  the  repetition  of  atrocities. 

The  militia  accomplished  an  impor 
tant  object.  Their  expedition  was  at 
tended,  however,  with  many  and  pain 
ful  evidences  of  a  want  of  military  sub 
ordination  and  control.  In  the  whole 
militia  system,  there  were  imperfections 
and  difficulties,  numerous  and  formida 
ble,  arising  chiefly  from  the  impotence 
of  the  existing  army  regulations. 

As  a  measure  of  supreme  importance, 
the  revision  and  remodelling  of  these 
regulations  now  engaged  the  thoughts 
of  Washington.  lie  made  it  the  con 
stant  theme  of  his  communications  to  the 
governor,  and  the  Assembly ;  he  rallied 
round  it  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
many  influential  men ;  and  he  had,  at 
last,  the  great  satisfaction  of  seeing  it 
regarded  with  the  attention  which  it 

O 

deserved,  and  of  finding  every  desirable 
provision  made  for  a  proper  military 
code. 

But  the  troublous  spirit  of  the  old 
contest  between  royal  and  provincial 


officers  had  not  yet  been  laid.  At  Foil 
Cumberland,  a  royally  commissioned 
officer,  Captain  Dagworthy,  with  a  small 
company  of  Maryland  militia,  refused 
obedience  to  the  Virginia  provincial  com- 
mander-in-chief,  and,  according  to  the 
king's  order  in  the  case  of  royal  and  pro 
vincial  officers,  he  even  claimed  prece 
dency  in  rank.  The  commander  appealed 
to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  but  could  not 
induce  him  to  take  decisive  measures  in 
the  case ;  and  the  governor  of  Mary 
land  actually  sustained  the  claim  of 
Dagworthy.  To  settle  this  annoying 
and  embarrassing  dispute,  Washington, 
at  the  request  of  his  officers,  with  the 
approval  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  and 
with  commendatory  letters  from  him 
repaired  to  Boston,  to  General  Shirley 
who  then  was  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  British  troops  in 

1  Too. 

America.     It  was  now  mid-win 
ter  ;  but,  attended  by  Captain  Mercer 
who  was  his  Aid,  and  by  Captain  Stew 
art,  he  performed  the  journey  of  five 
hundred  miles,  on  horseback. 

General  Shirley's  decision  on  the  sub 
ject  was  ready  and  positive.  He  issued 
an  order,  requiring  Captain  Dagworthy 
to  yield  obedience  to  the  Virginia  com 
mander.  Washington  he  received  in 
the  kindest  manner ;  and  he  acquainted 
him  with  the  details  of  his  plan  of  the 
next  season's  campaign. 

The  journey  to  Boston,  by  way  of 
Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  other 
principal  cities,  little  as  such  results 
could  have  been  anticipated,  or  could  be 
desired  by  sticklers  for  the  superiority 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


of  royal  commissions,  essentially  con 
tributed  to  Washington's  celebrity,  in 
fluence,  and  knowledge  of  affairs.  In 
less  than  two  months"  time,  he  was  again 
engrossed  with  measures  for  repelling 
intrusions  of  the  French,  and  for  stay 
ing  depredations  and  incursions  of  the 
savages,  which  had  become  frequent  and 
veiy  daring. 

They  had  waylaid  and  massacred 
scouting  parties.  They  had  attacked 
forts.  In  a  skirmish,  they  had  routed  a 
party  of  Americans,  and  had  killed  Cap 
tain  Mercer.  They  had  also  slain  other 
military  officers ;  and  they  had  robbed 
and  murdered  occupants  of  villages  and 
plantations,  but  a  few  miles  from  large 
towns,  and  even  within  twenty  miles  of 
the  commander-in-chief's  headquarters 
at  Winchester. 

The  whole  frontier  of  Virginia,  for  the 
distance  of  more  than  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  was  exposed  to  the  en 
croachments  of  the  savages.  And  the 
sufferings  of  the  settlers,  throughout 
that  range  of  border  territory,  were  pe 
culiarly  afflictive  at  this  crisis.  Their 
once  happy  homes  were  now  haunted 
by  continual  apprehensions  of  scenes  of 
blood.  While  at  the  plough,  or  while 
gathering  the  fruits  yielded  by  their 
orchards  or  gardens,  they  were  liable  to 
be  surprised  by  the  demoniac  red-man, 
seen  coming  at  a  distance,  or  discovered 
lurking  behini  trunks  of  trees,  or 
crouching  in  high  grass  and  among  un 
derwood.  The  cheerful  harvest  song  of 
the  borderei  might,  at  any  moment, 
be  interrupted  and  hushed  by  the  In 


dian  whoop  or  yell.  And  the  engaging 
pictures  of  rural  domestic  life,  afforded 
by  the  mother  at  her  spinning-wheel  or 
in  her  household  duties,  her  children  in 
their  gleeful  sports,  and  her  infant  in  the 
cradle,  might  suddenly  be  transformed 
into  tragic  scenes  of  blood,  which  none 
but  fiends  in  the  human  form  could  have 
the  heart  to  create,  or  could  look  upon 
without  remorse. 

At  the  sisrnal  of  Indians  cominsr,  the 

O  o  i 

borderers  would  sometimes  be  able  to 
flee,  unharmed  ;  but  it  was  to  surrender 
life's  comforts,  and,  often,  common  ne 
cessaries.  They  might  resort  for  pro 
tection,  as  they  frequently  did,  to  stock 
ade  forts ;  but  there,  surrounded  by 
their  pursuers,  they  were  generally  re 
duced  to  extreme  thirst  and  hunger, 
and,  on  attempting  to  escape  for  their 
lives,  were  hunted  down  and  slain. 
And  to  these  evils  were  added  those 
of  captivity  and  torture ;  for  the  fierce 
and  blood-thirsty  red-man  of  the  woods 
seizes,  ruthlessly  and  indiscriminately, 
men,  women,  children,  and  even  tender 
babes ;  and,  not  content  with  slaughter, 
delights,  at  times,  in  protracted  merci 
less  cruelty,  and  exults  at  shrieks  of 
anguish  extorted  from  his  victims. 

The  want  of  suitable  legislative  mea 
sures,  providing  for  this  state  of  things, 
was  felt  and  lamented.  Unfurnished 
with  the  necessary  men  and  means  for 
defence,  the  command  er-in-chief  ap 
pealed  to  Governor  Dinwiddie  in  touch 
ing  terms.  In  one  of  his  appeals,  he 
us* .8  these  glowing  tvords :  u  Your  Honor 
may  see  to  what  unhappy  straits  the 


CHAP.  VI.] 


VIRGINIA  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


101 


distressed  inhabitants  and  myself  are  re 
duced.  I  am  too  little  acquainted,  sir, 
with  pathetic  language,  to  attempt  a  de 
scription  of  the  people's  distresses,  though 
I  have  a  generous  soul,  sensible  of 
wrongs,  and  swelling  for  redress.  But 

O     '  C* 

what  can  I  do  ?  I  see  their  situation, 
know  their  danger,  and  participate  their 
sufferings,  without  having  it  in  my  pow 
er  to  give  them  further  relief,  than  un 
certain  promises.  In  short,  I  see  inevi 
table  destruction  in  so  clear  a  light,  that, 
unless  vigorous  measures  are  taken  by 
the  Assembly,  and  speedy  assistance 
sent  from  below,  the  poor  inhabitants 
that  are  now  in  forts  must  unavoidably 
fall,  while  the  remainder  are  fleeing  be 
fore  the  barbarous  foe. 

u  In  line,  the  melancholy  situation  of 
the  people,  the  little  prospect  of  assist- 
•iiice,  the  gross  and  scandalous  abuse 
cast  upon  the  officers  in  general,  which 
is  reflecting  upon  me  in  particular,  for 
suffering  misconduct  of  such  extraordi 
nary  kinds,  and  the  distant  prospect,  if 
any,  of  gaining  honor  and  reputation  in 
the  service,  cause  me  to  lament  the  hour 
that  gave  me  a  commission,  and  would 
induce  me,  at  any  other  time  than  this 
of  imminent  danger,  to  resign,  without 
one  hesitating  moment,  a  command  from 

O  i 

which  I  never  expect  to  reap  either 
honor  or  benefit ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
have  almost  an  absolute  certainty  of  in 
curring  displeasure  below,  while  the 
murder  of  helpless  families  may  be  laid 
to  my  account  here  ! 

"  The  supplicating  tears  of  the  women, 
and  moving  petitions  of  the  men,  melt 


me  into  such  deadly  sorrow,  that  I 
solemnly  declare,  if  I  know  -.ray  .own 
mind,  I  could  offer  myself  a  TrilKrig  sac< 
rifice  to  the  butchering  enGmy^jrco \ailed  } 
that  would  contribute  to  the  people's 
ease."* 

His  heartfelt  concern  for  the  people's 
welfare  could  not  find  utterance  in 
words  more  glowing.  He  was  willing 
to  surrender  his  life  for  their  sake.  Yet, 
at  the  very  period,  when  thus,  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Roman  Decii,  he  was  in 
dulging  intense  emotions  of  self-sacrifice, 
his  feelings  were  subjected  to  a  severe 
torture.  A  plot  was  formed  to  effect 
his  removal  from  his  post.  Numerous 
reports  to  the  discredit  of  the  army,  the 
officers,  and  the  commander,  were  in 
dustriously  circulated  through  the  col 
umns  of  a  newspaper. 

The  keen  sensibilities  of  the  com 
mander  were,  of  course,  deeply  wound 
ed,  especially  as  the  authors  of  the  libel 
lous  reports  did  not  meet  with  prompt 
rebukes  in  his  behalf.  Indulging  the 
noble  independence  of  his  mind,  he 
thought  of  at  once  resigning  his  com 
mission.  This  was  the  secret  hope  of 
his  calumniators.  But  it  was  doomed 
to  bitter  disappointment.  The  faction 
which  sought,  by  means  of  his  retire 
ment,  and  of  their  favor  with  their 
Scotch  countryman,  Governor  Dinwid- 
die,  to  gain  rank  and  emolument, 
was  detected,  and  rewarded,  to  the  full 
measure,  with  deserved  obloquy;  and 
Colonel  Washington's  gave  free  utter- 

0  Letter  to  Governor  DINWIDDIE,  Apri  22d,  1756. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


Mice  to  such  sentiments  as  the  occasion 
d,  and  caused  his  merits  to 
e'tfhh  increased  lustre.  The  Speak- 
ie  .Ifolise  of  Burgesses  said :  "  Our 
hopes  are  fixed  on  you,  for  bringing  our 
nffuii-s  to  a  happy  issue.  Consider,  of 
what  fatal  consequences  to  your  country 
your  resigning  the  command  at  this  time 
may  be ;  more  especially,  as  there  is  no 
doubt  that  most  of  the  officers  would 
follow  your  example.  I  hope  you  will 
allow  your  ruling  passion,  the  love  of 
your  country,  to  stifle  your  resentment, 
at  least  till  the  arrival  of  Lord  Loudoun, 
or  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly,  when 
you  may  be  sure  of  having  justice  done. 
Who  those  of  your  pretended  friends 
are,  who  give  credit  to  the  malicious  re 
flections  in  that  scandalous  libel,  I  assure 
you  I  am  ignorant;  and  I  do  declare, 
that  I  never  heard  any  man  of  honor  or 
reputation  speak  the  least  disrespectful 
of  you,  or  censure  your  conduct,  and 
there  is  no  well-wisher  of  his  country 
that  would  not  be  greatly  concerned  to 
hear  of  your  resigning." 

An  affectionate  friend  wrote  to  him : 
"You  cannot  but  know,  that  nothing 
but  want  of  power  in  your  country  has 
prevented  it  from  adding  every  honor 
and  reward  that  perfect  merit  could 
have  entitled  itself  to.  How  are  we 
grieved  to  hear  Colonel  George  Wash 
ington  hinting  to  his  country,  that  he  is 
willing  to  retire  !  Give  me  leave,  as 
your  most  intimate  friend,  to  persuade 
you  to  forget  that  any  thing  has  been 
said  to  your  dishonor;  and  recollect, 
that  it  could  not  have  come  from  any 


man  that  knew  you.  And  as  it  may 
have  been  the  artifice  of  one  in  no  es 
teem  among  your  countrymen,  to  raise 
in  you  such  unjust  suspicions  as  would 
induce  you  to  desert  the  cause,  that  his 
own  preferment  might  meet  with  no  ob 
stacle,  I  am  confident  you  will  endeavor 
to  give  us  the  good  effects,  not  only  ot 
duty,  but  of  great  cheerfulness  and  sat 
isfaction,  in  such  a  service.  No,  sir ; 
rather  let  Braddock's  bed  be  your  aim, 
than  any  thing  that  might  discolor  those 
laurels  which,  I  promise  myself,  are  kept 
in  store  for  you."* 

Colonel  WILLIAM  FAIRFAX,  a  member 
of  the  governor's  council,  thus  eloquent 
ly  appealed  to  him:  "Your  endeavors 
in  the  service  and  defence  of  your  coun 
try  must  redound  to  your  honor ;  there 
fore,  do  not  let  any  unavoidable  inter 
ruptions  sicken  your  mind  in  the  at 
tempts  you  may  pursue.  Your  good 
health  and  fortune  are  the  toast  of  every 
table.  Among  the  Romans,  such  a 
general  acclamation  and  public  regard, 
shown  to  any  of  their  chieftains,  were 
always  esteemed  a  high  honor,  and  grate 
fully  accepted."f 

These  powerful  appeals  addressed  to 
the  noble  and  generous  mind  of  Wash 
ington,  could  not  fail  of  success.  He 
continued  in  his  office.  And  he  was 
even  cheered  to  pursue  its  duties  with 
increased  alacrity. 

At  this  time,  the  Assembly  resolved 
to  increase  the  arrry  to  fifteen 
hundred  men,  and  to  establish 

0  Letter  from  LANDON  CARTER. 
f  Letter  to  Washington 


1T5G. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


VIRGINIA  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


103 


a  line  of  twenty-three  forts,  which,  ex 
tending  from  the  Potomac  to  North 

O 

Carolina,  would  constitute  a  frontier 
defence  for  about  three  hundred  miles. 
But  this,  in  the  opinion  of  the  com 
mander,  was  an  inadequate  provision 
for  the  existing  exigency.  He  urged 
the  House  of  Burgesses  to  increase  the 
army  to  two  thousand  men.  He  point 
ed  to  the  great  extent  of  the  frontier  to 
be  protected ;  he  pointed  to  the  forts 
which  required  to  be  garrisoned ;  and 
he  pointed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
border  country  retiring  before  the  ene 
my,  until  they  were  about  even  to  cross 
the  Blue  Ridge.  The  woods,  said  he, 
are  "  alive  with  French  and  Indians." 

The  powerful  eloquence  of  his  appeal 
was  not  without  effect.  There  prevail 
ed  a  general  and  intense  feeling.  The 
Burgesses  requested  the  governor  to 
summon  half  the  militia  of  the  adjoining 
counties,  to  co-operate  in  meeting  the 
fearful  emergency.  And  the  attorney- 
general,  Mr.  PEYTON  RANDOLPH,  in  the 
ardor  of  his  military  zeal  on  the  occasion, 
formed  a  company  of  a  hundred  gentle 
men,  to  act  as  volunteers  in  the  ap 
proaching  campaign.  His  conduct  was 
an  expressive  indication  of  the  spirit  of 
the  times.  But  the  measure  which  he 
adopted  was,  evidently,  far  more  credit 
able  to  his  heart  than  to  his  head. 
Judge  Marshall,  alluding  to  the  inci 
dent,  very  judiciously  observes,  "Ten 
well-trained  woodsmen,  or  Indians, 
would  have  rendered  more  service." 

The  House  of  Burgesses'  scheme  to 
establish  a  line  of  forts  from  the  Poto 


mac  to  North  Carolina,  was  disapproved 
of  by  the  governor.  Washington,  also, 
for  reasons  which  he  assigned,  preferred 
a  few  strong  to  many  feeble  garrisons ; 
yet,  in  obedience  to  the  Assembly's  will, 
he  planned  and  constructed  the  pro 
posed  military  works.  In  doing  this, 
however,  he  encountered  many  and 
perplexing  annoyances,  arising  chiefly 
from  Governor  Dinwiddie's  exercise  of 
his  prerogative  in  military  matters,  and 
from  the  governor  of  Maryland's  de 
ranging  the  Virginia  Assembly's  plans. 

To  provide  effectually  for  relief  from 
all  existing  evils,  Washington  sent  a 
full  narrative  of  the  state  of  things  to 
the  EARL  OF  LOUDOUN,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  General  Shirley,  as  commander- 
in-chief,  and  was  then  at  New  York. 
It  was  the  first  intention  of  Lord  Lou- 
doun  to  go  to  Virginia.  This  intention, 
however,  he  did  not  fulfil.  But  he 
held,  at  Philadelphia,  a  meeting  of  the 
governors  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
North  Carolina,  and  Virginia.  Wash 
ington,  who  was  present  at  the  meet 
ing,  was  favorably  regarded  by  the 
governors  in  their  consultations. 

It  was  his  wish,  that  the  Virginia 
troops  should  be  put  upon  the  regular 
establishment,  and  that  he  and  his  offi 
cers  should  hold  royal  commissions.  In 
this  wish,  however,  he  was  disappoint 
ed  ;  yet,  by  an  arrangement  agreeable 
to  him,  he  and  all  the  provincial  offi 
cers  not  comprehended  in  the  northern 
army,  were  to  conduct  their  operations 
under  the  general  orders  of  Colonel 
STANWIX,  an  accomplished  British  offi 


104 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


cer,  stationed  in  the  interior  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  appointed  commander-iu- 
cbief  of  the  middle  and  southern  prov- 


The  thoughts  of  the  governors  were 
directed,  particularly,  towards  Canada 
and  the  northern  lakes,  and  they  re 
solved  to  take  no  offensive  measures  in 
the  south.  Fort  Cumberland,  being 
situated  in  Maryland,  they  agreed  to 
commit  to  that  province's  keeping. 
The  defence  of  Virginia  against  savages 
was  to  be  provided  for  by  Colonel 
Stanwix. 

It  was  a  welcome  communication 
which  Washington  received  from  Gov- 

O 

ernor  Dinwiddie,  instructing  him  to 
look  to  the  British  colonel  for  orders. 
"  Colonel  Stanwix,"  said  the  governor, 
"  being  appointed  commander-in-chief, 
you  must  submit  to  his  orders,  without 
regard  to  any  you  may  receive  from 
me  ;  he,  being  near  the  place,  can  di 
rect  affairs  better  than  I  can." 

The  intercourse  of  Washington  with 
this  accomplished  military  officer,  was 
always  of  the  most  agreeable  nature. 
Colonel  Stanwix  was  a  gentleman  of 
education  and  refinement.  He  was 
promoted,  in  the  year  1758,  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general ;  and,  being 
sent  to  an  important  post  at  the  head 
of  boat  navigation  on  the  Mohawk,  he 
built  a  fort  there,  called,  in  honor  of 
his  name,  Fort  Stanwix.  This  military 
work,  afterwards  called  Fort  Schuyler, 
was  greatly  celebrated  during  the  Rev 
olutionary  war. 

The  laborious  and  unintermitted  de 


votion  to  his  duties,  proved,  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1757,  so  injurious  to  the 
health  of  Washington,  that  he 
yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  his 
physician,  withdrew  from  the  army,  and 
retired  to  Mount  Vernon.  But  it  \vus 
not  his  fortune  to  enjoy,  even  there,  a 
refreshing  repose  that  might  renovate 
his  strength.  Prostrated  by  a  linger 
ing  and  debilitating  fever,  he  was  dis 
qualified  for  duty,  and  he  was  unable 
to  return  to  the  army  until  after  the 
lapse  of  four  months. 

It  was  a  source  of  pleasing  reflection 
to  him,  however,  as  he  lay  on  his  bed 
of  sickness,  or  enjoyed  the  calm  delights 
of  his  retreat  at  Mount  Vernon,  that  his 
efforts  in  his  country's  cause  had  not 
been  altogether  ineffectual.  He  had 
traversed  the  whole  frontier,  and  be 
come  familiarly  acquainted  with  its  con 
dition  and  its  wants  ;  he  had  succeeded 
in  awakening  a  general  and  deep  feel 
ing  in  behalf  of  the  suffering  borderers  ; 

O  O 

he  had  vindicated  himself  from  the  un 
favorable  insinuations  of  secret  enemies ; 
he  had  induced  the  Assembly  to  erect, 
at  Winchester,  a  large  fort,  called  Fort 
Loudoun,  in  honor  of  the  British  com 
mander-in-chief;  and  he  had  promptly 
and  vigorously  constructed  the  milita 
ry  works  proposed  by  the  Burgesses, 
visiting  these  works  in  person,  and, 
amid  many  perils  in  the  wilderness, 
bringing  his  labors,  in  great  part,  to 
a  successful  issue.  He  had  also,  by  his 
earnest  recommendation,  directed  the 
public  mind  to  the  importance  of  cap 
turing  Fort  Duquesne,  and  to  the  ne- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


105 


cessity  of  speedy  measures  for  this  pur 
pose. 

In  his  retirement,  his  mind  dwelt  con 
tinually  upon  the  interesting  subjects 
associated  with  the  defences  of  the  fron 
tier,  and  especially  upon  the  capture  of 
Fort  Duquesne,  as  a  grand  climacteric. 
In  the  progress  of  events,  during  the 


next  year,  it  was  his  good  fortune  and 
great  joy  to  see  that  stronghold  of  his 
country's  cruel  enemies  reduced,  and  to 
take  an  active  and  prominent  part  in 
measures  which  restored  peace  and 
prosperity  to  those  regions,  where  a 
savage  and  merciless  warfare  had  so 
long  been  spreading  desolation. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1758, 

CAMPAIGN      OF     1758. WASHINGTON'S      MARRIAGE. 

Fort  Duquesne. — Washington's  views  respecting  it. — William  Pitt  prime  minister. — Plan  of  the  Campaign  of  1758. 
— Expedition  to  Louisburg. — Chevalier  Drucour  in  command  there. — The  landing  of  General  Wolfe. — Siege  com 
menced. — Ships  in  harbor  destroyed. — Harbor  taken. — Surrender  of  the  place,  and  of  Cape  Breton. — General  Am- 
herst. — Abercrombie's  Expedition  against  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga. — Passage  of  Lake  George. — Battle  in 
the  woods. — Death  of  Lord  Howe. — Montcalm. — Assault  on  Ticonderoga  repulsed. — Retreat  of  Abercrombie. — 
Colonel  Bradstreet  captures  Fort  Frontenac. — Washington  at  Fort  Loudoun. — General  Forbes. — Washington  still 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  forces. — His  journey  to  Williamsburg. — Desertion  of  the  Indian  auxiliaries. — 
Washington  in  command  at  Winchester. — Meets  Colonel  Bouquet  and  Sir  John  St.  Glair  in  conference. — Ad 
vances  to  Fort  Cumberland. — Opens  road  to  iiaystown. — His  opinion  on  advancing  large  detachments. — Adopts 
the  Indian  dress  for  the  soldiers. — New  route  proposed. — Washington  disapproves. — Correspondence  with  Colonel 
Bouquet  on  the  subject. — Division  of  the  main  army  proposed.— Washington's  letter  to  Colonel  Bouquet  on  the 
new  route  and  the  division  of  forces. — New  route  adopted. — Washington's  sentiments  on  that  decision. — Waste 
of  time. — General  Forbes  at  Raystown. — Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  dissatisfied. — Defeat  of  Major  Grant's  de 
tachment.— Conduct  of  the  Virginia  officers  and  men.— Washington  complimented.— Captain  Bullitt  promoted. 

Advance  from  Raystown. — Washington's  plan  of  march. — Washington  in  advance. — The  army  reaches  Loyal 

Hanna. — Bad  road. — Council  of  War  decides  to  abandon  the  Campaign. — Information  from  prisoners. — Campaign 
resumed. — Advance  to  Fort  Duquesne. — Occupied  by  General  Forbes,  and  name  changed  to  Fort  Pitt. — Garri 
soned  by  Washington's  men. — Washington  returns  to  Winchester. — Takes  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses.— Resigns  his  commission.  — His  popularity  with  the  officers. — His  marriage. 


WASHINGTON  had  become  fully  aware 
of  a  truth  which  is  now  an  admitted 
maxim  in  Indian  warfare,  that  to  put 
an  end  to  their  aggressions  it  is  neces 
sary  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
country.  Hence  his  extreme  anxiety 
for  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
which,  in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Stanwix, 
he  calls,  "  the  source  of  all  our  ills." 

It  is  difficult  for  us,  at  this  distance 

VOL.  1—14 


of  time,  to  realize  the  importance  at 
tached,  in  1*757,  to  the  reduction  of  that 
fortress.  In  a  letter  to  John  Robin 
son,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses 
(Oct.  25,  1757),  Washington  evidently 
considers  it  essential  to  the  preserva 
tion  of  western  Virginia. 

"  If  we  pursue,"  he  says,  "  a  defensive 
plan,  there  will  not,  by  the  autumn,  be 
one  soul  living  on  th's  side  of  the  Blue 


106 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IL 


Ridge,  except  the  soldiers  in  garrison, 
and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  may  seek 
shelter  therein.  This,  sir,  I  know  to  be 
the  immovable  determination  of  the 
people  ;  and,  believe  me,  I  have  been 
at  great  pains,  before  I  could  prevail 
on  them  to  wait  the  consultations  of 
this  winter,  and  the  events  of  the 
spring. 

"  I  do  not  know  on  whom  these  mis 
erable,  undone  people  are  to  rely  for 
protection.  If  the  Assembly  are  to 
give  it  to  them,  it  is  time  that  measures 
were,  at  least,  concerting,  and  not  when 
they  ought  to  be  going  into  execution, 
as  has  always  been  the  case.  If  they 
are  to  seek  it  from  the  commander-in 
ch  ief,  it  is  time  their  condition  was 
made  known  to  him  ;  for  I  cannot  for 
bear  repeating  again,  that  while  we 
pursue  defensive  measures  we  pursue 
inevitable  ruin,  the  loss  of  our  country 
being  the  inevitable  and  fatal  conse 
quence.  There  will  be  no  end  to  our 
troubles  while  we  follow  this  plan,  and 
every  year  will  increase  our  expense. 
This,  my  dear  sir,  I  urge,  not  only  as 
an  officer,  but  as  a  friend  who  has  prop 
erty  in  the  country  and  is  unwilling  to 
lose  it.  This  it  is,  also,  that  makes  me 
anxious  for  doing  more  than  barely  to 
represent  these  matters,  which  is  all 
that  is  expected  of  an  officer  command 
ing"* 

The  campaign  of  1758  was  destined 
to  terminate  Washington's  anxieties  on 
this  head.  In  April  of  this  year,  he 


°  SPARKS'  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii. 


was  in  command  at  Fort  Loudoun,  with 
improved  health.  His  old  enemy,  the 
wrong-headed  and  pragmatical  Gover 
nor  Dinwiddie,  had  yielded  Ins  place 
to  Mr.  Francis  Fauquier,  until  whose 
arrival  from  England,  an  old  friend 
of  Washington,  Mr.  John  Blair,  presi 
dent  of  council,  was  actinor  srovernor. 

O    O 

A  change,  not  less  auspicious,  had 
taken  place  in  the  administration  of 
affairs  in  the  mother  country.  The  ac 
tivity  of  the  French  and  the  supineness 
of  the  English  in  the  recent  campaigns 
in  America,  seemed  to  threaten  the  loss 
of  the  colonies.  The  British  nation 
had  become  alarmed  and  indignant, 
and  the  king  had  found  it  necessary  to 
change  his  councils.  At  the  head  of 
the  new  ministry,  he  placed  the  cele 
brated  William  Pitt,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Chatham,  pre-eminently  a  man  of  ac 
tion,  who  from  the  humble  post  of  en 
sign  in  the  Guards,  had  raised  himself 
to  his  present  elevated  position.  Un 
der  his  administration,  public  confi 
dence,  not  only  in  England,  but  in  the 
colonies,  at  once  revived,  and  all  were 
inspired  with  new  life  and  vigor.  He 
was  equally  popular  in  both  hemis 
pheres ;  and  so  promptly  did  the  gov 
ernors  of  the  northern  colonies  obey  the 
requisitions  of  his  circular  letter  of 
1757,  that  by  May,  in  the  following 
year,  Massachusetts  had  seven  thou 
sand,  Connecticut  five  thousand,  and 
New  Hampshire  three  thousand  troops 
prepared  to  take  the  field.f  The  au 

f  The  arrangements  made  by  Pitt  with  reference  to 
the  relative  rank  of  royal  and  provincial  troops,  and  the 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


107 


thorities  of  the  mother  country  were 
not  less  active.  While  British  fleets 
were  blockading  or  capturing  the 
French  armaments  intended  for  Ameri 
ca,  Admiral  Boscawen  was  dispatched 
to  Halifax  with  a  formidable  squadron 
of  ships  and  an  army  of  twelve  thou 
sand  men.  The  imbecile  and  dilatory 
Lord  Loudoun  was  recalled,  and  Gen 
eral  Abercrombie  placed  in  the  chief 
command,  who,  early  in  the  spring,  was 
ready  to  enter  upon  the  campaign  with 
an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  the 
largest  ever  embodied  in  America. 

Three  points  of  attack  were  marked 
out  for  this  campaign  :  the  first  Louis- 
burg  ;  the  second  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point;  and  the  third  Fort  Du- 
quesne.  In  the  last  of  these  expedi 
tions,  Washington,  to  his  great  joy,  was 
destined  to  take  a  part ;  but,  as  its  suc 
cess  was  entirely  dependent,  in  the  se 
quel,  on  the  operations  of  the  other  two, 
it  becomes  necessary  first  to  notice  them 
somewhat  in  detail. 

The  expedition  against  Louisburg 
was  conducted  by  General  Amherst, 

relative  expenses  of  the  crown  and  the  colonies,  were  not 
less  satisfactory  than  his  prompt  and  energetic  measures 
for  carrying  on  the  campaign. 

"  He  stipulated  that  the  colonial  troops  raised  for  this 
purpose,  should  he  supplied  with  arms,  ammunition, 
tents,  and  provisions,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  regu 
lar  troops,  and  at  the  king's  expense  ;  so  that  the  only 
charge  to  the  colonies  would  be  that  of  levying,  clothing, 
and  paying  the  men.  The  governors  were,  also,  author 
ized  to  issue  commissions  to  provincial  officers,  from  colo 
nels  downwards,  and  these  officers  were  to  hold  r^.nk  in 
the  united  army  according  to  their  commissions.  Had 
this  liberal  and  just  system  been  adopted  at  the  outset, 
it  would  have  put  a  very  different  face  upon  tl.e  military 
affairs  of  the  colonies." — Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington, 
vol.  ii  p.  289,  note. 


assisted  by  the  remarkable  military 
skill  and  daring  enterprise  of  General 
Wolfe,  destined,  in  the  next  campaign, 
to  become  the  conqueror  of  Quebec. 
Richard  Montgomery,  whose  immor 
tality  was  afterwards  won,  under  other 
auspices,  before  the  same  city,  also 
served  in  this  expedition  as  a  subaltern, 
and  gained  promotion  from  Wolfe  foj 
his  gallantry. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  the  expedition 
sailed  from  Halifax,  the  fleet  undei 
command  of  Admiral  Boscawen  being 
composed  of  twenty  ships-of-the-line 
and  eighteen  frigates,  and  the  army, 
under  General  Amherst,  of  fourteen 
thousand  men.  They  arrived  in  Caba- 
rus  Bay  on  the  2d  of  June.  The  garri 
son  of  Louisburg,  commanded  by  the 
Chevalier  Drucour,  an  officer  of  cour 
age  and  experience,  was  composed  oi 
two  thousand  five  hundred  regulars, 
aided  by  six  hundred  militia  and  In 
dians.  The  harbor  being  secured  by 
five  ships-of-the-line,  one  fifty-gun  ship, 
and  five  frigates,  three  of  which  were 

o 

sunk  across  the  mouth  of  the  basin,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  land  at  some 
distance  from  the  town.  Prevented 
from  landing,  by  a  heavy  surf,  until  the 
8th,  the  brave  Wolfe  then  led  the  arm} 
in  three  divisions  of  boats  to  nearly  the 
same  place  where  the  small  army  of 
New  England  men,  under  the  command 
of  the  able  and  courageous  Lieutenant- 
general  William  Pepperrell,  had  land 
ed  to  besiege  and  capture  Louisburg 
in  1745.* 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


108 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


The  enemy  were  arrayed  along  the 
shore,  and  after  making  some  resistance 
to  the  impetuous  onset  of  Wolfe,  fled  to 
the  city.  The  British  lost,  in  killed  or 
drowned,  forty-three  regulars  and  six 
provincials,  and  the  French  lost  two 
lieutenants  killed,  and  seventy  pris 
oners.  Two  large  gnus  and  thirty-two 
small  ones,  planted  along  the  shore, 
were  taken,  with  their  ammunition. 
The  French  destroyed  the  fortress  to 
which  they  had  given  the  name  of 
Royal  Battery,  and  called  in  their  out 
posts.  The  artillery  and  stores  were 
now  brought  on  shore  ;  and  General 

O  ? 

Wolfe,  with  eighteen  hundred  men, 
marched  around  Green  Hill  and  the 
northeast  harbor  to  the  lighthouse, 
which  the  enemy  deserted,  destroying 
their  cannon.  Several  strong  batteries 
were  forthwith  added  to  those  erected 
by  the  enemy  on  this  spot,  which  com 
manded  the  eastern  side  of  the  harbor. 
Approaches  were  also  made  on  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  town,  and  the  siege 
was  steadily  though,  cautiously  con 
tinued.  A  French  frigate,  attempting 
to  escape  from  the  harbor,  was  captur 
ed.  A  heavy  cannonade  being  kept  up 
against  the  town  and  the  vessels  in  the 
harbor,  a  bomb  set  on  fire  and  blew  up 
one  of  the  largest  ships,  and  the 
a  '  flames  were  communicated  to 

1  7  i»  W. 

two  others,  which  shared  the 
same  fate.  The  batteries  erected  at 
the  lighthouse,  meantime,  had  silenced 
the  battery  of  the  enemy,  situated  on 
one  of  the  islands  at  the  entrance  of 
the  harbor. 


On  July  25th,  the  admiral  sent  in  six 
hundred  men  in  the  night,  to  destroy 
the  two  remaining  ships-of-the-line,  who 
burnt  the  Prudent,  a  seventy-four,  and 
towed  oft'  the  Bienfaisant,  a  sixty-four, 
to  the  northeast  harbor.  This  gallant 
exploit  putting  the  English  in  complete 
possession  of  the  harbor,  and  several 
breaches  having  been  made  practicable 
in  the  works,  the  brave  Drucour,  find 
ing  the  place  no  longer  tenable,  pro 
posed  terms  of  capitulation.  The  Eng 
lish  commanders,  who  were  on  the  point 
of  sending  six  ships  into  the  harbor  to 
aid  in  an  assault,  required  that  the  gar 
rison  should  surrender  as  prisoners  of 
war.  Drucour  at  first  rejected  these 
humiliating  terms,  and  determined  to 
hold  out  to  the  last ;  but,  overcome  by 
the  importunities  of  the  suffering  inhab 
itants  of  the  town,  he  at  length  acceded 
to  the  conditions  prescribed  ;  and  Lou- 
isburg,  with  all  its  artillery,  provisions, 
and  military  stores,  together  with  Island 
Royal,  St.  Johns,  and  their  dependen 
cies,  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
English,  who  at  once  took  possession  of 
the  island  of  Cape  Breton.  They  found 
two  hundred  and  twenty-one  pieces  of 
cannon  and  eighteen  mortars,  with  a 
very  large  quantity  of  stores  and  am 
munition  in  the  fortress.  The  inhabi 
tants  of  Cape  Breton  were  sent  to 
France  in  English  ships,  but  the  garri 
son,  sea-officers,  sailors,  and  marines, 
amounting  collectively  to  three  thou 
sand  two  r  indred  ninety-one  men, 
were  carried  prisoners  to  England. 
The  news  of  the  brilliant  success  of  the 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


109 


expedition  was  received  with  great  re 
joicing  throughout  the  colonies,  and  the 
event  was  triumphantly  celebrated  in 
London. 

Soon  after  the  surrender  of  Louis- 
burg,  General  Wolfe  returned  to  Eng 
land,  while  General  Amherst*  sailed 
with  part  of  his  army  to  Boston,  and 
from  thence  marched  to  Fort  William 
Henry,  to  take  part  in  the  second  expe 
dition  of  the  campaign,  the  leading  in 
cidents  of  which  we  now  proceed  to 
notice. 

The  force  destined  for  the  expedition 
against  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point, 
consisted  of  sixteen  thousand  men,  at 
tended  by  a  powerful  train  of  artillery, 
and  led  by  the  command er-in-chief, 
General  Abercrombie.  Subordinate  to 
him,  in  command  of  five  thousand  of 
these  men,  was  George  Howe,  lord  vis 
count,  the  most  popular  of  all  the  Brit 
ish  officers  who  ever  served  in  the  colo 
nies.  Abercrombie  was  as  remarkable 
for  timidity  and  imbecility  as  Howe 
was  for  courage  and  enterprise. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  Abercrombie 
embarked  his  troops  on  Lake  George, 
on  board  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  whale-boats,  and  nine  hundred  bat- 
teaux  with  rafts  for  the  artillery,  and, 
passing  down  the  lake,  landed  on  the 
west  side,  near  its  outlet.  The  troops 
were  formed  into  four  columns,  the 
British  in  the.  centre,  and  the  provin 
cials  on  the  flanks.  In  this  order  they 
marched  towards  the  advanced  guard 

c  See  Document  [B]  at  end  of  chapter. 


of  the  French,  which,  consisting  of  one 
battalion  only,  posted  in  a  log  breast 
work,  set  fire  to  their  camp,  and  made 
a  precipitate  retreat. 

While  Abercrombie  was  urging  for 
ward  his  march  through  the  woods  to 
wards  Ticonderoga,  the  columns  were 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  in  some  de 
gree  entangled  with  each  other.  At 
this  juncture,  Lord  Howe,  at  the  head 
of  the  right  centre  column,  fell  in  with 
a  part  of  the  advanced  guard  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  lost  their  way  in  the 
woods  in  retreating  from  Lake  George, 
and  immediately  attacked  and  dispersed 
it,  killing  three  hundred  of  the  enemy, 
and  taking  one  hundred  and  forty-eight 
prisoners.  This  success,  however,  was 
dearly  purchased  by  the  death  of  Lord 
Howef  himself,  who  fell  at  the  first  fire. 

Abercrombie  ordered  the  troops  to 
fall  back  to  the  landing-place  on  Lake 
George,  and  bivouac  for  the  night. 
The  master-spirit  of  the  enterprise  was 
no  more ;  and  the  incapable  Abercrom 
bie  was  left  to  encounter  the  able  and 
indefatigable  Montcalm.  This  officer, 
who  was  in  command  at  Ticonderoga, 
had  caused  trees  to  be  felled  in  front  of 

f  George  Howe,  Lord  Viscount,  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Sir  E.  Scrope,  second  lord  viscount  in  Ireland.  He  com 
manded  five  thousand  British  troops,  which  arrived  at 
Halifax  in  July,  1757.  The  next  year,  when  Abercrom 
bie  marched  against  Ticonderoga,  in  an  attack  on  the 
advanced  guard  of  the  French  posted  in  the  woods,  Lord 
Howe  fell  at  the  first  fire,  in  July,  1758,  aged  33.  "In 
him,"  says  Manto,  "  the  soul  of  the  army  seemed  to  ex 
pire."  By  his  military  talents  and  many  virtues,  he  had 
acquired  esteem  and  affection.  Massachusetts  erected  a 
monument  to  his  memory  in  Westminster  Abbey,  at  an 
expense  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. — Blike's  Univer 
sal  Biographical  Dictionary. 


110 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


the  breastwork  of  the  fortress  at  some 
distance,  having  some  of  their  branches 
sharpened  to  a  point,  so  as  to  retard 
assailants  and  entangle  them  in  the 
branches. 

The  engineer  sent  forward  by  Aber- 
crombie,  the  next  morning,  to  reconnoi 
tre  the  works,  seems  not  to  have  no 
ticed  the  character  of  this  abatis,  as,  on 
his  return,  he  reported  that  the  works 
were  unfinished   and   might  easily  be 
taken.     Abercrombie,  posted  at  some 
saw-mills  two  miles  from  the  fort,  with 
out    waiting    for    his    artillery, 
.   '   ordered   an   immediate    assault. 

I    i  •>  »• 

The  contest  lasted  four  hours. 
The  soldiers  fought  bravely,  but  were 
cut  down  by  the  merciless  fire  of  the 
French,  securely  posted  behind  their 
works,  and  the  result  was  a  defeat  with 
the  loss  of  two  thousand  men  and  twen 
ty-five  hundred  stand  of  arms.  Aber 
crombie  ordered  a  retreat  to  his  former 
camp  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  George, 
whence  he  immediately  recrossed  the 
lake,  and  entirely  abandoned  the  pro 
ject  of  capturing  Ticonderoga.* 

The  only  success  accomplished  by 
this  portion  of  the  army  during  the 
campaign,  is  due  to  the  enterprise  of 
one  of  the  heroes  of  Louisburg. 

Colonel  John  Bradstreet,  who  had 
served  as  captain  in  Lieutenant-general 
Pepperrell's  regiment  at  Louisbourg 
in  1745,  and  his  intimate  friend  and 

0  This  defeat  induced  Pitt  to  order  Abercrombie  home, 
and  to  give  the  command  to  Amherst,  who  had  returned 
from  Louisburg.  Amherst  marched  back,  and  command 
ed  the  army  on  Lake  Champlain  to  the  end  of  the  war. — 
Parians'  Life  of  Sir  William  PepperreU. 


protege,  was  in  this  disastrous  engage 
ment  against  Ticonderoga  with  Aber 
crombie,  and  immediately  afterwards 
earnestly  solicited  permission  to  march 
against  Fort  Frontenac,  near  the  head 
of  Lake  Ontario,  with  a  force  of  three 
thousand  men,  chiefly  of  provincial  mili 
tia,  f  carrying  eight  pieces  of  cannon 
and  twro  mortars.  The  troops  embark 
ed  at  Oswego  on  the  evening  of  the 
25th  of  August,  and  landed  within  a 

O  / 

mile  of  Fort  Frontenac,  which,  after  a 
spirited  assault  of  two  days,  surrender 
ed  at  discretion.  The  Indians  having 
previously  deserted,  left  but  one  hun 
dred  and  ten  prisoners  of  war.  But 
the  captors  found  in  the  fort  sixty 
pieces  of  cannon,  sixteen  small  mortars, 
a  large  number  of  small  arms,  a  vast 
quantity  of  provisions,  military  stores, 
and  merchandise,  and  nine  armed  ves 
sels.  Having  destroyed  the  fort,  ves 
sels,  and  stores,  Colonel  Bradstreet  re 
turned  to  the  main  army.  For  this  no 
ble  achievement,^  he  was  subsequently 

f  The   proportions,   as   given   by  Dr.  Parsons   in   his 
"  Life  of  Sir  William  PepperreU,"  are  as  follows  : 

Regulars 135 

New  York  Provincial  Militia 1,112 

New  Jersey         "  "      412 

Boston  "  "      675 

Rhode  Island       "  "      318 

Batteau  men . .  .    300 


2,952 

\  John  Bradstreet  was  born  in  England.  He  was  lieu 
tenant-governor  of  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  in  1746. 
He  was  afterwards  renowned  for  his  military  services 
In  the  year  1756,  it  being  deemed  of  the  highest  impor 
tance  to  keep  open  the  communication  with  Fort  Oswe 
go,  on  Lake  Ontario,  General  Shirley  enlisted  forty  com 
panies  of  boatmen,  and  placed  them  under  the  command 
of  Bradstreet,  to  effect  this  object.  In  the  spring  of  this 


CHAP.  VII] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


Ill 


promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-gen 
eral  in  the  royal  army,  to  the  great  joy 
and  satisfaction  of  his  old  commander 
and  patron,  Sir  William  Pepperrell.* 

The  fall  of  Frontenac  cut  off  the  sup 
plies  intended  for  Fort  Duquesne,  and 
hastened  its  reduction. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  the  opera 
tions  of  the  third  expedition  of  the  cam 
paign  of  1758,  that,  namely,  which  was 
intended  for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Du 
quesne,  in  which  Washington  took  a 
very  active  part.  We  left  him  at  Fort 
Loudoun,  writing  to  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  on  the  importance 
of  carrying  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
country.  His  wishes  in  this  respect 
were  now  to  be  gratified,  and  that  on 
an  extensive  scale  ;  and  yet,  perhaps, 
there  is  not  a  period  in  the  whole  ca 
reer  of  Washington,  during  which  his 

year,  a  well-stockaded  post  of  twenty-five  men  had  been 
cut  off.  The  enemy  having  possession  of  the  passage 
through  the  Onondaga  River,  rendered  it  necessary  to 
transport  the  requisite  boats  across  the  country.  On  his 
return  from  Oswego  in  July,  1756,  Colonel  Bradstreet, 
who  was  apprehensive  of  being  surprised,  ordered  the 
several  divisions  to  keep  as  close  together  as  possible. 
He  was  at  the  head  of  about  three  hundred  boatmen  in 
the  first  division,  when,  at  the  distance  of  nine  miles 
from  the  fort,  the  enemy  issued  from  an  ambuscade  and 
attacked  him.  He  instantly  landed  upon  a  small  island, 
and,  with  only  six  men,  maintained  his  position  until  he 
was  reinforced.  A  general  engagement  ensued,  in  which 
Bradstreet  gallantly  attacked  a  more  numerous  enemy, 
and  entirely  routed  them,  killing  and  wounding  about 
two  hundred  men.  His  own  loss  was  about  thirty.  In 
the  year  1758,  he  planned  an  expedition  against  Fort 
Frontenac,  and  being  intrusted  with  the  command  of 
three  thousand  men,  he  invested  the  fort  and  compelled 
the  garrison  to  surrender  on  the  27th  of  August.  In 
1764,  he  compelled  the  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  other 
Indians,  to  conclude  treaties  of  peace.  He  was  appoint 
ed  general  in  1772,  and  died  in  1774. 

°  Parsons'  Life  of  Sir  William  Pepperrell. 


patience  and  patriotism  were  more  se 
verely  tried  than  during  the  progress 
of  this  expedition.  The  army  destined 
to  operate  against  Fort  Duquesne  was 
placed  under  the  command  of  General 
Forbes,  and  the  force  at  his  disposal 
was  more  than  sufficient  for  the  pur 
pose,  but  the  measures  adopted  by  him 
were  as  badly  conceived  as  if  they  had 
been  expressly  intended  to  defeat  the 
expedition.f 

The  Virginia  Assembly  promptly 
complied  with  the  requisition  of  the 
minister,  furnishing  two  regiments, 
amounting  to  eighteen  hundred  men  as 
their  contingent.  One  of  these  was 
commanded  by  Colonel  Washington, 
who  still  retained  his  rank  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  Virginia  forces. 
The  other  was  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Byrd.  Washington  warmly  re 
commended  an  early  campaign ;  f(  >r  this 
among  other  reasons  :  seven  hundred 
Indians  had  in  April  assembled  at  Win 
chester,  whose  patience  would  be  ex 
hausted,  unless  they  were  promptly  em 
ployed,  and  in  the  event  of  their  deser 
tion,  he  observes,  "No  words  can  tell 
how  much  they  will  be  missed."  He 

f  "The  troops  actually  employed  under  General 
Forbes,  were  twelve  hundred  Highlanders,  three  hun 
dred  and  fifty  Royal  Americans,  about  twenty-seven  hun 
dred  provincials  from  Pennsylvania,  sixteen  hundred 
from  Virginia,  two  or  three  hundred  from  Maryland, 
who  had  been  stationed  in  garrison  at  Fort  Frederic, 
under  Colonel  Dagworthy,  and  also  two  companies  from 
North  Carolina,  making  in  all,  including  the  wagoners, 
between  six  and  seven  thousand  men.  This  army  was 
more  than  five  months  penetrating  to  the  Ohio,  where  it 
was  found,  at  last,  that  they  had  to  oppose  only  five 
hundred  of  the  enemy." — Spt  -ks'  Writings  of  Washington, 
vol.  ii.  p.  289,  note. 


112 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  II. 


was   at    length    ordered   to  collect  the 

o 

Virginia  troops  at  Winchester,  and  hold 
them  in  readiness  for  active  service.  At 
this  late  moment,  when  the  duties  of  the 
field  demanded  all  his  attention,  he  was 
under  the  necessity  of  making  a  journey, 
to  Williamsburg,  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  in  order  to  obtain  a  supply  of 
arms,  clothing,  and  money  for  his  regi 
ment,  and  to  secure  for  his  own  veteran 
soldiers  the  same  pay  which  the  As 
sembly,  in  their  recent  session,  had  voted 
for  the  new  regiment  raised  for  the 
present  campaign.  While  he  was  train 
ing  the  newly-enlisted  soldiers,  and  pre 
paring  supplies  and  the  means  of  trans 
portation,  the  soldiers  were  becoming 
impatient,  and  the  Indians,  as  he  had 
anticipated,  grew  discontented ;  and 
nearly  all  of  them  returned  to  their 
homes. 

While  Washington  was  thus  occu 
pied  at  Winchester,  General  Forbes  was 
detained  by  illness  at  Philadelphia;  and 
Colonel  Bouquet  was  in  command  at 
Raystown,  thirty  miles  from  Fort  Cum 
berland.  The  intermediate  place  be 
tween  this  point  and  Washington's 
quarters  at  Winchester,  was  designated 
for  conferences  between  him,  Colonel 
Bouquet,  and  the  Quartermaster-gen 
eral,  Sir  John  St.  Clair,  in  order 
to  determine  a  uniform  plan  of  ac 
tion,  and  make  the  necessary  arrange 
ments. 

At  length  Washington  received  the 
long-desired  order  to  advance  with  the 
Virginia  regiments  from  Winchester  to 
Fort  Cumberland,  where  he  arrived 


early  in  July.*  Through  the  month, 
the  troops  were  employed  in  opening  a 
new  road  from  Fort  Cumberland  to 
Raystown,  and  repairing  the  old  one 
leading  towards  the  Great  Meadows. 
As  they  were  greatly  annoyed  in  this 
service  by  flying  parties  of  the  enemy, 
it  was  proposed  to  send  a  considerable 
detachment  over  the  mountains  to  re 
strain  the  French  and  Indians  from  this 
annoyance ;  but  Colonel  Washington 
strongly  objected  to  this  measure,  be 
cause  the  detachment  would  be  exposed 
to  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy  on  the 
Ohio,  and  must  be  defeated.  The  plan 
was,  in  consequence,  given  up,  and  by 
his  advice  frequent  scouts  were  substi 
tuted. 

Washington's  excellent  judgment   in 

°  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Robert  Mun- 
ford  to  Colonel  Bland,  dated  Fort  Cumberland,  July  Gth, 
1758.  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  camp  life,  and  of  the  estima 
tion  in  which  Washington  was  held,  at  that  time,  by  the 
officers  serving  under  his  command  : 

"After  being  delayed  at  Winchester  five  or  six  weeks 
longer  than  expected  (in  which  time,  I  was  ordered  ex 
press  to  Williamsburg,  and  allowed  but  a  day  after  my 
return  to  prepare),  we  pushed  off  into  the  wide  ocean.  I 
was  permitted  to  walk  every  step  of  the  way  to  this  hum 
ble  fort,  to  eat  little,  and  lay  hard,  over  mountain, 
through  mud  and  water,  yet  as  merry  and  hearty  as  ever. 
Our  flankers  and  sentries  pretend  they  saw  the  enemy 
daily,  but  they  never  approached  us.  A  detachment  is 
this  moment  ordered  off  to  clear  a  road  thirty  miles,  and 
our  companies  to  cover  the  working  party.  We  are  in 
fine  scalping-ground,  I  assure  you ;  the  guns  pop  about 
us,  and  you  may  see  the  fellows  prick  up  their  ears,  like 
deer,  every  moment.  Our  colonel  (Washington)  is  an 
example  of  fortitude  in  either  danger  or  hardships,  and 
by  his  easy,  polite  behavior,  has  gained  not  only  the 
regard  but  affection  of  both  officers  and  soldiers.  He  has 
kindly  invited  me  to  his  table  for  the  campaign,  offered 
me  any  sum  of  money  I  may  have  occasion  for,  without 
charging  either  principal  or  interest,  and  signified  his  ap 
probation  of  my  conduct  hitherto  in  such  a  manner  as  is 
to  me  of  advantage." — Bltmd  Papers,  p.  9 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


113 


this  matter  was  fully  illustrated  by  the 
subsequent  disaster  which  befel  the  de 
tachment  of  Colonel  Grant. 

While  Colonel  Washington  was  post 
ed  at  Fort  Cumberland,  he  adopted  a 
style  of  dress  for  the  soldiers,  which  is 
supposed  by  Mr.  Irving  to  have  given 
rise  to  the  dress  worn  by  American  rifle 
men  in  the  subsequent  wars.  It  was  the 
Indian  dress.  In  a  letter  to  Colonel 
Bouquet,  dated  July  3,  1758,  he  thus 
alludes  to  it : 

"  My  men  are  very  bare  of  regimental 
clothing,  and  I  have  no  prospect  of  a 
supply.  So  far  from  regretting  this 
want  during  the  present  campaign,  if  I 
were  left  to  pursue  my  own  inclinations, 
I  would  not  only  order  the  men  to 
adopt  the  Indian  dress,  but  cause  the 
officers  to  do  it  also,  and  be  the  first  to 
set  the  example  myself.  Nothing  but 
the  uncertainty  of  obtaining  the  general 
approbation  causes  me  to  hesitate  a  mo 
ment  to  leave  my  regimentals  at  this 
place,  and  proceed  as  light  as  any  In 
dian  in  the  woods.  It  is  an  unbecoming 
dress,  I  own,  for  any  officer,  but  conve 
nience,  rather  than  show,  I  think,  should 
be  consulted.  The  reduction  of  bat- 
horses  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  rec 
ommend  it;  for  nothing  is  more  cer 
tain  than  that  less  baggage  would  be 
required,  and  the  public  benefited  in 
proportion." 

From  a  letter  addressed  by  him  to 
Colonel  Bouquet,  dated  July  9th,  we 
learn  that  his  plan  was  adopted,  and 
found  to  answer  an  excellent  purpose. 
In  this  letter  he  thus  expresses  himself: 

VOL.  I.— 15 


"It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  find 
that  you  approve  the  dress  I  have  put 
my  men  into.  It  is  evident  that  soldiers 
in  that  trim  are  better  able  to  carry 
their  provisions,  are  fitter  for  the  active 
service  we  must  engage  in,  less  liable  to 
sink  under  the  fatigues  of  a  march,  and 
we  thus  get  rid  of  much  baggage  which 
would  lengthen  our  line  of  march. 
These,  and  not  whim  or  caprice,  were 
my  reasons  for  ordering  this  dress." 

A  practicable  military  road  having 
been  opened  for  the  passage  of  General 
Braddock's  army  to  Fort  Duquesne, 
Colonel  Washington  had  taken  it  for 
granted  that  this  would  be  the  route 
taken  by  General  Forbes'  army  in  the 
present  campaign.  We  may  imagine, 
therefore,  his  surprise  and  mortification, 
when  late  in  July,  he  received  a  letter 
from  Colonel  Bouquet,  asking  an  inter 
view  with  him,  in  order  to  consult  on 
opening  a  new  road  from  Raystown,  and 
requesting  his  opinion  on  that  route. 

"  I  shall,"  says  he,  in  answer  to  this 
letter,  "  most  cheerfully  work  on  any 
road,  pursue  any  route,  or  enter  upon 
any  service,  that  the  general  or  yourself 
may  think  me  usefully  employed  in,  or 
qualified  for;  and  shall  never  have  a 
will  of  my  own  when  a  duty  is  required 
of  me.  But  since  you  desire  me  to 
speak  my  sentiments  freely,  permit  me 
to  observe,  that,  after  having  conversed 
with  all  the  guides,  and  having  been 
informed  by  others-  acquainted  with  the 
country,  I  am  convinced  that  a  road,  to 
be  compared  with  General  Braddock's, 
or  indeed  that  will  be  fit  for  transporta- 


14 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  II. 


tion  even  by  pack-horses,  cannot  be 
made.  I  own  I  have  no  predilection 
for  the  route  you  have  in  contemplation 
for  me." 

In  the  interview  with  Colonel  Bou 
quet,  which  took  place  a  few  days  after 
his  writing  this  letter,  Colonel  Wash 
ington  found  that  officer  strongly  in 
favor  of  opening  the  new  route.  After 
their  separation,  he,  with  the  permission 
of  Colonel  Bouquet,  addressed  to  him  a 
letter  which  was  to  be  laid  before 
General  Forbes,  setting  forth  his  rea 
sons  against  making  a  new  road.  He 
was  apprehensive  that  the  loss  of  time 
occasioned  by  attempting  it  would  be 
so  great,  that  they  would  be  able  to  do 
nothing  more  than  fortify  some  post  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Alleghany,  and 
prepare  for  another  campaign.  He  was 
equally  opposed  to  another  scheme 
which  had  been  proposed,  of  dividing 
the  army,  and  marching  by  two  differ 
ent  routes. 

In  the  following  letter  to  Colonel 
Bouquet,  Colonel  Washington  produces 
unanswerable  arguments  in  support  of 
his  own  views  on  both  these  questions: 

"  CAMP  AT  FORT  CUMBERLAND, 

"Aiigust  2,  1758. 

"  SIR  : — The  matters  of  which  we  spoke 
relative  to  the  roads,  have,  since  our 
parting,  been  the  subject  of  my  closest 
reflection ;  and,  so  far  am  I  from  alter 
ing  my  opinion,  that  the  more  time  and 
attention  I  bestow,  the  more  I  am  con 
firmed  in  it ;  and  the  reasons  for  taking 
Braddock's  road  appear  in  a  stronger 
point  of  view.  To  enumerate  the  whole 


of  these  reasons  would  be  tedious,  and 
to  you,  who  are  so  much  master  of  the 
subject,  unnecessary.  I  shall,  therefore, 
briefly  mention  a  few  only,  which  I 
think  so  obvious  in  themselves,  that 
they  must  effectually  remove  objections. 

"Several  years  ago,  the  Virginians 
and  Pennsylvanians,  commenced  a  trade 
with  the  Indians  settled  on  tlu  Ohio, 
and,  to  obviate  the  many  inconvenien 
ces  of  a  bad  road,  they,  after  reiterated 
and  ineffectual  efforts  to  discover  where 
a  good  one  might  be  made,  employed 
for  the  purpose  several  of  the  most  in 
telligent  Indians,  who,  in  the  course  of 
many  years  hunting,  had  acquired  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  these  mountains. 
The  Indians,  having  taken  the  greatest 
pains  to  gain  the  rewards  offered  for 
this  discovery,  declared  that  the  path 
leading  from  Wills  Creek  was  infinitely 
preferable  to  any  that  could  be  made 
at  any  other  place.  Time  and  experi 
ence  so  clearly  demonstrated  this  truth, 
that  the  Pennsylvania  traders  commonly 
carried  out  their  goods  by  Wills  Creek. 
Therefore  the  Ohio  Company,  in  1753, 
at  a  considerable  expense,  opened  the 
road.  In  1754,  the  troops  whom  I  had 
the  honor  to  command,  greatly  repaired 
it  as  far  as  Gist's  plantation ;  and  in 
1755,  it  was  widened  and  completed  by 
General  Braddock  to  within  six  miles  of 
Fort  Duquesne.  A  road  that  has  so 
long  been  opened,  and  so  well  and  so 
often  repaired,  must  be  firmer  and  bet 
ter  than  a  new  one,  allowing  the  ground 
to  be  equally  good. 

"  But,  supposing  it  were  practicable 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


115 


to  make  a  road  from  Raystown  quite  as 
good  as  General  Braddock's,  I  ask,  have 
we  time  to  do  it  ?  Certainly  not.  To 
surmount  the  difficulties  to  he 'encoun 
tered  in  making  it  over  such  mountains, 
covered  with  woods  and  rocks,  would  re 
quire  so  much  time  as  to  blast  our  other 
wise  well-grounded  hopes  of  striking  the 
important  stroke  this  season. 

"  The  favorable  accounts  that  some 
give  of  the  forage  on  the  Raystown 
road,  as  being  so  much  better  than  that 
on  the  other,  are  certainly  exaggerated. 
It  is  well  known,  that,  on  both  routes, 
the  rich  valleys  between  the  mountains 
abound  with  good  forage,  and  that  those 
which  are  stony  and  bushy  are  destitute 
<>f  it.  Colonel  Byrd,  and  the  engineer 
who  accompanied  him,  confirm  this  fact. 
Surely  the  meadows  on  Braddock's 
road  would  greatly  overbalance  the  ad 
vantage  of  having  grass  to  the  foot  of 
the  ridge,  on  the  Raystown  road ;  and 
all  aoree  that  a  more  barren  road  is 

O 

nowhere  to  be  found  than  that  from 
Raystown  to  the  inhabitants,  which  is 
likewise  to  be  considered. 

"Another  principal  objection  made  to 
General  Braddock's  road,  is  in  regard 
to  the  waters.  But  these  seldom  swell 
so  much  as  to  obstruct  the  passage. 
The  Youghiogheny  River,  which  is  the 
most  rapid  and  soonest  filled,  I  have 
crossed  with  a  body  of  troops  after 
more  than  thirty  days'  almost  continual 
rain.  In  fine,  any  difficulties  on  this 
score  are  so  trivial,  that  they  really  are 
not  worth  mentioning.  The  Mononga- 
hela,  the  largest  of  all  these  rivers,  may, 


if  necessary,  easily  be  avoided,  as  Mr. 
Frazer,  the  principal  guide  informs  me, 
by  passing  a  defile ;  and  even  that,  he 
says,  may  be  shunned. 

"  Again,  it  is  said,  there  are  many 
defiles  on  this  road.  I  grant  that  there 
are  some,  but  I  know  of  none  that  may 
not  be  traversed ;  and  I  should  be  glad 
to  be  informed  where  a  road  can  be 
had,  over  these  mountains,  not  subject 
to  the  same  inconvenience.  The  short 
ness  of  the  distance  between  Raystown 
and  Loyal  Hanna  is  used  as  an  argu 
ment  against  this  road,  which  bears  in 
it  something  unaccountable  to  me;  for 
I  must  beg  leave  to  ask,  whether  it  re 
quires  more  time,  or  is  more  difficult 
and  expensive,  to  go  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  miles  in  a  good  road  already 
made  to  our  hands,  than  to  cut  one 
hundred  miles  anew,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  way  over  impassable  mountains. 

"  That  the  old  road  is  many  miles 
nearer  Winchester,  in  Virginia,  and  Fort 
Frederick,  in  Maryland,  than  the  con 
templated  one,  is  incontestable ;  and  I 
will  here  show  the  distances  from  Car 
lisle  by  the  two  routes,  fixing  the  differ 
ent  stages,  some  of  which  I  have  from 
information  only,  but  others  I  believe  to 
be  exact.*  From  this  computation  there 

0  From  Carlisle  to  Fort  Duquesne,  by  way  of  Rays- 
town.  Miles. 

From  Carlisle  to  Shippensburg 21 

' '      Shippensburg  to  Fort  Loudoun 24 

"     Fort  Loudoun  to  Fort  Littleton 20 

"      Fort  Littleton  to  Juniata  Crossing 14 

"     Juniata  Crossing  to  Kaystown 14 

93 

"     Eaystown  to  Fort  Duquesne 100 

193 


no 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


appears  to  be  a  difference  of  nineteen 
miles  only.  Were  all  the  supplies  ne 
cessarily  to  come  from  Carlisle,  it  is  well 
known  that  the  goodness  of  the  old 
road  is  a  sufficient  compensation  for  the 
shortness  of  the  other,  as  the  wrecked 
and  broken  wragons  there  clearly  de 
monstrate. 

u  I  shall  next  give  you  my  reasons 
against  dividing  the  army  in  the  man 
ner  you  propose. 

"  First,  then,  by  dividing  our  army, 
we  shall  divide  our  strength,  and,  by 
pursuing  quite  distinct  routes,  put  it 
entirely  out  of  the  power  of  each  di 
vision  to  succor  the  other,  as  the  pro 
posed  new  road  has  no  communication 
with  the  old  one. 

"  Secondly,  to  march  in  this  manner 
will  be  attended  with  many  inconve 
niences.  If  we  depart  from  our  advanc 
ed  posts  at  the  same  time,  and  make  no 
deposits  by  the  way,  those  troops  that 
go  from  Raystown,  as  they  will  be  light, 
with  carrying-horses  only,  will  arrive  at 
Fort  Duquesne  long  before  the  others, 
and  must,  if  the  enemy  are  strong  there, 
be  exposed  to  many  insults  in  their  ad 
vance  and  in  their  intrenchments,  from 
the  cannon  of  the  enemy,  which  they 


From  Carlisle  to  Fort  Duquesne,  by  way  of  Forts  Fred 
erick  and  Cumberland  :  Miles. 

Carlisle  to  Shippensburg 21 

Shippensburg  to  Chambers's 12 

Chambers's  to  Pacelin's 12 

Pacelin's  to  Fort  Frederick 12 

Fort  Frederick  to  Fort  Cumberland 40 

97 
Fort  Cumberland  to  Fort  Duquesne 115 

212 


may  draw  out  apon  them  at  pleasure. 
If  they  are  not  strong  enough  to  do 
this,  we  have  but  little  to  apprehend 
from  them,  in  whatever  way  we  may  go 

"  Thirdly,  if  that  division  which  es 
corts  the  convoy  is  permitted  to  march 
first,  we  risk  our  all  in  a  manner,  and 
shall  be  ruined  if  any  accident  happens 
to  the  artillery  and  the  stores. 

"  Lastly,  if  we  advance  on  both  roads 
by  deposits,  we  must  double  our  num 
ber  of  troops  over  the  mountains,  and 
distress  ourselves  by  victualling  them  at 
these  deposits,  besides  losing  the  propos 
ed  advantage,  that  of  stealing  a  march. 
For  we  cannot  suppose  that  the  French, 
who  have  their  scouts  constantly  out, 
can  be  so  deficient  in  point  of  intelli 
gence,  as  to  be  unacquainted  with  our 
motions,  while  we  are  advancing  by 
slow  degrees  towards  them. 

"  From  what  has  been  said  relative 
to  the  two  roads,  it  appears  to  me  very 
clear  that  the  old  one  is  infinitely  bet 
ter  than  the  other  can  be  made,  and 
that  there  is  no  room  to  hesitate  in  de 
ciding  which  to  take,  when  we  consider 
the  advanced  season,  and  the  little  time 
left  to  execute  our  plan. 

"  I  shall,  therefore,  in  the  last  place, 
offer,  as  desired,  my  sentiments  on  ad 
vancing  by  deposits.  The  first  deposit 
I  should  have  proposed  to  be  at  the 
Little  Meadows,  had  time  permitted ; 
but,  as  the  case  now  stands,  I  think  it 
should  be  at  the  Great  Crossing,  or  the 
Great  Meadows.  The  Great  Crossing 
I  esteem  the  most  advantageous  post 
on  several  accounts,  especially  on  those 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


117 


of  water  and  security  of  passage  ;  but 
then  it  does  not  abound  with  forage,  as 
the  Meadows  do,  nor  with  so  much 
level  land  fit  for  culture.  To  this  lat 
ter  place  a  body  of  fifteen  hundred  men 
may  march  with  three  hundred  wagons 
(or  with  carrying-horses,  which  would 
be  much  better),  allowing  each  wagon 
to  carry  eight  hundred  weight  of  flour 
and  four  hundred  of  salt  meat. 

"  Our  next  deposit  will  probably  be 
at  Salt  Lick,  about  thirty-five  miles 
from  the  Meadows.  To  this  place  I 
think  it  necessary  to  send  two  thousand 
five  hundred  men  to  construct  some 
post,  taking  six  days'  provisions  only, 
which  is  sufficient  to  serve  them  till  the 
convoy  comes  up,  by  which  time  an  in 
trenched  camp,  or  some  other  defensive 
work,  may  be  effected.  From  hence  I 
conceive  it  highly  expedient  to  detach 
three  or  four  thousand  of  the  best 
troops  to  invest  the  fort,  and  to  pre 
vent,  if  possible,  an  engagement  in  the 
woods,  which  of  all  things  ought  to  be 
avoided.  The  artillery  and  stores  may 
be  brought  up  in  four  days  from  Salt 
Lick.  From  that  time  I  will  allow 
eighteen  days  more,  for  the  carrying- 
horses  to  make  a  trip  to  Kaystown  for 
provisions,  passing  along  the  old  path 
by  Loyal  Haiina.  They  may  do  it  in 
this  time,  as  the  horses  will  go  down 
light. 

"  From  this  statement,  and  by  my 
calculations,  in  which  large  allowance 
is  made  for  the  quantity  of  provisions, 
as  well  as  for  the  time  of  transporting 
them,  it  appears  that,  from,  the  day  on 


which  the  front  division  begins  its 
march  till  the  whole  army  arrives  be 
fore  Fort  Duquesne,  will  be  thirty-four 
days.  There  will  be,  also,  eighty-seven 
days'  provision  on  hand,  allowing  for 
the  consumption  on  the  march.  Eigh 
teen  days  added  to  the  above  will  make 
fifty-two  in  all,  the  number  required 
for  our  operations.  These  ought  to  be 
finished,  if  possible,  by  the  middle  of 
October."* 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Major  Hal- 
ket,  aid  of  General  Forbes,  Colonel 
Washington  expressed  himself  as  fol 
lows  in  relation  to  the  new  route  : 

"  I  am  just  returned  from  a  confer 
ence  held  with  Colonel  Bouquet.  I 
find  him  fixed, — I  think  I  may  say,  un 
alterably  fixed, — to  lead  you  a  new  way 
to  the  Ohio,  through  a  road  every  inch 
of  which  is  to  be  cut  at  this  advanced 
season,  when  we  have  scarcely  time  left 
to  tread  the  beaten  track,  universally 
confessed  to  be  the  best  passage  through 
the  mountains. 

"  If  Colonel  Bouquet  succeeds  in  this 
point  with  the  general,  all  is  lost !  all  is 
lost,  indeed  !  our  enterprise  is  ruined  ! 
and  we  shall  be  stopped  at  the  Laurel 
Hill  this  winter ;  but  not  to  gather  lau 
rels,  except  of  the  kind  which  cover  the 
mountains.  The  southern  Indians  will 
turn  against  us,  and  these  colonies  will 
be  desolated  by  such  an  accession  to 
the  enemy's  strength.  These  must  be 
the  consequences  of  a  miscarriage,  and 
a  miscarriage  the  almost  necessary  con- 

0  Sparks'  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  302 


us 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


sequence  of  an  attempt  to  march  the 
army  by  this  route." 

Colonel  Washington's  arguments  and 
remonstrances  on  the  subject  of  dividing 
the  army,  and  advancing  on  two  dif 
ferent  routes,  had  their  due  weight,  and 
that  scheme  was  abandoned.  But,  on 
the  question  regarding  the  new  route, 
his  powerful  influence  was  unavailing. 
The  Pennsylvanians*  wanted  a  new 
road  to  the  western  country  made  at 
the  expense  of  the  crown,  and,  at  the 
risk  of  defeating  the  object  of  the  cam 
paign,  they  carried  their  point  with 
General  Forbes,  who,  as  command  er-in- 

0  How  this  selfish  conduct  of  the  Pennsylvaniaus  was 
regarded  by  the  Virginians  under  Washington's  com 
mand,  is  illustrated  by  the  following  extract  from  a  let 
ter  of  Robert  Munford  to  Colonel  Bland,  dated  camp  near 
Fort  Cumberland,  May  4th,  1758  : 

"  If  'tis  honorable  to  be  in  the  service  of  one's  coun 
try,  'tis  a  reputation  gained  by  the  most  cruel  hardships 
you  can  imagine,  occasioned  more  by  a  real  anxiety  for 
its  welfare  than  by  what  the  poor  carcase  suffers.  Every 
officer  seems  discontented  in  camp,  happy  on  command, 
so  deep  is  the  interest  of  our  country  implanted  in  the 
minds  of  all.  Sometimes  the  army  wears  a  gloomy,  then 
a  joyous  aspect,  just  as  the  news  either  confirms  our  stay 
here,  or  immediate  departure.  The  general  [Forbes], 
with  the  small-pox  in  one,  the  flux  in  the  other  division 
of  our  forces,  and  no  provisions  ready,  are  indeed  excuses 
for  our  being  here  at  present ;  yet  all  might  have  been 
prevented.  A  few  hearty  prayers  are  every  moment  of 
fered  up  for  those  self-interested  Pennsylvanians,  who  en 
deavor  to  prevail  on  our  general  to  cut  a  road  for  their 
convenience  from  Eaystown  to  Fort  Duqnesne.  That  a 
trifling  good  to  particulars  should  retard  what  would 
conduce  to  the  general  welfare  !  'Tis  a  set  of  dirty 
Dutchmen,  they  say,  that  keep  us  here  !  It  would  be 
impertinent  to  condemn,  yet  I  must  think  our  leaders 
too  deliberate  at  this  important  juncture,  when  all  are 
warm  for  action,  all  breathing  revenge  against  an  enemy 
that  has  even  dared  to  scalp  our  men  before  our  eyes. 
The  amusement  we  have  in  the  mean  time,  is  only  fol 
lowing  the  brave  dogs  over  the  mountains  for  some 
miles,  and  our  sole  satisfaction  sufficient  fatigue  to  make 
us  sleep  sound." — Bland  Papers,  p.  13. 


chief,  had  full  power  to  decide  the  ques 
tion.  How  this  decision  affected  Wash 
ington,  may  be  seen  by  the  following 
extract  from  his  letters  to  Mr.  Fauquier, 
the  new  governor  of  Virginia,  and  to 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
In  addressing  the  latter  from  Fort 
Cumberland,  he  said  :  "  We  are  still  en 
camped  here  ;  very  sickly,  and  dispirit 
ed  at  the  prospect  before  us.  The  ap 
pearance  of  glory  which  we  once  had  in 
view — that  hope — that  laudable  ambi 
tion  of  serving  our  country  and  merit 
ing  its  applause,  are  now  no  more  ;  all 
is  dwindled  into  ease,  sloth,  and  fatal 
inactivity.  In  a  word,  all  is  lost,  if  the 
ways  of  men  in  power,  like  certain  ways 
of  Providence,  are  not  inscrutable.  But 
we,  who  view  the  actions  of  great  men 
at  a  distance,  can  only  form  conjectures 
agreeably  to  a  limited  perception  ;  and, 
being  ignorant  of  the  comprehensive 
schemes  which  may  be  in  contempla 
tion,  might  mistake  egregiously  in  judg 
ing  from  appearances,  or  by  the  lump. 
Yet  every  f — 1  will  have  his  notions,— 
will  prattle  and  talk  away ;  and  why 
may  not  I  ?  We  seem,  then,  in  my 
opinion,  to  act  under  the  guidance  of 
an  evil  genius.  The  conduct  of  our 
leaders,  if  not  actuated  by  superior  or 
ders,  is  tempered  with  something — I  do 
not  care  to  give  a  name  to.  Nothing 
now  but  a  miracle  can  bring  this  cam 
paign  to  a  happy  issue."  He  then  reca 
pitulated  the  arguments  he  had  urged 
against  attempting  a  new  road,  and 
added,  "But  I  spoke  unavailingly,  the 
road  was  immediately  begun  ;  and  since 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


119 


then,  from  one  to  two  thousand  men 
have  constantly  wrought  upon  it.  By 
the  last  accounts  I  have  received,  they 
had  cut  it  to  the  foot  of  the  Laurel  Hill, 
about  thirty-five  miles  ;  and  I  suppose, 
by  this  time,  fifteen  hundred  men  have 
taken  post  about  ten  miles  further,  at  a 
place  called  Loyal  Hanna,  where  our 
new  fort  is  to  be  constructed. 

"  We  have  certain  intelligence,  that 
the  French  strength  at  Fort  Duquesne 
did  not  exceed  eight  hundred  men, 
the  thirteenth  ultimo  ;  including1  about 

'  O 

three  or  four  hundred  Indians.  See 
how  our  time  has  been  misspent ;  be 
hold  how  the  golden  opportunity  is 
lost,  perhaps  never  to  be  regained  ! 
How  is  it  to  be  accounted  for  ?  Can 
General  Forbes  have  orders  for  this  ? 
Impossible !  Will  then  our  injured 
country  pass  by  such  abuses  ?  I  hope 
not.  Rather  let  a  full  representation  of 
the  matter  go  to  his  majesty ;  let  him 
know  how  grossly  his  interests  and  the 
public  money  have  been  prostituted." 

Well  might  Washington  complain. 
When  this  letter  was  written,  parties 
had  been  sent  forward  by  Colonel  Bou 
quet  to  work  upon  the  new  road,  and 
six  weeks  had  already  been  wasted  in 
this  fruitless  labor,  forty-five  miles  only 
being  gained  in  that  time.  General 
Forbes  had  at  length  arrived 
'  at  his  headquarters  at  Rays- 


1758. 


town.  The  advanced  party 
were  constructing  a  fort  at  Loyal  Han 
na,  most  of  the  Virginia  troops  were 
still  at  Fort  Cumberland,  whereas,  if 
the  old  route  by  Braddock's  road  had 


been  adopted,  General  Forbes,  with  his 
army  of  six  thousand  men,  might  al 
ready  have  reached  Fort  Duquesne,  at 
that  time  garrisoned  by  only  eight  hun 
dred  men. 

So  much  dissatisfied  were  the  Vir 
ginia  House  of  Burgesses  with  this  state 
of  affairs,  that  they  were  on  the  point 
of  recalling  the  forces  of  that  colony, 
and  placing  them  on  their  own  frontier  ; 
but  the  apprehension  that  the  failure  of 
the  expedition  might  be  ascribed  to  this 
proceeding,  induced  them  to  extend  the 
period  of  service  for  their  troops  to  the 
end  of  the  year. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Washing 
ton  disapproved  of  the  scheme  of  send 
ing  forward  detachments  of  any  consid 
erable  force  in  advance  of  the  main 
body  of  the  army.  His  excellent  judg 
ment  on  this  head  was  fully  evinced  by 
the  disastrous  fate  of  Major  Grant's  de 
tachment.  This  officer  was  detailed 
from  the  advanced  post  at  Loyal  Han 
na,  on  the  21st  of  September,  with  eight 
hundred  men,  for  the  purpose  of  recon- 
noitreing  the  enemy's  position  at  Fort 
Duquesne.  His  proceedings  were  sin 
gularly  imprudent.  Having  arrived, 
without  molestation,  at  a  hill  near  the 
fort,  in  the  night,  he  sent  forward  a 
small  party  to  make  observations,  who 
burnt  a  log-cabin  and  returned. 

Next  morning,  Major  Grant,  having 
ordered  Major  Lewis,  of  Washington's 
Virginia  regiment,  with  a  baggage- 
guard,  to  a  point  two  miles  in  his  rear, 
sent  forward  an  engineer,  with  a  cover 
ing  party,  within  full  view  of  the  garri- 


120 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  II. 


son,  to  take  a  plan  of  the  works.  As  if 
all  these  proceedings  were  not  sufficient 
to  give  the  enemy  notice  of  his  presence, 
he  ordered  the  reveille  to  be  beaten  in 
several  places. 

The  intelligent  French  commander  of 
Fort  Duquesne  observed  and  duly  ap 
preciated  this  silly  and  impudent  bra 
vado,  and  took  speedy  measures  to  pun 
ish  it.  Having  posted  Indians  in  am 
buscade  on  his  enemy's  flanks,  he  made 
a  sudden  sally  from  the  fort,  and  soon 
spread  dismay  and  confusion  among  the 
ranks  of  the  British  soldiers.  The  Hisrh- 

O 

landers,  who  composed  a  part  of  the  de 
tachment,  stood  their  ground  well  for 
some  time,  before  they  broke  and  fled. 
The  Virginians  from  Washington's  regi 
ment  gave  evidence  of  the  thorough 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  trained 
for  border  warfare.  They  bore  the 
brunt  of  the  battle,  losing,  out  of  eisrht 

/  O  /  O 

officers,  five  killed,  one  wounded,  and 
one  taken  prisoner,  while,  of  the  rank 
and  file,  out  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
two,  sixty-two  were  killed  and  two 
wounded. 

On  hearing  the  firing,  Major  Lewis 
left  Captain  Bullitt,  with  fifty  Virgin 
ians,  to  guard  the  baggage,  and  hast 
ened  to  join  in  the  fight.  He  was 
speedily  engaged  with  the  Indians,  who 
had  emerged  from  their  ambuscade 
in  the  woods.  Surrounded  and  near 
ly  overpowered,  he  surrendered  to  a 
French  officer.  Major  Grant  was  also 
taken  prisoner.  The  main  body  of  the 
detachment  was  routed,  and  sought 
safety  in  the  neigh  Coring  forest. 


Captain  Bullitt,  after  sending  off  a 
portion  of  the  baggage-wagons,  made  a 
stand  behind  a  breastwork  formed  of 
the  remaining  ones,  and  drove  back  the 
Indians,  who  were  rushing  forward  to 
secure  the  plunder.  He  then  effected 
a  rapid  retreat  with  the  remnant  of  the 
detachment.  Scattered  fugitives  from 
the  main  body,  who  had  been  dispersed, 
slowly  found  their  way  through  the 
woods  to  Loyal  Hanna.  The  total  loss 
was  two  hundred  and  seventy  killed 
and  forty-two  wounded. 

Washington  received,  in  the  compli 
ments  of  the  general,  a  satisfactory  inti 
mation  that  the  conduct  of  the  portion 
of  his  regiment  engaged  in  this  action 
was  duly  appreciated  at  headquarters  ; 
and  Captain  Bullitt's  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  major  was  a  further  testimony 
to  the  courage  and  good  behavior  of  the 
Virginians. 

At  length  the  main  body  of  the  army 
received  orders  to  advance  from  Rays- 
town.  The  general  called  on  the  colo 
nels  of  regiments  to  submit,  severally, 
for  his  consideration,  a  plan  for  his 
march.  The  plan  submitted  by  Wash 
ington  is  given  by  Mr.  Sparks,*  and 
evinces  sound  judgment  and  practical 
acquaintance  with  frontier  warfare. 

Washington,  at  his  own  request,  was 
put  in  the  advance.  He  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  a  division  numbering  a 
thousand  men,  with  the  temporary  rank 
of  brigadier-general,  and  ordered  to 
move  in  front  of  the  main  army,  clear 


°  Washington's  Writings,  vol.  ii.  p.  313. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1758. 


121 


the  road,  and  take  precautions  against 
a  surprise  by  the  enemy.  The  main 
body  did  not  reach  Loyal  Hanna  till 
the  5th  of  November.  The  road  was 
indescribably  bad,  and  frost  and  snow 
were  already  announcing  the  near  ap 
proach  of  winter.  The  soldiers  were 
dispirited,  as  well  they  might  be,  for 
they  were  ill-clad  for  the  season,  sur 
rounded  by  a  wilderness  of  forests,  and 
still  at  the  distance  of  fifty  miles  from 
Fort  Duquesne. 

A  council  of  war  was  now  held,  in 
which,  as  Washington  had  foreseen  and 
predicted,  it  was  decided  that  it  was  in 
expedient  to  proceed  further  in  the 
campaign.  To  winter  on  the  ground 
was  nearly  impossible.  The  alternative 
was  to  retreat  or  suffer  hardships  simi 
lar  to  those  which  the  army  under 
Washington's  command  subsequently 
suffered  at  Valley  Forge. 

Fortunately,  we  should  rather  say, 
providentially,  three  prisoners  were 
taken,  from  whom  information  was  ob 
tained  of  the  actual  condition  of  Fort 
Duquesne.  The  garrison  was  greatly 
reduced.  The  Indians  had  all  desert 
ed  them.  The  usual  supplies  of  pro 
visions  and  the  expected  reinforcements 
from  Canada  had  failed.  A  single  well- 
directed  blow  would  accomplish  the  ob 
ject  of  the  campaign. 

This  report  determined  General 
Forbes  to  prosecute  the  expedition. 
Washington  was  advanced  in  front,  as 
before,  to  open  a  road  for  the  main  body 
of  the  army,  and  establish  deposits  of 
provisions.  The  tents  and  heavy  bag- 

VOL.  I.— 16 


gage  were  left  at  Loyal  Hanna,  and 
only  a  light  train  of  artillery  was  taken 
forward  with  the  army.  Inspirited  with 
the  prospect  of  final  success,  both  offi 
cers  and  men  now  performed  their  duty 
with  alacrity. 

*/ 

The  road,  however,  was  long  and  dif 
ficult,  and  it  Wcos  not  till  the  25th  of  No 
vember  that  the  army  arrived  at  Fort 
Duquesne.  Instead  of  having  to  prose 
cute  a  siege  and  assault,  General  Forbes 
took  quiet  possession  of  the  fort,  which 
was  already  abandoned  by  the  enemy. 

Colonel  Bradstreet's  capture  of  Fort 
Frontenac  had  cut  off  the  usual  supplies 
and  reinforcements  intended  for  this 
post,  and  the  garrison,  consisting  of  only 
five  hundred  men,  had,  on  the  preced 
ing  night,  evacuated  the  place,  after 
setting  it  on  fire,  and  proceeded  down 
the  Ohio  in  boats. 

After  taking  possession  of  the  fort, 
General  Forbes*  caused  the  works  to 
be  repaired,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Fort  Pitt,  in  honor  of  the  prime  minis 
ter.  The  flourishing  city  of  Pittsburg 
now  stands  near  the  ruins  of  "  Old  Fort 
Duquesne." 

Two   hundred   men   from  Washing- 


0  John  Forbes  was  a  native  of  Petincrief,  Fifeshire, 
Scotland,  and  was  educated  as  a  physician.  He  aban 
doned  his  profession,  entered  the  army,  and  in  1745  was 
advanced  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  He  acted  as 
quartermaster-general  of  the  army  under  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  and  in  1757  was  appointed  brigadier-gen 
eral,  and  sent  to  America.  He  was  successful  in  the  ex 
pedition  against  Fort  Duquesne — the  works  being  aban 
doned  on  his  approach.  After  having  concluded  treaties 
with  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Ohio,  he  returned  to  Phila 
delphia,  and  died  in  that  city,  March  13th,  1769,  aged 
forty-nine. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


ton's  regiment  formed  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Pitt.  This  measure  was  adopt 
ed  against  his  remonstrances,  General 

O 

Forbes  declining  to  leave  a  detachment 
from  the  regular  army,  in  consequence  of 
an  opinion  he  had  formed  that  "by  such 
a  step  he  would  exceed  his  authority. 

Washington  marched  back  with  the 
remainder  of  his  command  to  Winches 
ter.  On  his  way  he  stopped  at  Loyal 
Hanna,  whence  he  addressed  a  circular 
letter  to  the  frontier  inhabitants,  re 
questing  them  to  forward  supplies  to 
the  Virginians  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  promis 
ing  remuneration.  Leaving  his  troops 
at  Winchester,  he  proceeded  to  Wil- 
liamsburg.  to  take  his  seat  in  the  lems- 

O  '  O 

lature  of  Virginia,  of  which  he  had  been 
elected  a  member,  while  he  was  on 
duty  at  Fort  Cumberland. 

As  the  frontier  of  Virginia  was  now 
relieved  from  the  incursions  of  the 
French  and  Indians,  Washington's  pa 
triotic  motives  for  continuing  in  the 
military  service  had  ceased  to  operate. 
No  royal  commission,  such  as  had  been 
tendered  to  Sir  William  Pepperrell  for 
his  single  successful  campaign  at  Louis- 
burg,  was  offered  for  his  acceptance,  and 
his  military  career  for  the  present  was 
closed.  About  the  end  of  the 
year  he  resigned  his  commission 
as  colonel  of  the  first  Virginia  regiment, 
and  commander-iii-chief  of  all  the  troops 
raised  in  the  colony. 

"The  officers  whom  he  commanded," 
says  Marshall,*  "  were  greatly  attached 

*  Life  of  Washington,  chapter  i. 


1758. 


to  him.  They  manifested  their  esteem 
and  their  regret  at  parting,  by  a 
very  affectionate  address,  expressive 
of  the  high  opinion  they  entertained 
both  of  his  military  and  private  char 
acter. 

"  This  opinion  was  not  confined  to  the 
officers  of  his  regiment.  It  was  com 
mon  to  Virginia;  and  had  been  adopt 
ed  by  the  British  officers  with  whom 
he  served.  The  duties  he  performed, 
though  not  splendid,  were  arduous,  and 
were  executed  with  zeal  and  with  judg 
ment.  The  exact  discipline  he  estab 
lished  in  his  regiment,  when  the  temper 
of  Virginia  wras  extremely  hostile  to 
discipline,  does  credit  to  his  military 
character,  and  the  gallantry  the  troops 
displayed,  whenever  called  into  action, 
manifests  the  spirit  infused  into  them 
by  their  commander. 

"The  difficulties  of  his  situation,  while 
unable  to  cover  the  frontier  from  the 
French  and  Indians,  who  were  spread 
ing  death  and  desolation  in  every  quar- 

O  «'          i- 

ter,  were  incalculably  great ;  and  no 
better  evidence  of  his  exertions,  undei 
these  distressing  circumstances,  can  be 
given,  than  the  undiminished  confidence 
still  placed  in  him  by  those  whom  he 
was  unable  to  protect. 

"The  efforts  to  which  he  incessantly 
stimulated  his  country  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  possession  of  the  Ohio  ;  the 
system  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  which 

«/ 

he  continually  recommended ;  the  vig 
orous  and  active  measures  always  urged 
upon  those  by  whom  he  was  command 
ed  ;  manifest  an  ardent  and  enterprising 


CHAP.  VII.] 


LADY  WASHINGTON. 


125 


from  thence  to  the  command-in-chief  of 
the  armies  of  his  country,  assembled 
before  Cambridge,  July,  1775.  The 
commander-iii-chief  returned  no  more 
to  reside  at  Mount  Vernon  till  after  the 
peace  of  1783.  Mrs.,  or  Lady  Washing 
ton,  as  we  shall  now  call  her,  such  be 
ing  the  appellation  she  always  bore  in 
the  army,  accompanied  the  general  to 
the  lines  before  Boston,  and  witnessed 
its  siege  and  evacuation.  She  then  re 
turned  to  Virginia,  the  subsequent  cam 
paigns  being  of  too  momentous  a  char 
acter  to  allow  of  her  accompanying  the 
army. 

At  the  close  of  each  campaign  an  aid- 
de-camp  repaired  to  Mount  Vernon,  to 
escort  the  lady  to  the  headquarters. 
The  arrival  of  Lady  Washington  at 
camp  was  an  event  much  anticipated, 
and  was  always  the  signal  for  the  ladies 
of  the  general  officers  to  repair  to  the 
bosoms  of  their  lords.  The  arrival  of 


the  aid-de-camp,  escorting  the  plain 
chariot  with  the  neat  postillions  in 
their  scarlet  and  white  liveries,  was 
deemed  an  epoch  in  the  army,  and 
served  to  diffuse  a  cheering  influence 
amid  the  gloom  which  hung  over  our 
destinies  at  Valley  Forge,  Morristown, 
and  West  Point.  Lady  Washington 
always  remained  at  the  headquarters 
till  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  and 
often  remarked,  in  after  life,  that  it  had 
been  her  fortune  to  hear  the  first  can 
non  at  the  opening,  and  the  last  at  the 
closing  of  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  war.  During  the  whole  of 
that  mighty  period  when  we  struggled 
for  independence,  Lady  Washington 
preserved  her  equanimity,  together 
with  a  degree  of  cheerfulness,  that  in 
spired  all  around  her  with  the  brightest 
hopes  for  our  ultimate  success.* 

°  Custis,  Memoirs  of  Martfia  Washington. 


DOCUMENTS   ILLUSTRATING    3IIAPTER   VII. 


[A.] 

SIR  WILLIAM  PEPPERRELL. 

Tins  illnstrious  contemporary  of  Washington 
is  too  remarkable  a  person  to  be  passed  by  with 
out  notice,  in  a  history  of  his  "Times." 

The  best  biography  of  Sir  William  Pepper- 
rell,  the  conqueror  of  Louisburg,  was  written 
by  Dr.  Usher  Parsons,  of  Providence,  R.  I., — 
the  same  Dr.  Parsons  who  received  a  medal  from 
Congress  for  his  services  as  the  only  surgeon  in 
Perry's  fleet  at  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie.  It  is 
entitled,  "The  Life  of  Sir  William  Pepperrell, 
Bart.,  the  only  native  of  New  England  who  was 
created  a  baronet  during  our  connection  with 
the  mother  country."  From  it  we  learn  that 
Pepperrell  was  born  at  Kittery  Point,  in  Maine, 
June  27th,  1676  ;  that  he  was  early  trained  to 
the  use  of  arms,  at  a  time  when  almost  perpetual 
Indian  wars  made  it  necessary  for  every  man  to 
be  a  soldier  ;  that  he  rose  by  degrees  to  be  colo 
nel  and  commander  of  all  the  militia  of  Maine  ; 
that  he  was  a  magistrate  and  member  of  the 
council  of  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  which 
then  included  Maine ;  that,  in  1734,  he  succeed 
ed  to  the  princely  fortune  of  his  father,  a  mer 
chant  and  shipbuilder,  which  lie  increased  by  his 
own  industry  and  ability  in  the  same  pursuits ; 
and  that  he  had  become  the  most  eminent  and 
popular  man  hi  the  province,  at  the  period  when 
the  breaking  out  of  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  France  gave  occasion  to  the  expedition 
against  Louisburg,  in  which  his  military  reputa 
tion  and  his  title  were  won. 

In  1744,  a  new  scene  opens  in  Pepperrell's  life, 
in  which  the  part  he  performed  raised  him  to  a 
high  degree  of  fame,  and  inscribed  his  name  on 
the  enduring  page  of  history  ;  it  was  the  siege 
and  capture  of  Louisburg. 


France  declared  war  March  15,  1744,  and 
England  in  two  weeks  after.  The  garrison  at 
Louisburg  took  advantage  of  the  prior  declara 
tion,  and  attacked  Nova  Scotia.  A  brief  sketch 
of  the  relative  positions  of  the  two  contending 
powers  in  America,  at  this  time  and  previously, 
will  assist  in  explaining  their  operations. 

Louisburg  is  situated  at  the  southeastern  ex 
tremity  of  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  at  the  en 
trance  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  entrance  being  Newfoundland, 
thirty  leagues  distant.  The  two  islands,  thus 
relatively  situated,  seemed  like  two  sentinels 
placed  at  the  entrance  into  the  Gulf  and  River 
St.  Lawrence,  which  receive  the  waters  of  the 
great  lakes.  The  island  of  Cape  Breton  appears 
on  a  map  like  a  continuation  of  Nova  Scotia,  be 
ing  nearly  of  the  same  width,  from  thirty  to  six 
ty  miles,  and  is  separated  from  it  by  a  narrow 
strait  called  Canso.  The  two  together  were 
called,  by  the  French,  Acadie,  and  by  the  Eng 
lish,  Nova  Scotia.  They  are  separated  from 
New  Brunswick  by  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  which 
runs  northeast  from  Cape  Sable,  until  it  almost 
meets  Baie  Verte,  which  makes  in  from  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence,  an  isthmus  of  ten  miles  being 
all  that  connects  Nova  Scotia  with  the  main 
land  of  New  Brunswick.  The  distance  from 
Cape  Sable,  the  western  end  of  Nova  Scotia,  to 
the  strait  of  Canso,  is  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  ;  and  from  Canso  to  Louisburg,  about 
one  hundred  miles.  Nearly  half  the  way  be 
tween  Cape  Sable  and  Canso,  on  the  Atlantic 
shore,  is  the  present  city  of  Halifax.  The  Eng 
lish  claimed,  by  right  of  discovery  and  posses 
sion,  the  Atlantic  shores  from  Nova  Scotia  tc 
Georgia ;  and  the  French  claimed,  by  the  same 
right,  the  Canadas,  situated  along  the  great 
chain  of  waters  through  the  Ohio  River  to  Pitts- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


127 


burg,  and  to  Erie  on  the  Lake  shore.  But  the 
Cliickasaws  had  long  opposed  their  progress  up 
the  Mississippi.  In  order  to  subdue  them,  and 
open  a  free  communication  between  Louisiana 
and  Canada,  a  detachment  of  two  hundred 
French  and  four  hundred  Indians  were  sent 
from  Canada  to  Erie,  and  thence  down  the  Ohio, 
to  meet  a  party  from  New  Orleans.  But  the 
expected  party  from  below  failed  to  meet  them 
at  the  time  appointed.  The  Canadians,  confi 
dent  of  success,  attacked  the  Chickasaw  towns 
single-handed.  But  three  hundred  Chickasaws 
instantly  assembling,  gave  battle  to  the  French 
in  the  field,  and  completely  conquered  them. 
Those  who  were  not  immediately  killed,  after 
being  kept  several  days,  almost  perishing  with 
hunger,  in  the  wilderness,  were  tied  to  the  stake, 
tortured,  and  burnt.  Soon  after  this,  M.  Bien- 
ville,  with  a  larger  army,  made  a  second  expe 
dition.  Proceeding  up  the  Mississippi,  they  en 
camped  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  Chickasaw 
towns,  and  built  a  fort  called  Assumption  ;  and 
receiving  succors  from  Canada,  they,  in  the  fol 
lowing  March,  proposed  terms  of  peace,  which 
the  Chickasaws  accepted,  and  granted  free  com 
munication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana. 

But  the  Canadas  were  too  remote  from  New 
Orleans  to  receive  supplies  from  France  by  the 
way  of  the  Mississippi ;  so  that,  after  all,  their 
only  channel  for  conveying  these  was  through 
the  St.  Lawrence.  In  entering  this,  they  must 
pass  Cape  Breton  on  the  left,  and  Newfound 
land,  thirty  leagues  distant,  on  the  right ;  and 
between  these  two  sentinels  all  intercourse  must 
pass  between  France  and  the  Canadas,  and  the 
head-waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  two  rival  nations  thus  relatively  situated, 
could  hardly  over-estimate  the  value  and  impor 
tance  of  these  islands,  and  especially  of  Cape 
Breton,  to  their  respective  interests.  Both  na 
tions  were  extensively  engaged  in  the  fisheries 
on  the  Grand  Banks,  within  a  few  hours'  sail  of 
Louisburg.  The  fur-trade,  from  the  extensive 
northwestern  regions,  which  was  a  leading 
French  interest,  must  pass  through  this  chan 
nel,  as  well  as  European  supplies  in  return,  for 
French  and  Indian  Canadians.  To  the  English, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  possession  of  Cape  Bre 
ton  was  still  more  important.  The  English  col 


onies  were  vastly  more  populous,  and  the  colo 
nial  trade  proportion  ably  greater,  and  they, 
moreover,  afforded  supplies  of  ship-timber  for 
the  British  navy.  In  time  of  war,  armed  ves 
sels  fitted  out  from  Louisburg,  if  in  possession 
of  the  French,  could  intercept  the  whole  trade 
between  England  and  her  colonies  and  destroy 
her  fisheries ;  and  if  in  possession  of  England, 
the  latter  could  destroy  the  French  Canadian 
trade  and  fisheries.  Hence  Nova  Scotia,  includ 
ing  Cape  Breton,  was  a  bone  of  contention  from 
the  earliest  settlement,  and  was  alternately  pos 
sessed  by  one  or  the  other  nation,  as  success  or 
defeat  attended  its  arms  elsewhere. 

At  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  Nova  Scotia  proper 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  while  Cape  Breton 
was  retained  by  France  ;  and  from  that  time  no 
pains  nor  expense  was  spared  by  the  French 
government  in  building  and  strengthening  its 
fortifications.  They  commenced  building  a 
walled  town  on  a  tongue  of  land  at  the  south 
east  part  of  the  island,  which,  in  honor  of  their 
king,  they  called  Louisburg.  An  accurate  de 
scription  of  it  is  thus  given  by  Belknap  :  It  was 
two  miles  and  a  half  in  circumference,  fortified 
in  every  accessible  part,  with  a  rampart  of  stone 
from  thirty  to  thirty-six  feet  high,  and  a  ditch 
eighty  feet  wide  ;  a  space  of  about  two  hundred 
yards  was  left  without  a  rampart,  on  the  side 
next  to  the  sea,  and  inclosed  by  a  simple  dike 
and  pickets.  The  sea  was  so  shallow  at  this 
place  that  it  made  only  a  narrow  channel,  inac 
cessible,  from  its  numerous  reefs,  to  any  shipping 
whatever.  On  an  island  at  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor,  which  was  only  four  hundred  yards  wide, 
was  a  battery  of  thirty  cannon,  carrying  twen 
ty-eight  pound  shot,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the 
harbor,  directly  opposite  to  the  entrance,  wad 
the  grand  or  royal  battery  of  twenty-eight  forty- 
twos  and  two  eighteen-pound  cannon.  On  a 
high  eminence  opposite  the  island  battery  stood 
the  lighthouse,  and  at  the  northeast  part  of  the 
harbor  was  a  magazine  for  naval  stores.  The 
town  was  regularly  laid  out  in  squares.  The 
streets  wrere  broad,  and  the  houses  built  mostly 
of  wood  and  stone.  The  entrance  to  the  town 
was  at  the  west  gate  over  a  drawbridge,  which 
was  protected  by  a  circular  battery  of  thirteen 
twenty-four  pound  cannon. 


128 


IJFK  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II 


These  works  had  been  twenty-five  years  in 
building,  and,  though  unfinished,  had  cost 
France  not  less  than  six  millions  of  dollars.  It 
was,  in  peace,  a  safe  retreat  for  the  French  ships 
bound  homeward  from  the  East  and  West  In 
dies  ;  and,  in  war,  a  place  most  favorable  for 
privateers  to  seize  fishing  and  coasting  vessels, 
and  British  merchantmen. 

The  French  had  early  erected  forts  between 
Quebec  and  Lake  Erie,  and  they  now  aimed  to 
establish  others  between  Erie  and  the  Mississip 
pi.  But  Virginia  claimed  the  territory  from 
the  Atlantic  westward  to  an  unlimited  extent, 
through  which  France  was  erecting  these  forts. 
It  was  attempted  to  enforce  this  claim  by  oppos 
ing  the  erection  of  French  forts,  as  at  Le  Boeuf 
and  Pittslmrg,  in  which  attempt  Washington 
commenced  his  military  career,  and  Braddock 
was  defeated  and  slain. 

Nova  Scotia  proper,  then  in  possession  of  the 
English,  extended  westward  from  the  Strait  of 
Causo  to  Cape  Sable.  There  were  two  forts  in 
it,  garrisoned  by  two  companies  of  English  sol 
diers  ;  one  at  the  mouth  of  the  strait,  on  an 
island  called  Canso,  and  the  other  on  the  north 
side,  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  called  Port  Royal,  or 
Annapolis.  Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  history 
and  relative  positions  of  the  places  that  wrere 
now  to  become  the  field  of  military  operations. 

The  commander  at  Louisburfj,  on  hearing 
that  war  was  declared,  immediately  dispatched 
an  armed  force  of  nine  hundred  men  to  Canso 
Island,  and  captured  the  garrison,  and  conveyed 
the  prisoners  to  Louisburg,  before  the  news  of 
the  declaration  of  war  had  reached  Boston. 
Another  expedition  was  directed,  in  like  man 
ner,  against  the  English  fort  at  Annapolis.  But 
Governor  Shirley,  in  anticipation  of  hostilities, 
had  sent  a  reinforcement  from  Boston,  which 
arrived  in  season  to  strengthen  the  garrison, 
and  enable  it  to  repel  the  assault.  Both  these 
expeditions  were  unauthorized  by  the  French 
government,  and  wrere,  in  fact,  a  violation  of 
positive  orders  to  the  contrary.  But  the  pros 
pect  of  victory  seemed  so  certain,  that  the  com 
mander  at  Louisburg  could  not  resist  the  temp 
tation  to  undertake  them. 

The  Indians  of  Xova  Scotia  assisted  in  these 
attacks,  which  led  to  an  immediate  declaration 


of  war  against  them,  and  all  other  tribes  near 
them.  Colonel  Pepperrell  was  sent,  at  the  head 
of  commissioners,  to  the  Penobscot  tribe  of  In 
dians,  to  test  their  fidelity  and  friendship,  and 
to  request  the  sagamores  to  furnish  their  quota 
of  warriors,  according  to  the  terms  of  a  former 
treaty.  His  proposals  were  answered  by  a  let 
ter  sent  to  Pepperrell  after  his  return  to  Boston, 
stating  that  their  young  men  would  not  tight 
against  their  brethren  of  St.  Johns  and  New 
Brunswick. 

The  colonies  were  now  awakened  to  a  sense 
of  their  danger.  It  was  well  known  that  France 
was  making  formidable  preparations  for  war, 
and  that  whatever  was  done  for  sell-preservation 
must  be  done  quickly.  There  was  not  a  mo 
ment  to  be  lost.  Through  the  autumn  of  1744, 
it  was  a  general  topic  of  conversation  in  Boston, 
that  Louisburg  must  be  wrested  from  the 
French,  in  order  to  insure  safety  to  trade  and 
navigation,  and  even  to  the  very  existence  of 
the  colonies.  The  prisoners  taken  at  Canso  in 
the  spring,  and  carried  to  Louisburg,  had  been 
exchanged,  and  returned  to  Boston  in  the  au 
tumn.  From  them  an  accurate  account  of  the 
strength  of  the  fortifications  of  Louisburg  was 
obtained  ;  from  all  which  Governor  Shirley  con 
ceived  the  idea  of  taking  the  city  by  surprise, 
early  in  the  spring,  before  any  succors  could  ar 
rive  from  France.  Vaughn,  of  New  Hampshire, 
a  man  of  sanguine  temperament  and  daring  en 
terprise,  assisted  in  collecting  information,  and 
urged  forward  the  expedition.  Some  have  said 
that  he  proposed  marching  into  the  city  on 
snowdrifts  !  Governor  Shirley  wrote  letters  to 
the  ministry  representing  the  probability  of  an 
attack  by  the  French  upon  Nova  Scotia  early  in 
the  spring,  and  asking  for  some  naval  assistance, 
carefully  concealing,  however,  the  real  scope  and 
extent  of  his  plans.  He  also  wrrote  to  Commo 
dore  Warren,  on  the  West  India  station,  to 
come  with  his  squadron  and  co-operate.  Orders 
were  accordingly  dispatched  early  in  January 
to  Warren,  to  proceed  to  New  England  in  the 
spring,  and  consult  and  co-operate  with  Gov- 
nor  Shirley  in  protecting  the  fisht  ries. 

To  obtain  the  opinion  of  the  general  court  on 
this  subject,  the  governor,  early  in  January,  re 
quested  its  members  to  take  an  oath  of  secrecy 


CHAP.  VII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


129 


respecting  a  proposition  lie  was  .about  to  lay  bo- 
fore  them.  This  was  something  new  in  colonial 
legislation,  but  was  complied  with,  and  the  plan 
of  attacking  Louisburg  was  now  submitted  to 
their  consideration.  Secrecy  was  observed  for 
some  days,  but  the  affair  then  accidentally  leak 
ed  out.  A  pious  old  deacon,  a  member  of  the 
legislature,  was  so  filled  with  the  matter  that  he 
was  overheard,  at  his  private  devotions,  invoking 
heaven  for  its  smiles  on  the  enterprise.  The 
boldness  of  the  proposal  at  first  astonished  every 
one.  It  was  referred  to  a  committee,  who  re 
ported  against  it,  and  thus  the  whole  affair  was 
supposed  to  have  received  its  quietus. 

But  the  governor  was  not  thus  to  be  defeated. 
A  few  days  after  he  approached  the  legislature 
through  a  petition  which  he  had  the  address  to 
get  signed  by  merchants  in  Boston  and  Salem, 
requesting  a  reconsideration,  and  which  was  re 
ferred  to  another  committee,  who  reported  in  its 
favor.  After  two  days'  discussion  the  question 
was  taken  on  the  26th  of  January,  and  the  ex 
pedition  was  decided  upon  by  a  majority  of  a 
single  vote  in  its  favor,  several  members  who 
were  known  to  be  opposed  to  it  being  absent. 
Xo  sooner,  however,  was  the  decision  made, 
than  great  unanimity  prevailed  in  carrying  it 
into  effect,  even  among  those  who  were  before 
opposed  to  it.  The  people  became  enthusiastic 
and  confident  of  success. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  concurred  to  ren 
der  the  expedition  feasible.  Many  fishermen, 
who  had  been  thrown  out  of  employment  by  the 
declaration  of  war,  were  ready  to  enlist  as  sol 
diers.  The  preceding  season  had  been  crowned 
with  an  abundant  harvest,  which  made  provi 
sions  plentiful.  The  winter  following  was  un 
usually  mild,  the  rivers  and  harbors  were  open, 
and  the  inhabitants  unmolested  by  savages.  A 
concurrence  of  happy  incidents,  as  will  presentl) 
appear,  drew  the  whole  naval  force  of  England, 
employed  to  guard  the  shores  and  islands  of 
America,  to  Louisburg,  while  adverse  circum 
stances  to  the  French  prevented  the  arrival  of 
succors  and  supplies  to  the  garrison,  that  were 
due  from  France,  which  created  discontent  and 
a  spirit  of  insubordination  among  the  soldiers. 
A  ship-of-the-line  that  was  intended  to  bring 
supplies  of  provisions  and  munitions  of  war  in 

Voi    T  —17 


the  autumn,  was  broken  in  launching,  and  her 
place  could  not  be  supplied  in  time  to  reach 
Louisburg  until  the  British  squadron  had  block 
aded  the  port,  and  was  able  to  capture  all  ves 
sels  bound  thither. 

It  was  supposed  that  a  force  of  four  thousand 
men,  with  such  a  fleet  as  the  provinces  could 
raise,  would  be  able  to  compel  a  surrender  of 
the  place ;  and  if  it  failed  in  this,  it  could  at 
least  recover  Canso  and  fortify  Annapolis  in 
Nova  Scotia,  destroy  the  French  fisheries,  and 
lay  waste  all  the  settlements  on  the  island  of 
Cape  Breton,  and  probably  capture  many  French 
merchant  vessels.  Circulars  were  addressed  to 
other  provinces  of  New  England  and  the  Mid 
dle  States,  but  no  one  took  any  part  in  the  ex 
pedition  beyond  New  England. 

Each  province,  at  that  time,  maintained  one 
or  more  armed  vessels.  Massachusetts  added 
to  her  number.  Rhode  Island  sent  her  sloop- 
of-war  with  eighty  seamen.  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut  followed  their  example.  Ed 
ward  Tyng,  who  commanded  a  small  frigate  of 
twenty-four  guns,  was  made  commodore.  The 
whole  number  of  armed  vessels  was  fourteen, 
and  the  number  of  guns  in  the  provincial  fleet 
was  about  two  hundred  and  four;  the  whole 
number  of  armed  vessels  and  transports  amount 
ing  to  one  hundred  sail.  The  number  of  troops 
voted  was,  by  Massachusetts,  three  thousand 
three  hundred  and  fifty ;  by  Rhode  Island,  three 
hundred;  New  Hampshire,  three  hundred  ;  and 
Connecticut,  five  hundred. 

A  difficult  task  that  now  presented  itself  was, 
the  appointment  of  a  commander  of  the  expe 
dition.  There  were  no  experienced  military 
officers  in  New  England.  A  few  had  been  en 
gaged  in  skirmishes  with  Indians,  but  no  man 
was  to  be  found  who  had  actually  served  in  any 
siege  or  pitched  battle.  The  choice  fell  upon 
Colonel  William  Pepperrell.  He  was  exten 
sively  known  throughout  New  England,  was 
largely  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  a  gentleman  of 
engaging  manners,  very  popular  and  wealthy, 
and  had  long  held  the  highest  office  in  the  gift 
of  the  people,  that  of  president  of  the  governor's 
council.  His  patriotism  now  shone  out  with 
great  lustre,  for  nothing  but  a  zeal  for  his  coun 
try's  good  could  have  carried  him  from  the 


130 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


scenes  of  domestic  enjoyment,  and  extensive  and 
lucrative  business,  to  the  fatigues  of  a  camp,  and 
the  risks  of  a  certain  conflict  with  doubtful  re 
sults. 

He  hesitated  about  accepting  the  appoint 
ment,  until  Governor  Shirley  assured  him  that 
his  influence  was  indispensable  as  commander. 
He  then  consulted  his  friends,  and  among  others 
the  famous  itinerant  preacher,  George  White- 
field,  who  was  then  travelling  through  New 
England,  and  lodged  at  his  house.  Whitefield 
told  him  he  "  did  not  think  the  scheme  very 
promising ;  that  the  eyes  of  all  would  be  upon 
him ;  that  if  he  should  not  succeed,  the  Avidows 
and  orphans  of  the  slain  would  reproach  him ; 
and  if  it  should  succeed,  many  would  regard 
him  with  envy,  and  endeavor  to  eclipse  his 
glory :  that  he  ought,  therefore,  to  go  with  a 
single  eye,  and  he  would  find  his  strength  pro 
portioned  to  his  necessity."  He  afterwards,  by 
request,  furnished  a  motto  for  the  flag,  which 
was,  "  N^il  Desperandum,  Christo  Duce  y"  there 
by  giving  the  expedition  the  air  of  a  crusade. 
It  is  said  that  a  number  of  the  followers  of 
Whitefield  enlisted ;  and  as  a  proof  of  the  pre 
vailing  religious  feeling,  one  of  them,  a  clergy 
man,  carried  upon  his  shoulder  a  hatchet,  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  images  in  the 
French  churches. 

Having  decided  to  take  the  command,  he 
entered  on  its  duties,  heart  and  hand,  advanced 
five  thousand  pounds  to  the  province  from  his 
own  fortune,  and  brought  every  influence  to 
bear  upon  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The 
appointment  was  judicious,  for,  though  a  mer 
chant,  he  possessed  much  military  spirit,  and 
was  well  fitted  to  command  a  militia  composed 
of  farmers,  mechanics,  and  fishermen. 

The  orders  of  Governor  Shirley  to  the  com- 
rnander-in-chief,  Lieutenant-general  Pepperrell 
(such  was  his  present  rank),  were  to  proceed 
with  his  one  hundred  armed  vessels  and  store- 
ships  to  Canso,  there  build  a  battery  and  block 
house,  deposit  his  stores,  and  leave  two  com 
panies  to  guard  them ;  thence  sail  with  the  fleet 
and  arm)'  to  Cabarus  Bay,  within  three  miles 
of  Louisburg,  to  arrive  in  the  evening,  to  anchor 
under  cover  of  the  darkness,  forthwith  to  land 
his  men,  and  commence  an  attack  without  delay 


— a  most  Quixotic  scheme.  A  hundred  sail  of 
various  sizes  were  to  arrive  there  at  a  precise 
hour ;  the  weather  and  wind,  even  in  the  spring 
months,  were  all  to  be  favorable ;  the  rocky 
ridges  painting  the  shores,  and  the  ice  and  tog 
which  environed  the  island  at  this  season  were 
to  be  avoided ;  a  certain  harbor  to  be  made  under 
the  shadows  of  nightfall,  in  an  unexplored  l>ay, 
and  in  a  particular  manner ;  a  landing  to  be 
effected  there  immediately  amidst  a  heavy  surf; 
and  then  the  soldiery  to  take  up  a  march,  in  the 
dark,  through  a  ravine,  bog,  and  woods,  and 
after  travelling  three  miles  from  the  place  of 
landing,  to  commence  pulling  down  pickets  with 
grappling-irons,  and  mount  walls  thirty  feet  high 
with  scaling-ladders  :  and  all  this  in  the  space  of 
one  short  night ! 

It  was  confidently  expected  by  all  who  had 
embarked,  that  the  West  India  fleet,  under 
Commodore  Warren,  would  accompany  them, 
but  on  the  day  before  they  sailed,  word  was  re 
ceived  from  him  declining  to  engage.  This  had 
no  influence  on  Pepperrell,  and  it  was  kept  an 
entire  secret  between  Shirley,  General  Holcott, 
and  himself. 

Within  eight  weeks  the  provincial  forces  were 
raised,  and  the  entire  preparations  completed, 
the  whole  number  of  troops  being  four  thousand 
three  hundred.  The  only  aid  from  provinces 
out  of  New  England  was,  the  loan  often  eight- 
pound  cannon  by  New  York  and  some  contribu 
tions  of  provisions  and  clothing  by  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania.  Some  of  the  armed  vessels 
sailed  so  early  as  the  middle  of  March,  to  cruise 
before  Louisburg,  and  to  cut  off  any  of  the 
enemy's  ships  that  should  attempt  to  enter  that 
port.  The  rest  of  the  fleet  and  transports  col 
lected  at  Nantasket  roads.  A  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer  throughout  the  province  was  ap 
pointed,  to  invoke  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon 
the  expedition ;  and  an  evening  for  special  prayer 
was  set  apart  weekly  by  many  of  the  churches 
of  New  England.  The  Massachusetts  troops, 
sailed  on  the  24th  of  March,  harbored  three 
days  at  Sheepscot,  and  arrived  at  Canso,  the 
place  of  general  rendezvous,  on  the  1st  of  April. 
The  New  Hampshire  troops  had  arrived  a  few 
days  previous,  and  those  from  Connecticut  came 
some  ten  days  after.  While  lying  in  Canso, 


CHAP.  VII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


131 


waiting  for  the  ice  to  clear,  the  armed  vessels 
captured  a  Martinique  vessel  bound  *br  Louis- 
burg,  laden  with  rum  and  molasses.  Soldiers 
were  detached  for  making  the  assault  on  Louis- 
burg,  and  some  were  employed  in  making  car 
tridges,  and  others  in  erecting  a  blockhouse  for 
the  defence  of  the  place,  and  for  the  reception 
of  sick  and  wounded.  Skirmishes  occurred  on 
land,  and  a  few  French  and  Indians  were  taken 
prisoners,  from  whom  information  respecting 
Louisburg  was  obtained.  On  the  22d  of  April, 
the  Eltham,  a  mast  ship  of  forty  guns,  arrived 
from  the  Piscataqua,  and  on  the  following  day 
three  large  ships  appeared  in  the  offing,  which, 
to  the  great  joy  of  all,  proved  to  be  the  squad 
ron  of  Commodore  Warren.  This  was  unex 
pected  to  Pepperrell,  who  had  learned,  on  the 
day  of  sailing  from  Boston,  as  before  remarked, 
that  Warren  declined  coming,  as  requested  by 
Shirley.  But  it  seems  that  on  the  day  following 
the  date  of  his  letter,  he  received  orders  from 
England  to  proceed  and  co-operate  with  Shirley 
in  protecting  the  fisheries.  Learning  from  a 
vessel  on  the  way  that  the  army  had  sailed, 
Warren  shaped  his  course  for  Canso  instead  of 
Boston. 

The  ice,  that  had  environed  the  shore  and  de 
tained  them,  being  removed,  the  whole  army  em 
barked  at  Canso  on  the  29th  of  April,  intending 
to  arrive  in  the  evening.  A  small  armed  vessel 
was  sent  ahead,  to  frighten  into  port  any  guard- 
boats  that  might  be  on  the  look-out  for  an 
enemy's  approach.  The  wind  dying  away,  pre 
vented  their  reaching  Cabarus  Bay,  the  place  of 
landing,  until  eight  o'clock  the  following  morn 
ing.  This  was  the  first  intimation  the  garrison 
of  Louisburg  had  of  the  intended  invasion.  They 
had  discovered  the  ships  of  war  some  days  be 
fore,  but  supposed  them  to  be  privateers.  The 
secrecy  observed  by  the  provincials  proved  to  be 
judicious,  as  it  enabled  them  to  surprise  the  gar 
rison  ;  which  contributed  more  to  success  than 
any  thing  else,  excepting  the  culpable  neglect  of 
the  French  to  reconnoitre  the  island  of  Cape 
Breton,  and  to  employ  spies  to  watch  the  mo 
tions  of  their  adversary.  They  little  dreamed 
of  the  cloud  that  was  gathering  over  them.  Se 
cure  in  their  imagined  strength,  they  were  star 
tled  at  the  sight  of  a  numerous  fleet,  and  now, 


for  the  first  time,  knew  that  the  enemy  was  upon 
them.  Confusion  and  alarm  paralyzed  their 
energies.  No  sooner  were  the  vessels  anchored, 
than  boats  were  hoisted  out  and  filled  with  sol 
diers,  eager  for  battle,  and  a  detachment  of  them 
pulled  for  White  Point,  under  cover  of  the 
armed  vessels.  An  alarm  was  now  sounded  by 
the  bells  and  cannon  of  the  town.  Captain 
Morepang  sallied  out  with  two  companies  to 
oppose  the  landing.  Having  drawn  the  enemy 
to  White  Point,  the  boats  retreated  a  little,  and, 
being  joined  by  another  division,  aimed  for 
another  place,  two  miles  further  inland,  where, 
under  cover  of  two  armed  vessels,  they  effected 
a  landing  before  the  French  could  reach  them. 
They  rushed  to  meet  the  approaching  enemy, 
and  killed  six  of  them,  and  captured  others  that 
were  wounded,  and  among  them,  Captain  More- 
pang.  The  remainder  turned  their  backs  and 
hastened  to  the  city  garrison,  burning  all  the 
houses  that  were  in  their  way.  Half  the  army 
were  landed  that  day,  and  the  remainder,  with 
provisions,  the  two  following  mornings.  They 
marched  towards  the  town,  and  encamped  so 
near,  that  the  enemy's  cannon  reached  and 
obliged  them  to  pitch  their  tents  a  little  farther 
off." 

Pepperrell  lost  no  time  in  commencing  the 
siege.  The  same  afternoon,  May  1st,  he  dis 
patched  Colonel  Vaughn  with  four  hundred 
men  to  the  town  to  reconnoitre,  who  led  his 
troops  through  the  woods  quite  near  to  the  gar 
rison,  and  gave  three  cheers,  and  at  nightfall 
marched  circuitously  around  Green  Hill,  that 
overlooked  the  garrison,  to  the  northeast  part 
of  the  harbor.  Here  they  set  fire  to  ten  or 
twelve  buildings,  including  warehouses,  contain 
ing  naval  stores  and  a  large  quantity  of  wine 
and  brandy.  The  smoke,  driven  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  towards  the  grand  or  royal  battery, 
frightened  the  enemy,  who  supposed  the  whole 
army  was  coming  on  them  in  that  direction,  and 
spiking  the  cannon,  and  throwing  the  powder 
into  a  well,  they  fled  in  boats  to  the  town,  nearly 
a  mile  distant. 

The  next  morning,  Vaughn,  on  his  return  to 
camp  in  company  with  thirteen  men,  not  know 
ing  of  the  panic  he  had  occasioned,  crept  to  the 
top  of  Green  Hill,  which  overlooked  the  grand 


1.32 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


battery,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  something 
of  its  situation  ami  strength.  lie  was  surprised 
to  see  that  the  flag  was  gone,  and  that  no  smoke 
issued  from  the  chimneys  of  the  barracks.  lie 
hired  one  of  his  party,  a  Cape  Cod  Indian,  to 
enter  into  the  fort  and  open  the  gate.  Vaughn 
then  took  possession,  and  wrote  to  General  Pep- 
perrell :  "  I  entered  the  royal  battery  about  nine 
o'clock,  and  am  waiting  for  a  reinforcement  and 
a  flag."  A  red  coat  was,  however,  used  as  a 
temporary  substitute,  which  a  soldier  carried  in 
his  teeth,  and  nailed  to  the  top  of  the  flag-staff. 
The  French  soon  discovered  their  mistake,  and 
sent  a  hundred  men  in  four  boats  to  retake  the 
battery.  But  Vaughn,  with  his  small  band, 
amidst  the  fire  from  the  city,  alone  upon  the 
beach  resisted  their  landing  till  he  was  rein 
forced,  when  the  French,  perceiving  a  detach 
ment  from  Pepperrell  approaching,  retired,  and 
left  the  English  in  possession  of  the  battery. 
This  gallant  exploit  of  Vaughn's  little  band  ma 
terially  weakened  the  means  of  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  French,  and  transferred  to  the  Eng 
lish  a  powerful  means  of  annoyance  as  enduring 
as  the  siege.  The  battery  contained  twenty- 
eight  forty-two  pound  cannon,  two  eighteen,  be 
sides  two  hundred  and  eighty  shells,  and  a  large 
number  of  balls  and  other  munitions  of  war. 

The  French  fired  briskly  upon  the  battery 
during  the  day,  with  cannon  and  mortars,  but 
did  no  damage.  They  began  to  secure  the  low 
wall  at  the  southeast  part  of  the  town,  by  pla 
cing  on  it  a  plank  work  fifteen  feet  high,  and 
placing  a  range  of  pickets,  twenty  feet  high,  out 
side  of  the  wall,  and  a  number  of  swivels  on  the 
top  of  it. 

The  first  battery  erected  by  Pepperrell  was 
one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from 
the  northwest  bastion,  on  Green  Hill.  The 
second  was  six  hundred  yards  nearer,  where 
mortars  were  brought  to  play  upon  the  town,  on 
the  5th  of  May.  The  other  cannon,  at  the 
grand  battery,  which  had  been  spiked,  were  by 
this  time  drilled  and  returning  the  brisk  fire  of 
the  enemy.  But  it  required  fourteen  days  and 
nights  to  drag  all  the  cannon  and  munitions 
of  war,  brought  in  the  fleet,  from  the  landing, 
through  the  morass,  to  the  batteries,  which  were 
successively  erected  in  the  night  season,  the 


third  one  being  within  seven  hundred  yards  of 
the  city.  The  island  batteries,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  city,  were  constantly  in  full  play  upon 
Pepperrell's  batteries. 

On  the  7th  of  May,  Pepperrell  and  Warren 
sent  a  flag  to  demand  a  surrender  of  the  fortress 
to  the  British  army,  which  returned  with  an 
answer  that  their  reply  would  be  at  the  cannon's 
mouth.  There  was  a  suspension  of  cannonading 
on  both  sides  while  the  flag  was  in  the  city,  but 
on  its  return,  at  5  p.  jr.,  firing  was  renewed,  and 
more  briskly  than  ever,  and  a  fourth  fascine  bat 
tery  was  commenced  within  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  of  the  west  gate.  It  was  now  pro 
posed  by  Warren  to  storm  the  island  battery  in 
the  night,  and  for  this  purpose  volunteers  were 
raised  from  the  army  and  transports.  It  was 
not  a  favorite  project  with  the  army,  many  of 
the  war-council  deeming  it  too  hazardous  and 
desperate,  though  Pepperrell  favored  it.  Pre 
parations  were  however  made,  three  successive 
nights,  May  8,  9,  10,  to  embark  for  the  purpose, 
but  fogs  or  boisterous  winds  prevented.  A 
sortie  was  made  from  the  city  on  the  8th,  which 
the  provincials  repulsed. 

On  the  loth  of  May,  the  fourth  fascine  bat 
tery,  called  Titcomb's,  was  raised  and  mounted 
with  heavy  guns,  drawn  from  the  grand  battery, 
which  did  great  execution.  Next  day,  thirty 
large  cannon  were  found  under  water,  near  the 
lighthouse,  and  a  regiment  was  sent  to  raise 
and  mount  them  on  a  battery,  as  soon  as  one 
could  be  constructed.  The  following  night  one 
hundred  Frenchmen  embarked  in  boats  to  attack 
the  party,  but  were  repulsed,  with  the  loss  ot 
one  man  on  each  side.  On  the  night  of  the  18th, 
the  new  fascine  battery  was  opened  within  two 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  west  gate,  which 
soon  demolished  it,  and  perforated  the  wall. 
Several  were  killed  on  the  Avail  and  in  the  bat 
tery  by  musketry  ;  one  man,  venturing  outside, 
received  five  wounds  from  a  volley  aimed  at  him 
from  the  wall.  Even  conversation  was  carried 
on  between  the  opposing  soldiers,  and  on  one 
occasion  it  lasted  half  an  hour,  the  provincial 
speaking  in  French,  and  the  Frenchman  in  Eng 
lish,  and  each  inviting  the  other  to  breakfast  and 
a  glass  of  wine. 

On  the  20th,  Warren  announces,  by  letter,  his 


CHAP.  VII.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


133 


capture  of  the  Vigilant,  a  sixty-four  gun  ship, 
having  six  hundred  men,  and  laden  with  military 
stores,  and  requests  aid  in  disposing  of  the  pris 
oners  among  the  transports ;  to  which  Pepper- 
rell,  after  congratulating  him  on  his  success,  re 
plies  :  "  As  we  have  already  manned  Rouse  out 
of  our  transports,  and  there  not  being  more  than 
four  men  in  each,  they  can  be  of  no  great  se 
curity  to  prisoners,  unless  they  are  put  in  irons, 
in  which  case  some  may  be  sent  in  the  Rhode 
Island  Snow  and  by  Smithhurst,  which  Gover 
nor  Shirley  orders  hence  to  guard  the  coast  of 
New  England.  The  capture  of  the  Vigilant 
produced  a  burst  of  joy  in  the  army,  and  ani 
mated  them  with  fresh  courage  to  persevere." 

On  the  24th  of  May,  Commodore  Warren 
wrote  to  Pepperrell,  proposing  a  grand  attack 
on  the  town  and  batteries  by  the  fleet,  and  re 
quested  Pepperrell  to  send  sixteen  hundred  of 
his  men  to  serve,  six  hundred  on  board  the  Vigi 
lant,  and  the  remainder  to  be  distributed  into 
the  rest  of  the  ships  of  war,  under  Warren's 
direction ;  that  the  marines,  under  Colonel 
McDonald,  should  head  the  first  attack ;  "  not 
doubting  of  his  being  effectually  sustained  by 
your  men,"  says  the  commodore,  in  his  letter ; 
"  and  that  the  said  troops  approach  as  near  as 
Colonel  McDonald  shall  judge  proper,  in  order 
to  attack  when  the  commodore  makes  a  signal." 

This  plan,  remarks  Dr.  Parsons,  was  calcu 
lated,  if  not  intended,  to  secure  to  Warren  the 
supreme  command  of  both  land  and  naval  forces, 
and  to  leave  Pepperrell  a  mere  cipher.  It  was 
of  course  declined ;  and  the  sequel  shows  that  it 
would  have  led  to  a  complete  failure  of  the  ex 
pedition.  The  subsequent  correspondence  of 
Pepperrell  and  Warren,  and  various  incidents  of 
this  protracted  siege,  are  given  by  Dr.  Parsons, 
with  such  fidelity  that  the  whole  scene  is  spread 
out  before  us  like  a  panorama :  the  indefatigable 
Pepperrell,  with  his  sturdy  volunteers,  battering 
the  works  of  the  city,  amid  all  sorts  of  difficul 
ties  and  dangers,  their  guns  bursting,  their  am 
munition  failing,  and  new  supplies  coming  from 
the  fleet  or  from  Boston  ;  Warren,  with  his  fleet 
lying  off  the  harbor,  intercepting  the  French 
ships  as  they  arrive,  urging  operations  against 
the  island  battery,  and  impatient  for  a  final  as 
sault,  while  the  fogs  and  rains  of  that  dismal 


coast  ever  and  anon  shroud  the  whole  scene  in 
murky  gloom,  and  compel  a  temporary  suspen 
sion  of  hostilities.  At  last  a  final  assault  was 
determined  on,  in  which  the  fleet  and  army 
should  both  co-operate. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  says  Dr.  Parsons,  all  the 
transports  wrere  ordered  out  of  Cabarus  Bay  to 
the  fleet,  to  clear  them  of  their  lumber.  Heaps 
of  brush  were  made  ready  on  Green  Hill  for 
smoke  signals,  and  scaling-ladders  carried  to  the 
advanced  batteries.  On  the  15th,  Warren  came 
on  shore,  and  the  troops  being  paraded,  were 
exhorted  in  stirring  speeches,  both  by  him  and 
Pepperrell,  to  show  their  valor  and  heroism  in 
the  designed  attack.  The  fleet,  consisting  of 
eleven  ships,  of  from  forty  to  sixty  guns  each, 
all  anchored  in  a  line  near  the  town,  made  an 
imposing  appearance,  and  Pepperrell  ordered 
six  hundred  provincials  on  board  them  to  aug 
ment  their  crews. 

Governor  Duchambon  now  saw  no  hope  of 
averting  the  impending  storm  ;  his  island  bat 
tery,  the  palladium  of  Louisburg,  Pepperrell 
had  partially  silenced  by  the  lighthouse  battery, 
and  it  was  still  receiving  an  incessant  fire  ;  his 
northeast  battery  was  damaged,  and  so  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  the  advanced  fascine-batteries  that 
the  men  could  not  stand  to  their  guns  ;  the  cir 
cular-battery  was  ruined,  and  most  of  its  guns 
dismounted  ;  the  west  gate  demolished  and  a 
breach  made  in  the  adjoining  wall ;  the  west 
flank  of  the  king's  bastion  almost  ruined  ;  the 
houses  quite  demolished  ;  his  troops  worn  down 
by  forty-eight  days'  siege  and  broken  sleep,  and 
a  force  of  five  times  his  number  of  men  sur 
rounding  and  gathering  in  upon  him  by  sea  and 
land,  like  surging  waves,  ready  to  burst  the  op 
posing  barriers  and  pour  in  a  broad  flood,  he 
could  not  do  otherwise  than  surrender.  Ac 
cordingly,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  June  15,  and 
while  the  commodore  was  on  shore,  a  flag  was 
sent  to  Pepperrell,  asking  time  to  consider  terms 
of  capitulation. 

These  terms  were  easily  and  speedily  arranged. 

By  the  capitulation,  six  hundred  and  fifty 
veteran  troops,  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
ten  militiamen,  the  crew  of  the  Vigilant,  and 
about  two  thousand  of  the  inhabitants,  being 
four  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty  in  all, 


184 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II. 


engaged  not  to  bear  arms  against  Groat  Britain 
or  New  England  for  twelve  months,  and  em 
barking  on  board  fourteen  cartel  ships  were 
transported  to  Rochefort,  in  France.  Seventy- 
six  cannon  and  mortars  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  victors,  besides  other  property  to  an  immense 
amount,  and  there  were  in  the  town  provision 
for  five  or  six  months.  The  loss  among  the  pro 
vincials  was  one  hundred  and  thirty,  and  of  the 
French,  three  hundred  killed  within  the  walls, 
which,  with  the  shattered  condition  of  the  city 
and  fortifications,  proved  that  the  nine  thousand 
cannon-balls  and  six  hundred  bombs  Pepperrell 
threw  at  them  had  done  some  execution. 

Upon  entering  the  fortress,  and  viewing  its 
strength  and  the  plenty  and  variety  of  its  means 
for  defence,  the  stoutest  hearts  were  appalled  ; 
and  the  practicability  of  taking  it  by  surprise,  as 
contemplated  by  Shirley,  appeared  entirely  fu 
tile. 

As  a  decoy  to  French  merchantmen,  the 
Fren-ch  flag  was  kept  flying ;  and  the  value  of 
all  the  rich  prizes  taken  by  this  stratagem  was 
estimated  at  a  million  of  dollars,  half  of  which 
went  to  the  crown  and  the  other  half  to  the  na 
val  captors. 

The  provincial  army  marched  into  the  fortress 
at  the  southwest  gate,  and  paraded  in  a  line  be 
tween  the  cazmates,  in  front  of  the  French 
troops,  who  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  bar 
racks  in  a  parallel  line  to  receive  them.  Saluta 
tions  were  exchanged,  and  formal  possession 
taken. 

For  this  important  service  Pepperrell  was 
created  a  baronet,  and  appointed  colonel  in  the 
regular  army  of  Great  Britain,  but  his  large  ad 
vances  of  money  towards  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition  were  only  partially  reimbursed. 

Dr.  Parsons,  from  whose  interesting  details  of 

'  O 

the  siege  we  have  abstracted  the  foregoing  ac 
count,  thus  expresses  his  views  of  the  character 
of  the  conqueror,  and  the  important  effects  of 
the  conquest : 

We  have  dwelt  longer  on  the  siege  and  re 
duction  of  Louisburg,  than  the  brief  period  of 
time  it  occupied  of  Sir  William's  whole  life, 
would  seem  to  justify.  But  it  is  to  be  remem 
bered  that  this  achievement  was  the  main  pillar 
of  his  fame,  and  inscribed  his  name  on  the  en 


during  page  of  his  history.  Here  it  was,  too, 
that  the  prominent  traits  of  his  character  pre 
sent  themselves  in  bold  relief;  his  spirit  for  dar 
ing  enterprise,  his  prudence,  patience,  forbear 
ance,  perseverance,  self-devotion,  patriotism,  and 
reliance  on  Divine  aid,  shone  conspicuously,  and 
seemed  to  rise  and  increase  in  proportion  to  the 
increasing  demand  for  their  exercise. 

Here,  too,  it  was  that  the  hardy  sons  of  New 
England  took  their  first  lessons  in  military  ser 
vice,  preparatory  to  the  great  drama  of  the  Rev 
olution,  soon  to  follow.  The  same  old  drums 
that  marched  into  Louisburg,  rallied  the  troops 
in  their  march  to  Bunker's  Hill  ;  and  the  same 
Colonel  Gridley  who  planned  Pepperrell's  bat 
teries,  marked  and  laid  out  the  one  where  Gen 
eral  Warren  fell ;  and  when  Gage  was  erecting 
breastworks  across  Boston  Neck,  the  provincial 
troops  sneeringly  remarked  that  his  mud  walls 
were  nothing,  compared  with  the  stone  walls  at 
Louisburg.  Thus  the  confidence  and  self-reli 
ance  its  recollections  inspired,  proved  a  favora 
ble  preparation  for  the  Revolutionary  struggles, 
while  the  three  years'  delay  of  reimbursement, 
the  refusal  to  give  them  a  share  of  the  pri/e 
money,  and  the  occasional  disparaging  taunts  of 
individuals,  underrating  their  services,  fired 
them  with  the  indignation  requisite  to  bring 
their  early  experience  into  action  as  soon  as  co 
lonial  oppression  called  for  their  services.  Thus, 
General  Wooster,  who  commanded  a  company 
under  Pepperrell,  fell  mortally  wounded  at  Nor- 
walk  ;  Thornton,  of  New  Hampshire,  signed  tin- 
Declaration  of  Independence  ;  and  Nixon,  Whit 
ney,  Colonel  Gridley,  the  engineer,  and  many 
other  distinguished  officers  and  men  of  the  con 
tinental  army,  had  served  with  Pepperrell  at 
Louisburg.  Mr.  Hartwell  said,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  1775,  that  the  colonists  "took 
Louisburg  from  the  French  single-handed,  with 
out  any  European  assistance — as  mettled  an  en 
terprise  as  any  in  our  histoiy — an  everlasting 
memorial  to  the  zeal,  courage,  and  perseverance 
of  the  troops  of  New  England." — "The  con 
quest  of  Louisburg,"  says  Smollett,  "  was  the 
most  important  achievement  of  the  war  of 
1744  ;"  and  it  is  remarked  in  the  Universal  His 
tory,  that  "  New  England  gave  peace  to  Europe 
'by  raising,  aiming,  and  transporting  four  thou- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


135 


sand  men,"  whose  success  "  proved  an  equiva 
lent  for  all  the  successes  of  the  French  upon  the 
continent." 

In  concluding  this  brief  sketch  of  the  compar 
ative  actual  services  performed  by  the  army  and 
fleet,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  land  forces, 
in  the  moral  aspect  of  their  deeds,  won  imper 
ishable  tame.  Warren  was  bred  to  arms  ;  his 
home  was  on  the  deep,  and  his  officers  and  men 
had  dedicated  and  trained  their  energies,  body 
and  mind,  for  deadly  strife,  and  were  now  in 
their  chosen  element,  and  in  their  ordinary  line 
of  duty.  Not  so  with  the  ai-my.  Pepperrell,  a 
wealthy  merchant,  unaccustomed  to  the  sea, 
with  no  expectations  of  military  preferment  to 
incite  him,  obeys  the  call  of  his  countrymen, 
leaves  all  the  comforts  and  endeared  attrac 
tions  of  home  and  his  peaceful  occupations,  to 
brave  the  dangers  of  an  ice-bound  coast,  and  the 
fatigues,  dangers,  and  responsibilities  of  a  peril 
ous  enterprise  of  doubtful  success — yet  sure  to 
be  disastrous  to  the  colonies  and  to  his  own  fame 
in  the  event  of  failure  ;  and  he  is  followed  by 
four  thousand  farmers,  mechanics,  and  fishermen 
— impelled  by  no  forced  levy  or  press-gang,  but 
voluntarily  shouldering  their  firelock,  and  gird 
ing  themselves  for  a  deadly  conflict,  and  patient 
ly  enduring  the  hardships  and  toil  of  a  seven 
weeks'  siege  :  surely  this  presents  a  spectacle  of 
glowing  patriotism  and  self-devotion  fiir  tran 
scending  the  deeds  of  Warren  and  his  crew. 

Sir  William  Pepperrell's  military  service  did 
not  '••rminate  with  the  conquest  of  Louisburg, 
but  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life,  being  only 
interrupted  by  the  civil  service  required  from 
him  by  the  country,  and  the  pressing  demands 
of  his  business,  as  merchant,  land-owner,  &c. 
In  1749  he  visited  England,  where  he  was  cor 
dially  received  by  his  old  companion  in  arms, 
Sir  Peter  Warren.  Both  Pepperrell  and  Gen 
eral  Waldo,  of  Maine,  were  presented  at  court, 
where  King  George  II.  gave  Sir  William  a  fa 
vorable  reception,  and  bestowed  high  enco 
miums  on  his  services  at  the  siege.  He  staid 
near  a  twelvemonth  abroad.  After  his  return 
to  the  old  mansion  at  Kittery  Point,  he  main 
tained  a  sumptuous  and  hospitable  style  of  liv 
ing,  and  received  much  distinguished  company. 
During  the  French  war  of  1755  he  was  repeat 


edly  called  into  active  service  ;  and  in  one  cam 
paign,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general,  he 
held  command  of  the  largest  army  ever  em 
bodied  in  America,  amounting  to  fifty  thousand 
men.  Dr.  Parsons  gives  a  particular  account 
of  Sir  William's  services  in  this  war,  and  we  re 
gret  that  our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  give 
an  extended  notice  of  them.  Sir  William  died 
on  the  6th  of  July,  1759.  The  distinguished 
marks  of  favor  which  he  had  received  from  the 
crown,  seem  to  have  made  it  a  point  of  honor 
with  his  descendants  to  remain  loyal  when  the 
Revolution  broke  out ;  and,  in  consequence,  his 
immense  landed  estates  in  Maine  were  confisca 
ted.  He  had  been  extremely  anxious  to  per 
petuate  his  name  and  title ;  but  both  speedily 
became  extinct.  His  fam-e  should  be  preserved 
by  his  countrymen,  for  he  was  a  true  patriot. 
When  George  II.,  on  his  presentation  at  court, 
expressed  to  him  a  desire  to  render  him  some 
service,  Sir  William  replied,  that  protection  to 
the  fisheries,  in  which  he  was  employing  many 
hundreds  of  his  majesty's  dutiful  subjects,  was 
the  chief  favor  he  had  to  solicit.  The  old  family 
mansion  is  still  standing ;  but  the  pride,  pomp, 
and  glory  of  the  olden  time  have  long  since 
passed  away. 


[B.] 

GENERAL  AMIIERST. 

Jeffery,  the  son  of  JefFery  Amherst,  of  River- 
head,  in  Kent,  was  born  on  the  29th  of  Janua 
ry,  1717,  and,  at  an  early  age,  became  page  to 
the  Duke  of  Dorset,  while  lord-lieutenant  of  Ire 
land.  He  entered  the  army  in  1731  ;  and,  pro 
ceeding  to  Germany,  acted  as  aid-de-camp  to 
Lord  Ligonier,  at  the  battles  of  Dettingen,  Fon- 
tenoy,  and  Roucoux,  and  served  in  the  same  ca 
pacity  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  at  LafFeldt 
and  Hastenbech.  He  became  major-general, 
and  colonel  of  the  fifteenth  regiment  of  foot,  in 
1756  ;  and,  in  1758,  was  appointed  to  the  chiei 
command  of  the  land  forces,  amounting  to  four 
teen  thousand  men,  in  the  expedition  against 
Louisburg. 

Amherst  was  soon  after  appointed  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  in  America,  and  vigorous 
operations  against  the  French  were  speedily 


1  : 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  II 


commenced.  Wolfe  attacked  Quebec,  and  Pri- 
deaux,  the  fort  of  Niagara  ;  both  of  which,  the 
original  commanders  being  killed,  eventually 
surrendered  to  their  respective  successors, 
Townshend  and  Johnson  ;  while  Amherst  him 
self,  at  the  head  of  about  twelve  thousand  regu 
lars  and  provincials,  marched  against  Crown 
Point  and  Ticonderoga.  The  French  abandon 
ed  the  former  to  the  British  troops,  on  the  26th 
of  July,  and  the  latter,  on  the  4th  of  August, 
1759.  By  great  exertions,  Amherst  now  ob 
tained  a  naval  superiority  on  Lake  Champlain  ; 
and,  Fort  Nevis  being  carried,  the  enemy  short 
ly  afterwards  evacuated  Isle  aux  Noix.  Am 
herst  then  conducted  his  forces  against  Mon 
treal,  "  the  second  place  in  Canada  for  extent, 
buildings,  traffic,  and  strength ;"  in  sight  of 
which  they  arrived,  after  a  dangerous  and  fa 
tiguing  voyage,  on  the  same  day  with  two  other 
bodies  of  troops,  the  one  under  Murray,  and  the 
other  under  Haviland,  which  had  been  ordered 
to  approach  from  remote  stations,  and  combine 
with  the  army  commanded  by  Amherst,  in  its 
investment.  The  garrison  perceiving  that  they 
were  about  to  be  surrounded  by  a  superior  force, 
capitulated  without  delay ;  and  thus  the  whole 
of  Canada  fell  into  possession  of  the  British. 

In  1762,  pending  the  negotiations  for  a  treaty 
of  peace,  the  French  fitted  out  an  expedition 
against  Newfoundland,  which  captured,  without 
difficulty,  St.  Johns,  and  some  other  forts.  In 
telligence  of  this  unexpected  event  had  no 
sooner  reached  England,  than  an  armament  was 
dispatched  to  retake  the  island  ;  which,  how 
ever,  had,  in  the  mean  time,  surrendered  to  a 
detachment  of  Amherst's  forces,  under  the  com 
mand  of  his  brother,  and  a  small  squadron  un 
der  that  of  Lord  Colville. 

As  a  reward  for  his  important  services,  Am 
herst  received  the  thanks  of  the  House  of  Com 
mons,  and  the  insignia  of  the  Bath.  He  re 
turned  to  England  in  1763;  and,  in  1770,  ob 
tained  the  government  of  Guernsey.  Two  years 
afterwards,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
privy-council,  colonel  in  the  horse-guards,  and 
lieutenant-general  of  the  ordnance.  He  also 
officiated,  for  some  time,  as  commander-in-chief 
of  the  British  forces;  and,  in  1776,  was  raised 
to  the  peerage,  by  the  title  of  Baron  Amherst, 


of  Ilolmesdale,  in  Kent.  On  the  dismissal  ol 
Lord  North,  he  ceased  to  act  as  commander-in- 
chief,  and  was  deprived  of  his  post  in  the  ord 
nance  ;  but,  after  having  received  a  second  pa 
tent  of  peerage,  as  Baron  Amherst,  of  Montreal, 
with  reversion  to  his  nephew,  he  was  again  ap 
pointed,  in  1793,  to  the  chief  command  of  the 
forces,  which  he  resigned  to  the  Duke  of  York, 
in  1795  ;  on  which  occasion  he  was  ottered  an 
earldom,  and  the  rank  of  field-marshal ;  both  of 
which  he  declined,  but  accepted  the  latter,  on 
its  being  again  tendered  to  him  in  1796.  His 
death  took  place  on  the  3d  of  August,  in  the 
following  year,  at  Montreal,  near  Kiverhead  ; 
and  his  remains  Avere  interred,  on  the  10th  ot 
the  same  month,  at  Sevenoaks. 

Like  Wolfe,  Amherst  was  selected  by  Chat 
ham  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  that  eminent 
statesman's  great  military  designs  ;  and  his  suc 
cess  proved  that  the  minister  had  tunned  a  just 
estimate  of  his  courage  and  ability.  The  ser 
vices  which  he  rendered  to  Great  Britain  in 
America,  fully  entitled  him  to  the  honors  with 
which  he  was  afterwards  rewarded.  lie  was 
described  as  having  been  "a  thorough  good 
soldier  :"  cautious  but  enterprising  ;  temperate 
and  collected  in  the  greatest  difficulties  ;  strict 
in  the  enforcement  of  discipline,  yet  averse  to 
mere  military  parade,  and  particularly  kind  to 
the  men  under  his  command.  lie  erected  a 
column,  near  his  residence  at  RiverHead,  com 
memorating  the  escape  of  himself  and  his  two 
brothers,  Lieutenant-general  and  Admiral  Am 
herst,  from  the  perils  of  war  ;  and  recording 
those  successes  of  the  British  forces  in  Canada, 
to  which  he  had  materially  contributed  by  his 
bravery  and  skill. 

He  is  said  to  have  looked  upon  the  atrocities 
committed  by  his  Indian  auxiliaries  with  the 
utmost  abhorrence  ;  and  when,  on  the  surren 
der  of  Fort  Nevis,  the  savages  expressed  their 
displeasure  at  being  prevented  from  putting  the 
whole  garrison  to  death,  he  thus  addressed  Sir 
William  Johnson,  who  had  informed  him  of  the 
fact :  "  I  believe  I  have  sufficient  force  for  the 
service  I  am  going  on  without  their  assistance  ; 
I  wish  to  preserve  their  friendship,  but  will  not 
purchase  it  at  the  expense  ot  countenancing  so 
horrid  a  barbarity  ! " 


LIFE  AND  TIMES 


OF 


WASHINGTON, 


BOOK   III. 

WASHINGTON  DURING  THE  OPENING  SCENES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

1759. 

WASHINGTON     IN     RETIREMENT. CAMPAIGN     OF     1759. 

Washington's  property. — His  guardianship  of  his  step-children. — Residence  at  the  White  House. — Retirement  to 
Mount  Vernon. — Plan  of  the  campaign  of  1759. — Operations  of  General  Amherst. — Capture  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point. — The  French  retire  to  Isle  Aux  Noix. — General  Prideaux's  operations. — His  death. — Sir  William 
Johnson  in  command. — Siege  of  Niagara. — Battle  of  the  24th  of  July. — Surrender  of  Niagara. — Expedition  of 
General  Wolfe  against  Quebec. — Lands  on  the  island  of  Orleans. — His  discouraging  prospects. — Description  of  Que 
bec. — Wolfe  at  Point  Levi. — Cannonade  of  the  city. — The  English  cross  the  Montmorency. — Attack  on  the  French 
intrenchments. — Repulse  of  the  British  and  their  return  to  the  island  of  Orleans. — Operations  of  General  Mur 
ray. — Council  of  war. — The  army  ascend  the  Heights  of  Abraham. — Order  of  battle. — The  battle. — Death  of 
Wolfe  and  Montcalm. — Surrender  of  Quebec.— M.  de  Levi  attempts  to  recapture  the  city. — General  Murray  sal 
lies  from  the  city  and  meets  him  in  battle. — His  repulse  and  retreat  to  the  city. — Preparations  for  a  siege. — Que 
bec  relieved  by  a  naval  force. — Retreat  of  the  French. — Capture  of  Montreal  and  complete  conquest  of  Canada. 


THE  marriage  of  Washington  to  Mrs. 
Custis  brought  with  it  a  large  accession 
to  his  fortune.  By  it  he  became  en 
titled  to  a  third  part  of  the  estate  of 
the  deceased  Daniel  Parke  Custis,  and 
he  was  invested  with  the  care  of  the 
other  two  thirds,  by  a  decree  of  the 
general  court,  which  he  obtained  in 
order  to  strengthen  the  power  he  pre 
viously  had  in  consequence  of  his  wife's 
administration  of  the  whole  estate.* 

The  addition  thus  made  to  Washing 
ton's  estate  wis  not  less  than  one  hun 
dred  thousand  dollars.  He  had  also  the 
estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  consider 
able  tracts  of  land  in  various  parts  of 
Virginia,  selected  while  he  was  em 
ployed  in  surveying. 


°  Letter  to  Robert  Gary. — Sparks'  Writings  of  Washing- 
Ian,  vol.  ii.  p.  328. 


Mrs.  Custis,  at  the  time  of  her  second 
marriage,  had  two  children,  a  son  six 
years  old,  and  a  daughter  four,  to  each 
of  whom  was  left  a  third  of  the  estate 
of  their  father.  Washington  became 
guardian  of  these  children,  an  office 
which  he  discharged  with  strict  fidelity 
and  paternal  affection. 

The  newly-married  couple  remained 
at  the  "  White  House,"  the  late  resi 
dence  of  the  Custis  family,  for  three 
months  after  their  marriage,  during 
which  time  Washington  appears  to  have 
given  his  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the 
estate.  They  then  retired  to  Washing 
ton's  favorite  residence,  Mount  Vernon. 

During  the  first  year  of  their  resi 
dence  in  this  delightful  home,  occurred 
the  campaign  of  1759,  which,  although 
Washington  took  no  active  part  in  it, 
forms  too  important  and  influential  a 


140 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


portion  of  the  history  of  his  "  Times,"  to 
be  passed  over  in  silence.  We  shall 
therefore  notice  briefly  its  more  impor 
tant  events. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  was,  that 
three  powerful  armies  should  enter  the 
French  possessions  by  three  different 
routes,  and  attack  all  their  strongholds 
at  nearly  the  same  time.  At  the  head 
of  one  division  of  the  army,  Brigadier- 
general  Wolfe,  who  had  so  recently  sig 
nalized  himself  at  the  siege  of  Louis- 
burg,  was  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  lay  siege  to  Quebec,  escorted  by 
a  strong  fleet  to  co-operate  with  his 
troops. 

The  central  and  main  army,  composed 
of  British  and  provincials,  was  to  be 
conducted  against  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point  by  the  able,  but  cautious 
General  Amherst,  the  new  commander- 
in-chief,  who,  after  making  himself  mas 
ter  of  these  places,  was  to  proceed  over 
Lake  Champlain,  and  by  the  way  of 
Richelieu  River  to  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  descending  that  river,  form  a  junc 
tion  with  General  Wolfe  before  the 
walls  of  Quebec.  This  latter  service, 
however,  he  was  not  destined  to  accom 
plish  in  season  to  render  any  assistance 
to  Wolfe. 

The  third  army,  to  be  composed  prin 
cipally  of  provincials,  reinforced  by  a 
strong  body  of  friendly  Indians,  under 
the  direction  of  Sir  William  Johnson, 
was  to  be  commanded  by  General  Pri- 
deaux,  who  was  to  lead  this  division 
first  against  Niagara,  and,  after  the  re 
duction  of  that  place,  to  embark  on 


Lake  Ontario,  and  proceed  down  the 
St.  Lawrence  against  Montreal. 

Early  in  the  winter,  General  Amherst 
commenced  preparations  for  his  part  of 
the  enterprise ;  but  it  was  not  till  the 
last  of  May  that  his  troops,  twelve  thou 
sand  in  number,  were  assembled  at  Al 
bany ;  and  it  was  as  late  as  the  22d  of 
July,  when,  after  crossing  Lake  George 
in  boats,  batteaux,  and  rafts,  he  appear 
ed  before  Ticonderoga. 

Montcalm,  who  had  so  successfully 
resisted  the  attack  of  Abercrombie  in 
the  preceding  year,  was  no  longer  in 
command  at  Ticonderoga,  being  engaged 
in  preparations  for  the  defence  of  Que 
bec.  The  garrison,  consisting  of  only 
four  hundred  men,  was  under  the  com 
mand  of  Bourlamarque.  Perceiving  the 
utter  folly  of  attempting  a  defence 
against  such  fearful  odds,  he  dismantled 
the  fortifications,  and  abandoned  them, 
as  well  as  those  at  Crown  Point,  and  re 
treated  to  Isle  aux  Noix,  a  convenient 
point  for  concentrating  a  force  for  the 
defence  of  Montreal  and  the  province. 

Instead  of  pursuing  him,  with  a  view 
to  a  speedy  junction  of  his  forces  with 
those  of  General  Wolfe,  General  Am 
herst  committed  the  grave  error  of 
wasting  time  in  repairing  the  works  at 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  Mean 
time  the  enemy  were  assembling  a  force 
of  between  three  and  four  thousand  at 
Isle  aux  Noix. 

The  result  of  General  Amherst's  ex 
treme  caution  and  delay  was,  that  he 
failed  to  effect  a  junction  of  his  forces 
with  those  of  General  Wolfe,  and  his 


CHAP.  I.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1759. 


141 


army,  at  the  close  of  the  season,  went 
into  winter-quarters  at  Crown  Point. 

In  the  prosecution  of  the  enterprise 
against  Niagara,  General  Prideaux  had 
embarked  with  an  army  on  Lake  On 
tario  ;  and  on  the  6th  of  July,  landed 
without  opposition  within  about  three 
miles  from  the  fort,  which  he  invested 
in  form.  While  directing  the  opera 
tions  of  the  siege,  he  was  killed  by  the 
bursting1  of  a  cohorn,  and  the  command 

o  i 

devolved   on    Sir    William    Johnson.* 


°  Sir  William  Johnson  was  born  in  Ireland,  about  the 
year  1715.  Early  in  life  he  went  to  America,  with  his 
uncle,  Sir  Peter  Warren  ;  and,  after  hesitating  for  some 
time  as  to  what  profession  he  should  adopt,  at  length 
entered  the  army,  in  which  he  gradually  rose  to  the 
rank  of  major-general.  In  1755,  he  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  an  expedition  against  Crown  Point  ;  which,  how 
ever,  he  did  not  succeed  in  capturing,  although  he  ob 
tained  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  French  under  General 
Dieskau,  whom  he  took  prisoner.  Parliament  testified 
its  approbation  of  Johnson's  conduct  on  this  occasion  by 
voting  him  £5,000.  In  1759,  he  commanded  the  pro 
vincials  of  New  York,  and  acted  under  Prideaux  at  the 
siesre  of  Niagara,  as  related  in  the  text. 

He  now  devoted  his  attention  to  the  establishment  of 
a  more  permanent  and  extensive  communion  than  had 
previously  existed  between  the  British  and  the  Indians, 
and  effected  several  advantageous  treaties  with  the 
Scnecas  and  other  tribes.  In  June,  1760,  he  induced 
one  thousand  of  the  Iroquois  to  join  General  Amherst  at 
Oswego ;  and  subseqiiently,  encouraged  the  colonists  to 
intermarry  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants.  He  was  at 
length  chosen  colonel  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  well  as 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for  the  northern  parts  of 
America  ;  and  settling  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk 
River,  he  soon  became  well  acquainted  with  the  manners 
and  language  of  the  Indians,  relative  to  which  he  sent 
an  interesting  communication  to  the  Royal  Society,  in 
November,  1772.  He  died  about  two  years  afterwards, 
leaving  a  son,  who  succeeded  to  the  baronetage. 

Brave,  energetic,  and  enterprising,  Johnson  was  par 
ticularly  well  qualified  for  the  services  on  which  he  was 
empl  Dyed.  He  is  described  as  having  possessed  such  a 
genius  for  acquiring  popularity  among  all  kinds  of  men, 
that  the  regular  troops  respected,  the  provincials  loved, 
and  the  Indians  almost  adored  him.  It  is  added  that  he 


1759. 


That  general,  prosecuting  with  judg 
ment  and  vigor  the  plan  of  his  prede 
cessor,  pushed  the  attack  of  Niagara 
with  an  intrepidity  that  soon  brought 
the  besiegers  within  a  hundred  yards 
of  the  covered  way. 

Meanwhile,  the  French,  alarm 
ed  at  the  danger  of  losing  a  post 
which  was  a  key  to  their  interior  empire 
in  America,  had  collected  a  large  body 
of  regular  troops  from  the  neighboring 
garrisons  of  Detroit,  Venango,  and 
Presqu'  Isle,  with  which,  and  a  party 
of  Indians,  they  resolved  if  possible  to 
raise  the  siege.  Apprised  of  their  in 
tention  to  hazard  a  battle,  General  John 
son  ordered  his  light-infantry,  supported 
by  some  grenadiers  and  regular  foot,  to 
take  post  between  the  cataract  of  Ni 
agara  and  the  fortress ;  placed  the  aux 
iliary  Indians  on  his  flanks ;  and,  to 
gether  with  this  preparation  for  an 
engagement,  took  effectual  measures  for 
securing  his  lines  and  bridling  the  gar 
rison. 

About  nine  in  the  morning  of  the 
24th  of  July  the  enemy  appeared,  and 
the  horrible  sound  of  the  warwhoop 
from  the  hostile  Indians  was  the  signal 

was  a  man  of  perfect  integrity,  and  employed  his  talents 
solely  for  the  benefit  of  his  country.  The  victory  which 
he  obtained  over  Dieskau,  although  it  did  not  lead  to  the 
result  that  had  been  expected,  infused  confidence  into  the 
British,  who  appear  to  have  been  greatly  disheartened 
by  the  recent  defeat,  by  the  French  and  Indians,  of  Gen 
eral  Braddock's  forces  near  Fort  Duquesne.  The  capture 
of  Niagara  effectually  broke  off,  according  to  the  Annual 
Register  of  the  period,  "that  communication  so  much 
talked  of,  and  so  much  dreaded,  between  Canada  and 
Louisiana ;  and  by  this  stroke,  one  of  the  capital  politi 
cal  designs  of  the  French,  which  gave  occasion  to  the 
war,  was  defeated  in  its  direct  and  immediate  object." 


142 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


of  battle.  The  French  charged  with 
great  impetuosity,  but  were  received 
with  firmness ;  and  in  less  than  an  hour 
were  completely  routed. 

This  battle  decided  the  fate  of  Ni- 
a^ara.  Sir  William  Johnson,  the  next 
morning,  opened  negotiations  with  the 
French  commandant ;  and  in  a  few 
hou^  a  capitulation  was  signed.  The 
garrison,  consisting  of  six  hundred  and 

o  '  o 

seven  men,  were  to  march  out  with  the 
honors  of  war,  to  be  embarked  on  the 
lake,  and  carried  to  New  York ;  and 
the  women  and  children  were  to  be 
carried  to  Montreal.  The  reduction 
of  Niagara  effectually  cut  off  the  com 
munication  between  Canada  and  Lou- 


The  expedition  against  the  capital  of 
Canada  was  the  most  daring  and  im 
portant.  Strong  by  nature,  and  still 
stronger  by  art,  Quebec  had  obtained 
the  appellation  of  the  Gibraltar  of 
America ;  and  every  attempt  against 
it  had  failed.  It  was  now  commanded 
by  Montcalm,  an  officer  of  distinguished 
reputation ;  and  its  capture  must  have 
appeared  chimerical  to  any  one  but 
Pitt.  He  judged  rightly,  however,  that 
the  boldest  and  most  dangerous  enter 
prises  are  often  the  most  successful, 
especially  when  committed  to  ardent 
minds,  glowing  with  enthusiasm  and 
emulous  of  glory.  Such  a  mind  he  had 
discovered  in  General  Wolfe,  whose 
conduct  at  Louisburg  had  attracted  his 
attention.  He  appointed  him  to  con 
duct  the  expedition,  and  gave  him  for 
assistants,  Brigadier-generals  Monckton, 


Townsheud,  and  Murray ;  all,  like  him 
self,  young  and  ardent. 

Early  in  the  season  he  sailed  from 
Halifax  with  eight  thousand  troops, 
and  near  the  last  of  June  landed  the 
whole  army  on  the  island  of  Orleans,  a 
few  miles  below  Quebec.  From  this 
position  he  could  take  a  near  and  dis 
tinct  view  of  the  obstacles  to  be  over 
come.  These  were  so  great,  that  even 
the  bold  and  sanguine  Wolfe  perceived 
more  to  fear  than  to  hope. 

"  When,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to  Pitt, 
"that  succors  of  all  kinds  had  been 
thrown  into  Quebec,  that  five  batteries 
of  regular  troops,  some  of  the  troops  of 
the  colony,  and  every  Canadian  that 
was  able  to  bear  arms,  besides  several 
nations  of  savages,  had  taken  the  field 
in  a  very  advantageous  situation,  I 
could  not  flatter  myself  that  I  should 
be  able  to  reduce  the  place.  I  sought, 
however,  an  occasion  to  attack  their 
army,  knowing  well  that  with  these 
troops  I  was  able  to  fight,  and  that  a 
victory  might  disperse  them." 

Quebec  stands  on  the  north  side  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  consists  of  an  up 
per  and  lower  town.  The  lower  town 
lies  between  the  river  and  a  bold  and 
lofty  eminence,  wrhich  runs  parallel  to 
it  far  to  the  westward. 

At  the  top  of  this  eminence  is  a  plain, 
upon  which  the  upper  town  is  situated. 
Below,  or  east  of  the  city,  is  the  river 
St.  Charles,  whose  channel  is  rough,  and 
whose  banks  are  steep  and  broken.  At 
a  short  distance  farther  down  is  the 
Montmorency  ;  and  between  these  two 


CHAP.  I.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1759. 


143 


rivers,  and  reaching  from  one  to  the 
other,  was  encamped  the  French  arm}7, 
strongly  intrenched,  and  superior  in 
number  to  that  of  the  English  ;  but 
they  were  chiefly  Canadians.  There  was 
also  a  large  auxiliary  force  of  Indians. 

General  Wolfe  took  possession  of 
Point  Levi,  on  the  southern  bank  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  there  erected 
batteries  against  the  town.  The  can 
nonade  which  was  kept  up,  though  it 
destroyed  many  houses,  made  but  little 
impression  on  the  works,  which  were 
too  strong  and  too  remote  to  be  mate 
rially  affected  ;  their  elevation,  at  the 
same  time,  placing  them  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  fleet.  Convinced  of  the 
impossibility  of  reducing  the  place,  un 
less  he  could  erect  batteries  on  the 
north  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Wolfe 
soon  decided  on  more  daring  measures. 

The  northern  shore  of  the  St.  Law 
rence,  to  a  considerable  distance  above 
Quebec,  is  so  bold  and  rocky  as  to  ren 
der  a  landing  in  the  face  of  an  enemy 
impracticable.  If  an  attempt  were 
made  below  the  town,  the  river  Mont- 
morency  passed,  and  the  French  driven 
from  their  intrenchments,  the  St.  Charles 
would  present  a  new  and  perhaps  in 
superable  barrier. 

With  every  obstacle  fully  in  view, 
Wolfe,  heroically  observing  that  a 
"  victorious  army  finds  no  difficulties," 
resolved  to  pass  the  Montmorency,  and 
bring  Montcalm  to  an  engagement.  In 
pursuance  of  this  resolution,  thirteen 
companies  of  English  grenadiers,  and 
part  of  the  second  battalion  of  royal 


Americans,  were  landed  at  the  mouth 
of  that  river,  while  two  divisions,  under 
Generals  Townshend  and  Murray,  pre 
pared  to  cross  it  higher  up.  Wolfe's 
plan  was  to  attack  first  a  redoubt  close 
to  the  water's  edge,  apparently  beyond 
reach  of  the  fire  from  the  enemy's  in 
trenchments,  in  the  belief  that  the 
French,  by  attempting  to  support  that 
fortification,  would  put  it  in  his  power 
to  bring  on  a  general  engagement ;  or, 
if  they  should  submit  to  the  loss  of  the 
redoubt,  that  he  could  afterwards  ex 
amine  their  situation  with  coolness,  and 
advantageously  regulate  his  future  oper 
ations. 

On  the  approach  of  the  British  troops 
the  redoubt  was  evacuated  ;  and  the 
general,  observing  some  confusion  in 
the  French  camp,  changed  his  original 
plan,  and  determined  not  to  delay  an 
attack.  Orders  were  immediately  dis 
patched  to  the  Generals  Townshend 
and  Murray  to  keep  their  divisions  in 
readiness  for  fording  the  river ;  and 
the  grenadiers  and  royal  Americans 
were  directed  to  form  on  the  beach 
until  they  could  be  properly  sustained. 

These  troops,  however,  not  waiting 
for  support,  rushed  impetuously  to 
wards  the  enemy's  intrenchments  ;  but 
they  were  received  with  so  strong  and 
steady  a  fire  from  the  French  musketry, 
that  they  were  instantly  thrown  .into 
disorder,  and  obliged  to  seek  shelter  at 
the  redoubt  which  the  enemy  had  aban 
doned.  Detained  here  awhile  by  a 
dreadful  thunder-storm,  they  were  still 
within  reach  of  a  severe  fire  from  the 


144 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


French  ;  ami  many  gallant  officers,  ex 
posing  their  persons  in  attempting  to 
form  their  troops,  were  killed,  the 
whole  loss  amounting  to  nearly  five 
hundred  men.  The  plan  of  attack  he- 
ing  effectually  disconcerted,  the  English 
general  gave  orders  for  repassing  the 
river  and  returning  to  the  Isle  of  Or 
leans. 

Compelled  to  abandon  the  attack  on 
that  side,  Wolfe  deemed  that  advan 
tage  might  result  from  attempting  to 
destroy  the  French  fleet,  and  by  dis 
tracting  the  attention  of  Montcalm  with 
continual  descents  upon  the  northern 
shore.  General  Murray,  with  twelve 
hundred  men  in  transports,  made  two 
vigorous  but  abortive  attempts  to  land  ; 
and  though  more  successful  in  the  third, 
he  did  nothing  more  than  burn  a  maga 
zine  of  warlike  stores.  The  enemy's 
fleet  was  effectually  secured  against  at 
tacks,  either  by  land  or  water,  and  the 
commander-in-chief  was  again  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  mortification  of  recall 
ing  his  troops. 

At  this  juncture,  intelligence  arrived 
that  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  had 
been  abandoned ;  but  that  General 
yAmherst,  instead  of  pressing  forward 
to  their  assistance,  was  preparing  to  at 
tack  the  Isle  aux  Noix. 

While  Wolfe  rejoiced  at  the  triumph 
of  his  brethren  in  arms,  he  could  not 
avoid  contrasting  their  success  with  his 
own  disastrous  efforts.  His  mind,  alike 
lofty  and  susceptible,  was  deeply  im 
pressed  by  the  disasters  at  Montmoren- 
cy ;  and  his  extreme  anxiety,  preying 


upon  his  delicate  frame,  sensibly  affect 
ed  his  health.  lie  was  observed  fre 
quently  to  sigh  ;  and,  as  if  life  was  only 
valuable  while  it  added  to  his  glory,  he 
declared  to  his  intimate  friends,  that  he 
would  not  survive  the  disgrace  which 
he  imagined  would  attend  the  failure 
of  his  enterprise. 

In  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Pitt  at  this 
time,  he  says,  "The  French  did  not 
attempt  to  interrupt  us  ;  but  some  of 
their  savages  came  down  to  murder 
such  wounded  as  could  not  be  brought 

O 

off,  and  to  scalp  the  dead,  as  their  cus 
tom  is."  His  situation  seemed  growing 
desperate,  and  his  health  began  to  fail 
him.  In  Ids  letter  to  Pitt,  which  was 
written  from  his  headquarters  at  Mont- 
morency  on  the  2d  of  September,  more 
than  a  month  after  this  failure,  he  con 
fessed  that  he  had  descended  to  the 
dubiousness  and  despondency  of  con 
sulting  a  council  of  war.  After  saying 
that  he  had  been  suffering  by  a  fever, 
he  adds,  "  I  found  myself  so  ill,  and  am 
still  so  weak,  that  I  begged  the  general 
officers  to  consult  together  for  the  pub 
lic  utility.  *  *  *  To  the  uncommon 
strength  of  this  country,  the  enemy 
have  added,  for  the  defence  of  the 
river,  a  great  number  of  floating  bat 
teries  and  boats.  By  the  vigilance  of 
these  and  the  Indians  round  our  posts, 
it  has  been  impossible  to  execute  any 
thing  by  surprise.  *  *  *  We  have  the 
whole  force  of  Canada  to  oppose.  In 
this  situation  there  is  such  a  choice  of 
difficulties,  that  I  own  myself  at  a  loss 
how  to  determine.  The  affairs  of  Great 


CHAP.  I.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1759. 


Britain  require  the  most  vigorous  meas 
ures  ;  "but  then  the  courage  of  a  hand 
ful  of  brave  men  should  be  exerted  only 
where  there  is  some  hope  of  a  favorable 
event."  When  this  letter  reached  Eng 
land,  it  excited  consternation  and  anger. 
Pitt  feared  that  he  had  been  mistaken 
in  his  favorite  general,  and  that  the 
next  news  would  be,  either  that  he 
had  been  destroyed  or  had  capitulated. 
But  in  the  conclusion  of  his  melancholy 
epistle,  Wolfe  had  said  he  would  do  his 
best — and  that  best  turned  out  a  mira 
cle  in  war.  He  declared  that  he  would 
rather  die  than  be  brought  to  a  court- 
martial  for  miscarrying. 

Nothing,  however,  could  shake  the 
resolution  of  this  valiant  commander, 
or  induce  him  to  abandon  the  attempt. 
In  a  council  of  his  principal  officers, 
called  on  this  critical  occasion,  it  was 
resolved  that  all  the  future  operations 
should  be  above  the  town.  The  camp 
at  the  Isle  of  Orleans  was  accordingly 
abandoned ;  and  the  whole  army  hav 
ing  embarked  on  board  the  fleet,  a  part 
of  it  was  landed  at  Point  Levi,  and  a 
part  higher  up  the  river. 

Montcalm,  apprehending  from  this 
movement  that  the  invaders  might 
make  a  distant  descent  and  come  on 
the  back  of  the  city  of  Quebec,  de 
tached  M.  de  Bougainville,  with  fifteen 
hundred  men,  to  watch  their  motions, 
and  prevent  their  landing. 

Baffled  and  harassed  in  all  his  pre 
vious  assaults,  General  Wolfe  seems  to 
have  determined  to  finish  the  enter 
prise  by  a  single  bold  and  determined 

VOL.  I.— 19 


effort.  The  admiral  sailed  several 
leagues  up  the  river,  making  occasional 
demonstrations  of  a  design  to  land 

O 

troops  ;  and,  during  the  night,  a  strong 
detachment  in  flat-bottomed  boats  fell 
silently  down  the  stream  to  a  point 
about  a  mile  above  the  city. 

The  beach  was  shelving,  the  bank 
high  and  precipitous,  and  the  only  path 
by  which  it  could  be  scaled,  was  now 
defended  by  a  captain's  guard  and  a 
battery  of  four  guns.  Lieutenant-colo 
nel  Howe,*  with  the  van,  soon  clamber 
ed  up  the  rocks,  drove  away  the  guard, 
and  seized  upon  the  battery. 

The  army  landed  about  an  hour  be 
fore  day,  and  by  daybreak  w^as  mar 
shalled  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 

Montcalm  could  not  at  first  believe 
this  intelligence  ;  but,  as  soon  as.  assured 
of  its  truth,  he  made  all  prudent  haste 
to  decide  a  battle  which  it  was  no 
longer  possible  to  avoid.  Leaving  his 
camp  at  Montmorency,  he  crossed  the 
river  St.  Charles,  with  the  intention  of 
attacking  the  English  army. 

No  sooner  did  Wolfe  observe  this 
movement,  than  he  began  to  form  his 
order  of  battle.  His  troops  consisted 
of  six  battalions,  and  the  Louisburg 
grenadiers.  The  right  wing  was  com 
manded  by  'General  Monckton,  and 
the  left  by  General  Murray.  The 
right  flank  was  covered  by  the  Louis- 
burg  grenadiers,  and  the  rear  and  left 
by  Lieutenant-colonel  Howe's  light-in 
fantry. 


6  Sir  William  Howe,  subsequently  distinguished  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 


14G 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III 


The  form  in  Avhicli  the  French  ad- 
vaiced,  indicating  an  intention  to  out 
flank  tlie  left  of  the  English  army, 
General  Townshend  was  sent  with  the 
battalion  of  Amherst,  and  the  two  bat 
talions  of  royal  Americans,  to  that  part 
of  the  line,  and  they  were  formed  en 
potence,  so  as  to  present  a  double  front 
to  the  enemy.  The  body  of  reserve 
consisted  of  one  regiment,  drawn  up  in 
eight  divisions,  with  large  intervals. 

The  dispositions  made  by  the  French 
general  were  not  less  masterly.  The 
right  and  left  wings  were  composed 
about  equally  of  European  and  colonial 
troops.  The  centre  consisted  of  a  col 
umn,  formed  of  two  battalions  of  regu 
lars.  Fifteen  hundred  Indians  and 
Canadians,  excellent  marksmen,  advan 
cing  in  .front,  screened  by  surrounding 
thickets,  began  the  battle.  Their  irreg- 

'  « — '  O 

ular  fire  proved  fatal  to  many  British 
officers,  but  it  was  soon  silenced  by  the 
steady  fire  of  the  English. 

About  nine  in  the  morning,  the  main 
body  of  the  French  advanced  briskly  to 
the  charge,  and  the  action  soon  became 
general.  Montcalm  having  taken  post 
on  the  left  of  the  French  army,  and 
Wolfe  on  the  right  of  the  English,  the 
two  generals  met  each  other  where  the 
battle  was  most  severe.  The  English 

o 

troops  reserved  their  fire  until  the 
French  had  advanced  within  forty  yards 
of  their  line,  and  then,  by  a  general  dis 
charge,  made  terrible  havoc  among 
their  ranks.  The  fire  of  the  English 
was  vigorously  maintained,  and  the 
enemy  everywhere  yielded. 


General  Wolfe,  who,  exposed  in  the 
front  of  his  battalions,  had  been  wound 
ed  in  the  wrist,  betraying  no  symptoms 
of  pain,  wrapped  a  handkerchief  round 
his  arm,  and  continued  to  encourage  his 
men.  Soon  after,  he  received  a  shot  in 
the  groin ;  but,  concealing  the  wound, 
he  was  pressing  on  at  the  head  of  his 
grenadiers,  with  fixed  bayonets,  when  a 
third  ball  pierced  his  breast. 

Perceiving  that  his  wound  was  mor 
tal,  his  only  anxiety  appears  to  have 
been  that  the  soldiers  might  not  be  dis 
heartened  by  seeing  him  fall.  Leaning 
on  a  lieutenant  for  support,  he  said, 
"Let  not  my  brave  fellows  see  me 
drop."  He  was  conveyed  to  the  rear, 
where,  careless  about  himself,  he  dis 
covered  in  the  agonies  of  death  the 

O 

greatest  solicitude  concerning  the  result 
of  the  battle.  Faint  and  exhausted 
with  the  pain  of  his  wounds,  he  rested 
his  head  on  the  arm  of  an  officer.  lie 
was  aroused  by  cries  of,  "  They  fly,  they 
fly!  see  them  fly!"  "Who  fly?"  ex 
claimed  the  dying  hero.  "  The  French," 
answered  his  attendant.  Nerving  him 

o 

self  to  a  last  effort  of  duty,  he  gave  a 
hasty  order  for  cutting  off  the  enemy's 
retreat ;  and  then  turning  on  his  side, 
he  said,  "  Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will 
die  in  peace,"  and  expired. 

We  cannot  forbear  quoting  in  this 
connection,  the  simple  and  feeling  obser 
vations  of  General  Townshend,  respect 
ing  his  heroic  friend,  whose  fate  threw 
so  affecting  a  lustre  on  this  memorable 
victory :  "  I  am  not  ashamed  to  own  to 
you,  that  my  heart  does  not  exult  in  the 


CHAP.  I.] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1759. 


147 


midst  of  this  success.  I  have  lost  hut  a 
friend  in  General  Wolfe ;  our  country 
has  lost  a  sure  support  and  a  perpetual 
honor.  If  the  world  were  sensihle  at 
how  dear  a  price  we  have  purchased 
Quehec  in  his  death,  it  would  damp  the 
puhlic  joy.  Our  hest  consolation  is,  that 
Providence  seemed  not  to  promise  that 
he  should  remain  long  among  us.  He 
was  himself  sensihle  of  the  weakness  of 
his  constitution,  and  determined  to 
crowd  into  a  few  years,  actions  that 
would  have  adorned  length  of  life." 

The  army,  not  disconcerted  hy  the 
fall  of  their  general,  continued  the  ac 
tion  under  Monckton,  on  whom  the  com 
mand  now  devolved,  hut  who,  receiving 
a  hall  through  his  hody,  soon  yielded 
the  command  to  General  Townshend. 

Montcalm,  fighting  in  front  of  his  hat- 
talions,  received  a  mortal  wound*  ahout 
the  same  time  ;  and  General  Senezergus, 
the  second  in  command,  also  fell.  The 
British  grenadiers  pressed  on  with  their 
bayonets.  General  Murray,  hriskly  ad 
vancing  with  the  troops  under  his  di 
rection,  hroke  the  centre  of  the  French 
army. 

The  Highlanders,  drawing  their  broad 
swords,  completed  the  confusion  of  the 
enemy ;  and  after  having  lost  their  first 


0  Montcalm  was  every  way  worthy  to  be  a  competitor 
of  Wolfe.  He  had  the  truest  military  genius  of  any 
officer  whom  the  French  had  ever  employed  in  America. 
After  he  had  received  his  mortal  wound,  he  was  carried 
into  the  city  ;  and  when  informed  that  it  was  mortal,  his 
reply  was,  "  I  am  glad  of  it."  On  being  told  that  he 
could  survive  but  a  few  hours,  "  So  much  the  better," 
he  replied,  "I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of 
Quebec." 


and  second  in  command,  the  right  and 
centre  of  the  French  were  entirely  driven 
from  the  field ;  and  the  left  was  follow 
ing  their  example,  when  Bougainville 
appeared  in  the  rear,  with  the  fifteen 
hundred  men  who  had  heen  sent  to  op 
pose  the  landing  of  the  English.  Two 
battalions  and  two  pieces  of  artillery 
were  detached  to  meet  him ;  but  he  re 
tired,  and  the  British  troops  were  left 
the  undisputed  masters  of  the  field. 
The  loss  of  the  French  was  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  English.  The  corps  of 
French  regulars  was  almost  entirely  an 
nihilated.  The  killed  and  wounded  of 
the  English  army  did  not  amount  to  six 
hundred  men. 

Although  Quehec  was  still  strongly 
defended  hy  its  fortifications,  and  might 
possibly  be  relieved  by  Bougainville,  or 
from  Montreal,  yet  General  Townshend 
had  scarcely  finished  a  road  in  the  bank 
to  get  his  heavy  artillery  for  a  siege, 
when  the  inhabitants  capitulated,  on 
condition  that  during  the  war  they 
might  still  enjoy  their  own  civil  and  re 
ligious  rights.  A  garrison  of  five  thou 
sand  men  was  left  under  General  Mur 
ray,  and  the  fleet  sailed  out  of  the  St. 
Lawrence. 

The  fall  of  Quebec  did  not  immedi 
ately  produce  the  submission  of  Canada. 
The  main  body  of  the  French  army, 
which,  after  the  battle  on  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  retired  to  Montreal,  and 
which  still  consisted  of  ten  battalions  of 
regulars,  had  been  reinforced  by  ten 
thousand  Canadian  militia  and  a  body 
of  Indians. 


148 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  m. 


With  these  forces,  M.  de  Levi,  who 
had  succeeded  the  Marquis  of  Mont- 
calni  in  the  chief  command,  resolved  to 
attempt  the  recovery  of  Quebec.  He 
had  hoped  to  carry  the  place  by  a  coup 
fa  main,  during  the  winter ;  but  on  re 
connoitring,  he  found  the  outposts  so 
well  secured,  and  the  governor 'so  vigi 
lant  and  active,  that  he  postponed  the 
enterprise  until  spring. 

In  the  month  of  April,  when  the 
upper  part  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  so 
open  as  to  admit  of  transportation  by 
water,  his  artillery,  military  stores,  and 
heavy  baggage,  were  embarked  at  Mon 
treal,  and  fell  down  the  river  under 
convoy  of  six  frigates ;  and  M.  de  Levi, 
after  a  march  of  ten  days,  arrived  with 
his  army  at  Point  au  Tremble,  within  a 
few  miles  of  Quebec. 

General  Murray,  to  whom  the  care  of 
maintaining  the  English  conquest  had 
been  intrusted,  had  taken  every  pre 
caution  to  preserve  it;  but  his  troops 
had  suffered  so  much  by  the  extreme 
cold  of  the  winter,  and  by  the  want  of 
vegetables  and  fresh  provisions,  that  in 
stead  of  five  thousand,  the  original  num 
ber  of  his  garrison,  there  were  not  at 
this  time  above  three  thousand  men  fit 
for  service. 

With  this  small  but  valiant  body, 
the  English  general  resolved  to  meet  the 
enemy  in  the  field ;  and  on  the  28th  of 
April,  marched  out  to  the  Plains  of 
Abraham,  where,  near  Sillery,  he  at 
tacked  the  French  under  M.  de  Levi 
with  great  impetuosity.  He  was  re 
ceived  with  firmness ;  and  after  a  fierce 


encounter,  finding  himself  outflanked, 
and  in  danger  of  being  surrounded  by 
superior  numbers,  he  called  off  his 
troops,  and  retired  into  the  city. 

In  this  action  the  loss  of  the  English 
was  near  a  thousand  men,  and  that  of 
the  French  still  greater.  The  French 
general  lost  no  time  in  improving  his 
victory.  On  the  very  evening  of  the 
battle,  he  opened  trenches  before  the 
town  ;  but  it  was  the  llth  of  May  be 
fore  he  could  mount  his  batteries,  and 
bring  his  guns  to  bear  on  the  fortifica 
tions. 

By  that  time  General  Murray,  who 
had  been  indefatigable  in  his  exer 
tions,  had  completed  some  outworks, 
and  planted  so  numerous  an  artillery 
on  his  ramparts,  that  his  fire  was  very 
superior  to  that  of  the  besiegers,  and, 
in  a  manner,  silenced  their  batteries. 
A  British  fleet  arriving  most  oppor 
tunely  a  few  days  after,  M.  de  Levi  im 
mediately  raised  the  siege,  and  precipi 
tately  retired  to  Montreal. 

Here  the  Marquis  of  Vaudreuil,  gov 
ernor-general  of  Canada,  had  fixed  his 
headquarters,  and  determined  to  make 
his  last  stand.  For  this  purpose  he 
called  in  all  his  detachments,  and  col 
lected  around  him  the  whole  force  of 
the  colony. 

The  English,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
resolved  on  the  total  annihilation  of  the 
French  power  in  Canada ;  and  General 
Amherst  prepared  to  overwhelm  it 
with  an  irresistible  superiority  of  num 
bers. 

Almost  on  the  same  day,  the  armies 


CHAP.  L] 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1759. 


149 


from  Quebec,  from  Lake  Ontario,  and 
from  Lake  Champlain,  were  concentra 
ted  before  Montreal,  and  M.  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  found  himself  obliged,  on  the 
Nth  of  September,  1760,  to  sign  a  ca 
pitulation,  by  which  that  city  and  the 
u  hole  of  Canada  were  transferred  to 
British  dominion.  He  obtained  liberal 
stipulations  for  the  good  treatment  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  particularly  the 
free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
the  preservation  of  the  property  belong 
ing  to  the  religious  communities.  He 
even  demanded  that  the  bishop  should 
continue  to  be  appointed  by  the  French 
monarch,  but  this  was  of  course  refused. 
The  possession  of  Canada,  as  well  as  of 
all  the  adjoining  countries,  was  con 
firmed  to  Britain  by  the  peace  of  Paris, 
signed  on  the  10th  of  February,  1763. 

The  population  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest  was  stated  by  Governor  Mur 
ray  to  amount  to  sixty-nine  thousand 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five,  consist 
ing  mostly  of  cultivators,  a  frugal,  in 
dustrious,  and  moral  race ;  with  a  no 
blesse,  also  very  poor,  but  much  re 
spected,  among  them.  The  Indians 
converted  to  Catholics  were  estimated 
at  seven  thousand  four  hundred.  The 
inhabitants  were  involved  in  great  ca 
lamity  by  the  refusal  of  the  French 
government  to  pay  the  bills  drawn  and 
the  paper  currency  issued  by  M.  Bigot, 
the  late  intendant,  who  had  been  guil 
ty  of  most  extensive  peculation.  The 
gross  sum  is  stated  by  Raynal  at  eighty 
millions  of  livres  (£3,333,000  sterling)  ; 
but  considering  the  small  number  and 


poverty  of  the  people,  we  cannot  help 
suspecting  it  to  be  much  exaggerated. 
It  is  said  that  the  claims  were,  on 
grounds  of  equity,  reduced  to  thirty- 
eight  millions ;  though,  according  to 
M'Gregor,  no  more  was  received  in 
turn  for  them  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  pounds  in  money,  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand 
pounds  in  bonds,  which  never  became 
effective. 

The  terms  in  favor  of  the  French  resi 
dents  were  faithfully  and  even  liberal 
ly  fulfilled  by  the  British  government. 
All  offices,  however,  were  conferred  on 
British  subjects,  who  then  consisted  only 
of  military  men,  with  not  quite  five  hun 
dred  petty  traders,  many  of  whom  were 
ill-fitted  for  so  important  a  situation. 
They  showed  a  bigoted  spirit  and  an 
offensive  contempt  of  the  old  inhab 
itants,  including  ev.en  their  class  of  no 
bles.  General  Murray,  notwithstand 
ing,  strenuously  protected  the  latter, 
without  regard  to  repeated  complaints 
made,  against  him  to  the  ministry  at 
home  ;  and  by  this  impartial  conduct 
he  gained  their  confidence  in  a  degree 
which  became  conspicuous  on  occasion 
of  the  great  revolt  of  the  united  colo 
nies. 

During  that  momentous  period,  though 
pressingly  invited  to  assist  the  latter,  the 
Canadians  never  swerved  from  their  al 
legiance.  With  a  view  to  conciliate 
them,  the  "Quebec  Act,"  passed  in 
1774,  changed  the  English  civil  law, 
which  had  been  at  first  introduced,  for 
the  ancient  system  called  the  Co  liunie 


150 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


de  Paris.  The  French  language  was 
also  directed  to  be  employed  in  the  law 
courts,  and  other  changes  made  with 
the  view  of  gratifying  that  nation. 


These  concessions  did  not,  however, 
give  universal  satisfaction,  especially 
as  they  were  not  attended  with  any 
grant  of  a  national  representation. 


DOCUMENT  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  I. 


CONSEQUENCES  OF  THE  SEVEN  YEARS'  WAR. 

AT  the  time  when  Washington  saved  the 
remnant  of  Braddock's  army  (June  9th,  1755), 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  France  had  not 
yet  been  formally  declared.  Previous  to  the 
adoption  of  that  measure,  Great  Bi-itain,  contra 
ry  to  the  usages  of  nations,  made  prisoners  of 
eight  thousand  French  sailors.  This  heavy 
blow  for  a  long  time  crippled  the  naval  opera 
tions  of  France,  but  at  the  same  time  inspired 
her  with  a  desire  to  retaliate  whenever  a  proper 
opportunity  should  present  itself.  For  two  or 
three  years  after  Braddock's  defeat,  the  war 
was  carried  on  against  France  without  vigor  or 
success,  but  when  Mr.  Pitt  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  ministry,  public  affairs  assumed  a 
new  aspect.  Victory  everywhere  crowned  the 
British  arms,  and,  in  a  short  time,  the  French 
were  dispossessed,  not  only  of  all  the  British 
territories  on  which  they  had  encroached,  but 
also  of  Quebec,  the  capital  of  their  ancient  prov 
ince,  Canada. 

In  the  course  of  this  Avar  some  of  the  colonies 
made  exertions  so  far  beyond  their  reasonable 
quota,  as  to  merit  a  reimbursement  from  the 
national  treasury  ;  but  this  was  not  universally 
the  case.  In  consequence  of  internal  disputes, 
together  with  their  greater  domestic  security, 
the  necessary  supplies  had  not  been  raised  in 
due  time  by  others  of  the  provincial  assemblies. 
That  a  British  minister  should  depend  on  colo 
nial  legislatures  for  the  execution  of  his  plans, 
did  not  well  accord  with  the  vigorous  and  de 
cisive  genius  of  Mr.  Pitt,  but  it  was  not  prudent, 
by  any  innovation,  to  irritate  the  colonies  dur 
ing  a  war  in  which,  from  local  circumstances, 
these  exertions  were  peculiarly  beneficial.  The 
advantages  that  would  result  from  an  ability  to 


draw  forth  the  resources  of  the  colonies  by  the 
same  authority  which  commanded  the  wealth 
of  the  mother  country,  might,  in  these  circum 
stances,  have  suggested  the  idea  of  taxing  the 
colonies  by  authority  of  the  British  parlia 
ment. 

Mr.  Pitt  is  said  to  have  told  Mr.  Franklin, 
"  that  when  the  war  closed,  if  he  should  be  in 
the  ministry,  he  would  take  measures  to  pre 
vent  the  colonies  from  having  a  power  to  refuse 
or  delay  the  supplies  that  might  be  wanted  for 
national  purposes,"  but  did  not  mention  what 
those  measures  should  be.  As  often  as  money 
or  men  were  wanted  from  the  colonies,  a  requi 
sition  was  made  to  their  legislatures.  These 
were  generally  and  cheerfully  complied  with. 
Their  exertions,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were 
great,  and  manifested  a  serious  desire  to  carry 
into  effect  the  plans  of  Great  Britain  for  redu 
cing  the  power  of  France. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  war  the  advantages 
which  Great  Britain  derived  from  the  colonies 
were  severely  felt  by  her  enemies.  Upwards  of 
four  hundred  privateers  which  were  fitted  out 
of  the  ports  of  the  British  colonies  successfully 
cruised  on  French  property.  These  not  only 
ravaged  the  West  India  islands  belonging  to  his 
most  Catholic  majesty,  but  made  many  captures 
on  the  coast  of  France.  Besides  distressing  the 
French  nation  by  privateering,  the  colonies  fur 
nished  twenty-three  thousand  eight  hundred 
men,  to  co-operate  with  the  British  regular 
forces  in  North  America.  They  also  sent  pow 
erful  aids,  both  in  men  and  provisions,  out  of 
their  own  limits,  which  facilitated  the  reduction 
of  Martinique  and  of  the  Havana.  The  success 
of  their  privateers — the  co-operation  of  their 
land  forces — the  convenience  of  their  harbors, 
and  the  contiguity  to  tie  West  India  islands, 


1.V2 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


made  the  colonies  great  acquisitions  to  Britain 
ami  formidable  adversaries  to  France.  From 
their  growing  importance  the  latter  had  much 
to  tear.  Their  continued  union  with  Great 
Britain  threatened  the  subversion  of  the  com 
merce  and  American  possessions  of  France. 

After  hostilities  had  raged  nearly  eight  years, 
a  general  peace  was  concluded,  on  terms  by  which 
France  ceded  Canada  to  Great  Britain.  The 
Spaniards  having  also  taken  part  in  the  war, 
were,  at  the  termination  of  it,  induced  to  relin 
quish  to  the  same  power  both  East  and  West 
Florida.  This  peace  gave  Great  Britain  pos 
session  of  an  extent  of  country  equal  in  dimen 
sions  to  several  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe. 
The  possession  of  Canada  in  the  north,  and  of 
the  two  Floridas  in  the  south,  made  her  almost 
sole  mistress  of  the  North  American  continent. 

This  laid  a  foundation  for  future  greatness, 
which  excited  the  envy  and  the  fears  of  Europe. 
Her  navy,  her  commerce,  and  her  manufactures, 
had  greatly  increased,  when  she  held  but  a  part 
of  the  continent,  and  when  she  was  bounded  by 
the  formidable  powers  of  France  and  Spain. 
Her  probable  future  greatness,  when  without  a 
rival,  and  with  a  growing  vent  for  her  manufac 
tures,  and  increasing  employment  for  her  ma 
rine,  threatened  to  destroy  that  balance  of  power 
which  European  sovereigns  have  for  a  long  time 
endeavored  to  preserve.  Kings  are  republicans 
with  respect  to  each  other,  and  behold  with 
democratic  jealousy  any  one  of  their  order  tow 
ering  above  the  rest.  The  aggrandizement  of 
one  tends  to  excite  the  combination,  or  at  least 
the  wishes  of  many,  to  reduce  him  to  the  com 
mon  level.  From  motives  of  this  kind,  a  great 
part  of  Europe  combined  against  Venice ;  and 
soon  after  against  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  With 
the  same  suspicious  eye,  was  the  naval  supe 
riority  of  Great  Britain  viewed  by  her  neigh 


bors.  They  were  in  general  disposed  to  favor 
any  convulsion  which  promised  a  diminution  of 
her  overgrown  power. 

The  addition  to^the  British  empire  of  new 
provinces,  equal  in  extent  to  old  kingdoms,  not 
only  excited  the  jealousy  of  European  powers, 
but  occasioned  doubts  in  the  minds  of  enlight 
ened  British  politicians,  whether  or  not  such  im 
mense  acquisitions  of  territory  would  contribute 
to  the  felicity  of  the  parent  state.  They  saw,  or 
thought  they  saw,  the  seeds  of  disunion  planted 
in  the  too-widely  extended  empire.  Power,  like 
all  things  human,  has  its  limits,  and  there  is  a 
point  beyond  which  the  longest  and  sharpest 
sword  fails  of  doing  execution.  To  combine  in 
one  uniform  system  of  government  the  exten 
sive  territory  then  subjected  to  the  British  sway, 
appeared  to  men  of  reflection  a  work  of  doubt 
ful  practicability;  nor  were  they  mistaken  in 
their  conjectures. 

The  seeds  of  discord  were  soon  planted,  and 
speedily  grew  up,  to  the  rending  of  the  empire. 
The  high  notions  of  liberty  and  independence1, 
which  were  nurtured  in  the  colonies,  by  their 
local  situation,  and  the  state  of  society  in  the 
New  World,  were  increased  by  the  removal  of 
hostile  neighbors.  The  events  of  the  war  had 
also  given  them  some  experience  in  military 
operations,  and  some  confidence  in  their  own 
ability.  Foreseeing  their  future  importance, 
from  the  rapid  increase  of  their  numbers  and 
extension  of  their  commerce ;  and  being  ex 
tremely  jealous  of  their  rights,  they  readily 
admitted,  and  with  pleasure  indulged,  ideas 
and  sentiments  that  were  favorable  to  indepen 
dence.  While  combustible  materials  were  daily 
collecting  in  the  New  World,  a  spark  to  kindle 
the  whole  was  produced  in  the  Old.  Nor  were 
there  wanting  those  who,  from  a  jealousy  of 
Great  Britain,  helped  to  fan  the  flame. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1759—1763, 

LIFE      AT     MOUNT     V  E  R  N  0  N  . 

Washington's  devotion  to  agricultural  pursuits. — His  letters. — Suggestion  in  one  of  them  respecting  the  probable 
failure  of  Montgomery  in  his  expedition  against  the  southern  Indians. — Washington's  knowledge  of  Indian  char 
acter. — Evinced  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  presentiment  respecting  Montgomery. — Account  of  Montgomery's  expe 
dition. — Washington  as  a  legislator. — His  modesty  when  receiving  a  token  of  public  applause. — His  course  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia. — Agricultural  pursuits. — Rural  sports. — Strict  attention  to  business. — Tobacco 
culture. — Trading  intercourse  with  England. — Orders  for  supplies. — Curious  specimens  of  orders  for  clothes  and 
ornaments. — Some  thoughts  of  a  visit  to  England. — Home  pleasures  and  pursuits  preferred. — Mount  Vernon. — 
Washington's  own  description  of  it. — Virginia  hospitality. — Custom  of  the  planters  respecting  the  education  of 
their  sons. — Washington  a  vestryman. — Anecdote. — Washington's  neighbors. — Their  amusements. — Lord  Fair 
fax. — Fox-hunting. — Fishing  and  fowling  on  the  Potomac. — Characteristic  anecdote  of  Washington  and  the 
poacher. — Washington's  disinterested  exertions  for  private  individuals. — His  attention  to  soldiers'  claims. — To 
internal  improvements. 


DURING-  the  stirring  events  which  are 
recorded  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
Washington  remained  at  Mount  Ver- 

O 

non,  busily  engaged  in  the  care  of  his 
extensive  plantation.  He  occasionally 
refers  to  them,  however,  in  his  letters. 
Writing  to  his  London  agent  in  Sep 
tember,  1759,  he  says:  "The  scale  of 
fortune  in  America  is  turned  greatly  in 
our  favor,  and  success  has  become  the 
companion  of  our  fortunate  generals. 
It  would  be  folly  in  me  to  attempt  par 
ticularizing  their  actions,  since  you  re 
ceive  accounts  in  a  channel  so  much 
more  direct  than  from  hence."  In 
another  letter  to  the  same  correspon 
dent  (May  10th,  1760),  he  says:  "The 
French  are  so  well  drubbed,  and  seem 
so  much  humbled  in  America,  that  I 

VOL.  I.— 20 


apprehend  our  generals  will  find  it  no 
difficult  matter  to  reduce  Canada  to  our 
obedience  this  summer.  But  what  may 
be  Montgomery's  fate  in  the  Cherokee 
country,  I  cannot  so  readily  determine. 
It  seems  he  has  made  a  prosperous  be 
ginning,  having  penetrated  into  the 
heart  of  the  country,  and  he  is  now  ad 
vancing  his  troops  in  high  health  and 
spirits  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Loudoun. 
But  let  him  be  wary.  He  has  a  crafty, 
subtle  enemy  to  deal  with,  that  may 
give  him  most  trouble  when  he  least 
expects  it." 

No  man  ever  understood  the  char 
acter  of  the  Indians  more  thoroughly 
than  Washington.  His  intercourse  with 
them  during  that  portion  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  in  which  he  took  an  active 


lf)4 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


j);irt,  had  made  him  well  acquainted 
with  their  native  disposition,  and  their 
peculiar  tactics  in  war.  How  justly  his 
apprehensions  for  the  safety  of  Mont 
gomery  and  his  detachment  were  con 
ceived,  will  appear  from  the  following 
account  of  his  expedition,  extracted  from 
Dr.  Holmes's  American  Annals. 

During  these  decisive  operations  in 
the  north,  the  English  colonists  in  the 
south  sustained  no  small  calamity  from 
the  natives.  The  French  were  no  soon 
er  driven  from  Fort  Duquesne,  than 
their  baleful  influence  appeared  among 
the  Upper  Cherokees.  Unhappily,  at 
that  time,  a  quarrel  with  the  Virginians 
contributed  to  alienate  those  Indian 
tribes  from  the  English,  with  whom 
they  had  long  been  in  alliance.  The 
Cherokees,  agreeably  to  treaty,  had  sent 
considerable  parties  of  their  warriors  to 
assist  the  British  in  their  expeditions 
against  Fort  Duquesne.  Many  of  these 
warriors,  on  their  return  home  through 

7  O 

the  back  parts  of  Virginia,  losing  their 
horses,  laid  hold  on  such  as  they  found 
running  wild  in  the  woods,  without  sup 
posing  them  to  belong  to  any  individ 
uals.  The  Virginians,  resenting  this  in 
jury,  killed  twelve  or  fourteen  of  the 
unsuspicious  warriors,  and  took  several 
prisoners.  The  Cherokees,  highly  pro 
voked  at  this  ungrateful  usage  from 
allies,  whose  frontiers  they  had  been 
helping  to  defend,  determined  to  take 
revenge.  The  French  inflamed  their 
vindictive  rage,  by  telling  them  that  the 
English  intended  to  kill  every  man  of 
them,  and  to  make  their  wives  and  chil 


dren  slaves ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  fur 
nished  them  with  arms  and  ammunition. 
The  frontiers  of  Carolina  soon  feeling 
the  horrible  effects  of  their  incursions, 
Governor  Littleton,  towards  the  close 
of  the  last  year,  had  marched  at  the 
head  of  eight  hundred  militia  and  thiee 
hundred  regulars,  into  the  country  of 
the  Cherokees,  where,  without  any 
bloodshed,  a  treaty  of  peace  was  con 
cluded. 

Early  in  the  present  year,  when  joy 
ous  celebrations  of  the  peace  were 
scarcely  concluded,  the  governor  was 
informed  that  fresh  hostilities  had  been 
committed  by  the  Cherokees,  who  had 
killed  fourteen  men  within  a  mile  of 
Fort  Prince  George.  The  war  soon  be 
coming  general,  an  express  was  sent  to 
General  Aniherst,  the  Commander-in- 
chief  in  America,  acquainting  him  with 
the  distressed  state  of  Carolina,  and  im 
ploring  his  assistance.  A  battalion  of 
Highlanders,  and  four  companies  of  the 
Royal  Scots,  were  accordingly  sent  un 
der  the  command  of  Colonel  Montgom 
ery,  for  the  relief  of  that  province. 
Before  the  end  of  April,  Montgomery 
landed  his  troops  in  Carolina,  and  en 
camped  at  Monk's  Corner.  A  few 
weeks  after  his  arrival,  he  marched  to 
the  Congaree,  where  he  was  joined  by 
the  whole  force  of  the  province,  and  im 
mediately  set  out  for  the  Cherokee 
country.  After  burning  all  the  towns 
in  the  lower  nation,  in  which  sixty  In 
dians  were  killed,  and  forty  made  pris 
oners,  he  marched  to  the  relief  of  Fort 
Prince  George,  which  was  invested  by 


ClIAP.  II.] 


LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERXOX. 


155 


the  savages.     After  relieving  that  fort, 

O  O  ' 

finding  the  Indians  not  disposed  to  lis 
ten  to  proposals  of  accommodation,  he 
marched  forward  through  the  dismal 
wilderness,  where  he  encountered  many 
hardships  and  dangers,  until  he  came 
within  five  miles  of  Etchoe,  the  lowest 
town  in  the  middle  settlements.  Here 
he  found  a  deep  valley  covered  with 
bushes,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a 
muddy  river,  with  steep  clay  banks. 
Colonel  Morrison,  who  commanded  a 
company  of  rangers,  had  orders  to  ad 
vance  and  scour  the  thicket,  but  scarcely 
hud  he  entered  it,  when  the  Indians, 
springing  from  their  covert,  fired  upon 
them,  and  killed  the  captain  and  many 
of  his  men.  The  light-infantry  and 
grenadiers  being  now  ordered  to  ad 
vance  against  the  invisible  enemy,  a 
heavy  fire  began  on  both  sides.  Colonel 
Montgomery,  finding  the  number  of  the 
Indians  to  be  great,  and  their  determi 
nation  to  dispute  this  pass  obstinate, 
ordered  the  Royal  Scots  to  advance  be 
tween  the  enemy  and  a  rising  ground 
on  the  riofht,  while  the  Highlanders' 

o        *  o 

marched  towards  the  left,  to  sustain  the 
infantry  and  grenadiers.  The  Indians 
at  length  giving  way,  and,  having  taken 
possession  of  a  hill,  continued  still  to  re 
treat,  as  the  army  advanced ;  Mont 
gomery  gave  orders  to  the  line  to  face 
about  and  march  directly  for  Etchoe. 
The  enemy,  observing  this  movement, 
got  behind  the  hill,  and  ran  to  alarm 
their  wives  and  children.  Perceiving 
the  difficulty  and  hazard  of  a  further 
pursuit,  the  English  commander  gave 


orders  for  a  retreat,  which  was  conduct 
ed  with  great  regularity  to  Fort  Prince- 
George.  During  this  action,  which  con 
tinued  above  an  hour,  Colonel  Mont 
gomery  had  twenty  men  killed,  and 
seventy-six  wounded. 

To  revenge  this  invasion,  the  Chero- 
kees  blockaded  Fort  Loudoun,  situated 
near  the  confines  of  Virginia.  This 
post,  consisting  of  two  hundred  men, 
commanded  by  Captain  Dernere,  being 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
Charleston,  was  cut  off  from  all  com 
munication  with  the  English.  The  gar 
rison,  having  subsisted  some  time  on 
horse-flesh,  was  ultimately  reduced  to 
such  extremity,  as  to  be  obliged  to  sur 
render  the  place  on  capitulation.  The 
troops  were  to  march  out  with  their 
ammunition  and  baggage,  and  to  be 
conducted  to  Virginia,  or  Fort  Prince 
George ;  but  after  marching  about 
fifteen  miles  from  the  fort,  they  were  at 
night  deserted  by  their  attendants,  and 
the  next  morning  surrounded  by  the 
Indians,  who  poured  in  a  heavy  fire 
upon  them,  accompanied  with  the  most 
hideous  yells.  Captain  Dernere,  with 
three  other  officers,  and  about  twenty- 
six  privates,  fell  at  the  first  onset.  The 
rest  were  made  prisoners ;  and,  after 
being  kept  some  time  in  a  miserable 
state  of  captivity,  were  redeemed  by  the 
province  at  a  great  expense.  The 
Cherokees  could  at  this  time  bring  into 
the  field  three  thousand  warriors. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  election 
of  Washington  as  a  member  of  the  Vir- 

o 

ginia  House  of  Burgesses,  while  he  was 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


engaged  in  his  military  duties  during 
the  campaign  of  17">S.  Being  solicited 
bv  some  of  his  friends  to  obtain  leave 
of  absence  and  join  in  the  electioneer 
ing  contest,  he  had  declined  leaving  his 
post,  but  the  result  was  not  the  less 
triumphant  and  gratifying  on  this  ac 
count.  Great  military  services  had  al 
ready  become  in  America  the  best  pass 
port  to  political  honors. 

While  he  was  still  residing  at  the 
White  House,  before  returning  to 
Mount  Vernon,  a  session  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses  took  place,  which  lie  at 
tended.  An  incident,  referred  to  by 
all  his  biographers,  took  place  during 
this  session,  which  is  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Wirt  in  his  "  Life  of  Patrick 
Henry :" 

By  a  vote  of  the  House,  the  Speaker, 
Mr.  Robinson,  was  directed  to  return 
their  thanks  to  Colonel  Washington, 
on  behalf  of  the  colony,  for  the  distin 
guished  military  services  which  he  had 
rendered  to  his  country.  As  soon  as 
Colonel  Washington  took  his  seat,  Mr. 
Robinson,  in  obedience  to  this  order, 
and  following  the  impulse  of  his  own 
generous  and  grateful  heart,  discharged 
the  duty  with  great  dignity,  but  with 
such  warmth  of  coloring  and  strength 
of  expression,  as  entirely  confounded 
the  young  hero.  He  rose  to  express 
his  acknowledgments  for  the  honor ; 
but  such  was  his  trepidation  and  con 
fusion,  that  he  could  not  give  distinct 
utterance  to  a  single  syllable.  He 
blushed,  stammered,  and  trembled  for 
a  second ;  when  the  Speaker  relieved 


him  by  a  stroke  of  address,  that  would 
have  done  honor  to  Louis  the  Four 
teenth  in  his  proudest  and  happiest  mo 
ment  :  "  Sit  down,  Mr.  Washington," 
said  he,  with  a  conciliating  smile  ; 
"  your  modesty  equals  your  valor  ;  and 
that  surpasses  the  power  of  any  lan 
guage  that  I  possess." 

Washington  by  repeated  elections  re 
tained  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  till  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  a  period  of  fifteen 
years ;  discharging  his  legislative  duties 
with  that  scrupulous  fidelity,  which, 
through  life,  he  observed  in  fulfilling 

~  o 

every  engagement  upon  which  he  en 
tered.  His  career  as  a  legislator  was 
precisely  such  as  might  have  been  an 
ticipated  from  his  general  character. 
His  decisions  were  formed  upon  a 
thorough  and  careful  investigation  of 

O  O 

facts,  and  his  course  was  marked  by 
firmness  and  candor.  The  few  words 
which  on  rare  occasions  he  deemed  it 
worth  while  to  address  to  the  House  in 
debate,  were  consequently  always  lis 
tened  to  with  a  degree  of  attention  and 
deference,  which  was  the  best  tribute 
to  his  sound  judgment  and  weight  of 
character.  In  the  stormy  times  which 
immediately  preceded  the  Revolution, 
he  was  ever  found  taking  part  with  the 
patriotic  members  of  the  House. 

Washington  was  extremely  fond  of 
agriculture  and  of  rural  pleasures  and 
pursuits ;  and  on  taking  up  his  resi 
dence  at  Mount  Vernon,  it  was  his  set 
tled  purpose  to  pass  in  these  the  re 
mainder  of  his  life.  But  Providence 


CHAP.  II.] 


LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERXON. 


157 


had  in  reserve  for  him  a  higher  destiny 
than  that  of  farming,  hunting,  fishing, 
and  interchanging  hospitalities  with 
other  country  gentlemen.  Such,  how 
ever,  were  his  pursuits  during  a  con 
siderable  part  of  his  prime  of  life — no 
less  than  fifteen  years. 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  that 
while  he  was  engaged  in  these  rural 
pursuits  he  devoted  his  whole  attention 
to  them  ;  it  being  a  maxim  with  him, 
that  whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all  is 
worth  doing  well  and  thoroughly.  He 
superintended  personally  all  the  agri 
cultural  operations  on  his  estate  ;  kept 
his  own  accounts  ;  shipped  the  produce 
of  his  plantation  to  London,  Bristol,  or 
Liverpool,  and  received  from  thence  his 
supplies  in  his  own  name.  All  the  de 
tails  of  these  operations  were  attended 
to  by  him  with  the  most  scrupulous 
care,  nothing  being  too  trivial  to  escape 
his  attention. 

The  staple  article  of  culture  in  Vir 
ginia  at  that  time  was  tobacco,  and  this 
formed  the  chief  product  of  Washing 
ton's  plantation.  He  exported  it  to 
England,  putting  it  on  board  of  vessels 
which  came  up  the  Potomac  to  Mount 
Vernon  to  receive  it. 

In  the  colonial  times  it  was  the  policy 
of  the  mother  country  to  discourage 
every  species  of  American  manufac 
tures,  and  not  only  agricultural  imple 
ments  and  clothing,  but  almost  every 
thing  required  for  the  daily  use  of  a 
family  was  imported  from  Great  Britain. 
These  it  was  Washington's  practice  to 
order  twice  a  year  from  his  agent  in 


London  ;  and  the  minuteness  and  par 
ticularity  of  his  orders  show  his  habitual 
accuracy  and  somewhat  of  fondness  for 
detail.  As  an  interesting  illustration  of 
Washington's  habits  in  this  respect  we 
transcribe  a  few  specimens  from  a  re 
cent  work.* 

"  We  have  before  observed  that  Wash 
ington,  with  all  his  supposed  stoicism, 
was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  dress. 
Infinitely  small  as  was  certain  provision 
of  this  sort  which  he  made  for  attend 
ing  court  at  Fredericksburg,  in  1747,. 

— as  we  have  seen, — there  is  yet  a 
gravity  in  the  enumeration  of  shirts 
and  'hoes,'  which  bespeaks  a  little  in 
terest  in  those  respectable  articles  of 
costume.  In  1757,  there  had  been  a 
large  step  towards  the  adonizing  that 
young  men  are  generally  prone  enough 
to.  An  order  upon  a  London  merchant, 

—Mr.  Richard  Washington,  but  appa 
rently  not  a  relative  within  traceable 
distance, — includes  a  large  quantity  of 
'  Irish  Lumens' — for  so  Washington 
spelt  the  word  all  his  days  ; — '  1  piece 
Finest  Cambric ;  2  pr.  fine  worked  ruf 
fles  at  20-.9.  pr.  pair ;  2  setts  compleat 
shoe  brushes ;  ^  doz.  pr.  Thread  Hose, 
at  5s. ;  1  compleat  saddle  and  bridle, 
and  1  sett  Holster  caps,  and  Housing 
of  fine  Blew  cloth  with  a  small  ed^in^ 

o        o 

of  embroidery  round  them,  <fec.'  And 
'  if  worked  ruffles  should  be  out  of 
fashion,'  the  London  merchant  'is  de 
sired  to  send  such  as  are  not.'  After 
this  comes  '  As  much  of  the  best  super- 

c'  Memoirs  of  Washington.     By  Mrs.  C.  M.  Kirkland. 


158 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  III. 


fine  blew  Cotton  Velvet  as  will  make  a 
Coat,  Waistcoat,  and  Breeches,  for  a 
Tall  Man,  with  a  fine  silk  Button  to 
suit  it,  and  all  other  necessary  trim 
mings  and  linings,  together  with  gar 
ters  for  the  Breeches.'  'Six  pairs  of 
the  very  neatest  shoes,  viz. :  2  pr.  dou 
ble  channelled  pumps  ;  two  pr.  turned 
ditto,  and  two  pair  stitched  shoes ;  to 
be  made  by  one  Didsbury,  over  Col. 
Better's  last ;  but  to  be  a  little  wider 
over  the  instep ;'  and  afterwards,  '  6 
pr.  gloves,  3  pairs  of  which  to  be  proper 
for  riding,  and  to  have  slit  tops ;  the 
whole  larger  than  ye  middle  size.' 

"  Of  the  same  date  we  have  a  charac 
teristic  little  letter  about  the  furniture 
at  Mount  Vernon,  when  the  young 
bachelor  was  evidently  thinking  of  a 
possible  lady,  or  he  could  hardly  have 
been  so  particular : 

'  September,  1757. 
'  To  MR.  RICHARD  WASHINGTON,  LONDON  : 

'  DEAR  SIR  : — Be  pleased  over  and 
above  what  I  wrote  for  in  a  letter  of 
the  13th  of  April,  to  send  me  1  doz. 
strong  chairs  of  about  15  shillings  a 
piece — the  bottoms  to  be  exactly  made 
by  the  enclosed  dimensions,  and  of  three 
different  colors,  to  suit  the  paper  of 
three  of  the  bed-chambers,  also  wrote 
for  in  my  last.  I  must  acquaint  you, 
sir,  with  the  reason  of  this  request.  I 
have  one  dozen  chairs  that  were  made 
in  the  country ;  neat,  but  too  weak  for 
common  sitting.  I  therefore  propose 
to  take  the  bottoms  out  of  those  and 
put  them  into  these  new  ordered,  while 


the  bottoms  which  you  will  send  will 
do  for  the  former,  and  furnish  the 
chambers.  For  this  reason  the  Work 
men  must  be  very  exact,  neither  mak 
ing  the  bottoms  larger  nor  smaller  than 
the  dimensions,  otherwise  the  change 
can't  be  made.  Be  kind  enough  to 
give  directions  that  these  chairs,  equal 
ly  with  the  others  and  the  Tables,  be 
carefully  packed  and  stowed.  With 
out  this  caution  they  are  liable  to  infi 
nite  damage.  G.  W.' 

"  But  in  1759  we  come  to  some  new 
matters : 

'  A  sammon-colored  Tabby'  (not  cat 
but  velvet)  '  of  ye  enclosed  pattern, 
with  Sattiii  flowers  ;  to  be  made  in  a 
sack  and  coat.  1  Cap,  hkf.,  and  Tucker 
and  llufnes,  to  be  made  of  Brussells  lace 
or  Point,  proper  to  be  worn  with  the 
above  negligee  ;  to  cost  £'20. 

2  fine  flowered  lawn  aprons. 

2  prs.  women's  wrhite  silk  hose. 

2  pr.  fine  cotton  do. 

4  pr.  thread  do.,  four  threaded. 

1  pr.  black  and  1  pr.  white  sattin 
shoes  of  the  smallest  fives. 

4  pr.  Callirnanco  do. 

1  fashionable  Hatt  or  Bonnet. 

6  pr.  women's  best  kid  gloves. 

6  pr.  ditto  mitts. 

i  doz.  Knots  and  Breast-knots. 

1  doz.  round  silk  laces  (stay-laces). 

1  black  mask  (which  ladies  of  the 
time  used  to  ride  in). 

1  doz.    most     fashionable     cambric 
pocket  hkfs. 

2  pr.  neat  small  scissors. 


CHAP, 


LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERXON. 


159 


Real  Miniken  pins  and  hair-pins,  and 
6  11)8.  perfumed  powder.  3  Ibs.  best 
Scotch  snuff. 

3  Ibs.  best  violette  Strasburg  (snuff 
too). 

1  ps.    narrow    white   sattin    ribbon, 
pearl  edge.' 

"  Besides  curious  evidence  as  to  the 
fashions  of  the  day,  the  voluminous 
orders,  of  which  we  give  but  a  speci 
men,  show  also  what  were  the  habits 
of  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Washington  and 
their  family  at  Mount  Vernon.  Only 
people  who  visited  a  good  deal  and  en 
tertained  in  proportion,  could  need  so 
great  a  variety  of  handsome  things 
from  England  every  year. 

"  In  writing  for  the  finery  of  the  ladies 
of  the  family,  Washington  evidently 
took  the  names  of  the  different  articles 
from  viva  voce  communication,  and 
wrote  them  down  as  he  could  best  guess 
at  the  spelling.  As  '  6  yds.  Jackeynot 
muslin,' — '  1  pr.  corded  Dimothy,'  (a 
farmer  beinsr  more  familiar  with  Tim- 

O 

othy  than  with  Dimity)  — '  a  garnet 
whoop'  (meaning  a  hoop-ring,  or  one 
set  all  round  with  the  stones), — 'Finns,' 
— '  Jarr  liaisons,' — '  Callimanca,'  — '  Ca- 
lamanca,'  —  '  Calamanco,'  -  -  '  Philigree 
shoe-buckles.' 

"  We  think  we  see  him  with  Mrs. 
Washington  standing  by  giving  the 
items  as  he  writes  : 

'  A  puckered  petticoat  of  a  fashion 
able  color. 

A  silver  Tabby  petticoat. 

2  handsome  breast-flowers. 
Hair-pins, — sugar  candy. 


2  pr.  small  silvei  earrings  for  ser 
vants. 

Miniken  pins,  Masks,  bonnets,  bibs, 
tuckers,  aprons,  pack-thread  stays — a 
Sett  of  china  for  a  little  miss — a  Book 
of  newest  and  best  Songs,  set  to  music 
for  the  Spinnet.' 

"  The  word  'fashionable'  occurs  many, 
perhaps  hundreds  of  times  in  these  in 
voices.  And  the  impression  left  on  the 
reader's  mind  is  that  of  a  rather  gay 
and  dressy  family,  visiting  and  seeing 
company  in  the  best  style  of  the  day, 
and  unwilling  to  be  behindhand  in  any 
thing  that  related  to  personal  appear 
ance  or  domestic  accommodation.  It  is 
because  these  seeming  trifles  do  assist  in 
forming  an  estimate  of  Washington's 
condition,  character,  and  tastes  at  that 
period,  that  I  have  thought  it  worth 
while  to  cite  these  specimens  of  the  an 
nual  invoice."* 

In  a  letter  to  his  London  agent,  dated 
10th  August,  1760,  Washington  says: 
"  My  indulging  myself  in  a  trip  to  Eng 
land  depends  upon  so  many  contingen 
cies,  which,  in  all  probability,  may  never 
occur,  that  I  dare  not  even  think  of  suck 
a  gratification."  If  the  visit  thus  re 
ferred  to  had  ever  taken  place,  we  can 
not  doubt  of  the  cordiality  of  his  recep 
tion.  His  character  and  public  services 
were  well  known  in  the  mother  country ; 
but  we  cannot  admit  the  piobability, 
suggested  by  some  writers,  that  any 

0  According  to  Sparks,  the  invoice  was  semi-annual. 
Mrs.  Kirkland's  authority  for  the  details  above  quoted 
is  a  collection  of  private  papers  of  Washington  in  the 
Depa  rtruent  of  State  at  Washington. 


lf,0 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  III. 


tokens  of  royal  favor  which  lie  might 
have  received,  would  have  attached  him 
to  the  cause  of  Great  Britain  in  the  ap 
proaching  contest  between  her  and  her 
American  colonies.  Washington,  not 
withstanding  the  conspicuous  positions 
which  he  occupied  at  different  periods 
of  his  life,  appears  to  have  been  by  no 
means  ambitious  of  public  tokens  of  ap 
plause  ;  and  if  he  had  a  strong  desire  to 
visit  Europe,  it  was  undoubtedly  with 
a  view  to  enlarge  his  knowledge  by 
personal  observation  of  European  life. 

He  had,  it  must  be  admitted,  many 
strong  reasons  for  declining  to  travel 
abroad.  Every  imaginable  external 
means  of  happiness  appears  to  have  been 
at  his  disposal.  An  independent  for 
tune,  a  beautiful  and  amiable  wife,  in 
teresting  and  lovely  children,  to  whom, 
though  not  his  own,  he  stood  in  a  pa 
ternal  relation,  agreeable  and  distin 
guished  neighbors,  an  employment  pe 
culiarly  suited  to  his  taste,  and  a  resi 
dence  which  has  always  been  admired 
as  one  of  the  most  delightful  in  the 

O 

world,  and  which  was  endeared  to  him 
by  recollections  of  his  early  life. 

Of  Mount  Vernon  he  speaks  in  strong 
terms  of  praise,  in  a  letter  to  Arthur 
Young  (1783).  "No  estate,"  he  says, 
"  in  United  America  is  more  pleasantly 
situated  than  this.  It  lies  in  a  hio-h, 

O      ' 

dry,  and  healthy  country,  three  hundred 
miles  by  water  from  the  sea,  and  as  you 
will  see  by  the  plan,  on  one  of  the  finest 
rivers  in  the  world.  Its  margin  is 
washed  by  more  than  ten  miles  of  tide 
water  ;  from  the  bed  of  which,  and  the 


innumerable  coves,  inlets,  and  small 
marshes  with  which  it  abounds,  an  in 
exhaustible  fund  of  rich  mud  may  be 
drawn,  as  a  manure,  either  to  be  used 
separately,  or  in  a  compost,  according 
to  the  judgment  of  the  farmer.  It  is 
situated  in  a  latitude  between  the  ex 
tremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  is  the  same 
distance  by  land  and  water,  with  good 
roads  and  the  best  navigation,  to  and 
from  the  federal  city,  Alexandria,  and 
Georgetown  ;  distant  from  the  first 
twelve,  from  the  second  nine,  and  from 

the  last  sixteen  miles. 

*  *  *  *  * 

"This  river,  which  encompasses  the 
land  the  distance  above  mentioned,  is 
well  supplied  with  various  kinds  of  fish 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  and,  in  the 
spring,  with  the  greatest  profusion  of 
shad,  herrings,  bass,  carp,  perch,  stur 
geon,  <fec.  Several  valuable  fisheries  ap 
pertain  to  the  estate;  the  whole  shore, 
in  short,  is  one  entire  fishery.'" 

At  the  time  when  Washington  was 
passing  his  time  in  cultivating  the  fer 
tile  lands  of  Mount  Vernon,  the  neigh 
boring  estates  were  large,  and  their 
owners  wealthy ;  and  among  them  the 
practice  of  a  liberal  hospitality  was  uni 
versal.  Many  of  the  planters  were  con 
nected  with  the  old  cavalier  families  in 
England ;  descendants  of  the  men  who, 
in  Governor  Berkeley's  time,  were  the 
first  to  proclaim  the  accession  of  Charles 
the  Second  to  the  throne.  It  is  not  sur 
prising,  that  among  them  it  was  a  com 
mon  practice  to  send  their  sons  to  Eng 
land  to  receive  their  education.  The 


CHAP.  II.] 


LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VERXOX. 


1(51 


tone  of  society  was  English,  and,  to  tell 
the  truth,  rather  aristocratic.  The  Epis 
copal  Church  was  as  firmly  established 
in  Virginia  as  that  of  the  Congregational 
Puritans  in  New  England.  The  parishes 
were  large,  being  in  proportion  to  the 
large  plantations  of  which  they  were 
composed.  Washington  held  the  office 
of  vestryman  in  two  of  them,  Truro  and 
Fairfax.  The  place  of  worship  of  Truro 
parish  was  at  Pohick,  seven  miles  dis 
tant  from  the  mansion  of  Mount  Ver- 
non;  and  the  pastor,  during  a  part  of 
the  time  when  Washington  was  a  ves 
tryman,  was  the  Reverend  Mason  L. 
Weems,  so  well  and  extensively  known 
through  his  lively  and  eccentric  bio 
graphy  of  his  illustrious  parishioner. 
The  place  of  worship  for  Fairfax  county 
was  Alexandria,  ten  miles  from  Mount 
Vernon. 

Washington  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  affairs  of  the  church  at  Pohick. 

About  1704,  the  old  church,  which 
stood  in  a  different  part  of  the  parish, 
had  fallen  into  decay,  and  it  was  re 
solved  to  build  a  new  one.  Its  location 
became  a  matter  of  considerable  excite 
ment  in  the  parish,  some  contending  for 
the  site  on  which  the  old  edifice  stood, 
and  others  for  one  near  the  centre  of  the 
parish,  and  more  conveniently  situated. 
Aiiion"*  the  latter  was  Washington.  A 

o  o 

meeting  for  settling  the  question  was 
finally  held.  George  Mason,  who  led 
the  party  favorable  to  the  old  site, 
made  an  eloquent  harangue,  conjuring 
the  people  not  to  desert  the  sacred  spot, 
consecrated  by  the  bones  of  their  an- 

Voi..   I.— 21 


cestors.  It  had  a  powerful  effect,  and 
it  was  thought  that  there  would  not 
be  a  dissenting  voice.  Washington 

o  o 

then  arose,  and  drew  from  his  pocket  an 
accurate  survey  which  he  had  made  of 
the  whole  parish,  in  which  was  marked 
the  site  of  the  old  church,  and  the  pro 
posed  location  of  the  new  one,  together 
with  the  place  of  residence  of  each 
parishioner.  He  spread  this  map  be 
fore  the  audience,  briefly  explained  it, 
expressed  his  hope  that  they  would  not 
allow  their  judgments  to  be  guided  by 
their  feelings,  and  sat  down.  This 
mode  of  argument,  so  perfectly  charac 
teristic  of  Washington,  decided  the 

O  7 

question.  The  new  site  was  adopted  by 
a  decisive  majority,  and  Pohick  church 
was  built  in  1705. 

Among  the  neighbors  and  occasional 
visitors  of  Washington  were  George 
Mason,  of  Gunston  Hall,  his  fellow-ves 
tryman,  mentioned  above,  Lord  Fair 
fax,  his  early  friend  and  patron,  Cap 
tain  Hugh  Mercer,  already  noted  for 
his  adventures  among  the  Indians,*  and 
Dr.  Craik,  who  had  attended  Washing 
ton  in  Braddock's  expedition,  and  was 
his  family  physician  through  life. 

With  these  and  others  he  exchanged 
those  liberal  and  rather  magnificent 

O 

hospitalities  so  prevalent  in  Virginia  in 
the  old  colonial  times.  In  their  spa 
cious  mansions  guests  were  entertained 
in  the  English  style  for  weeks  together, 
and  the  English  nobility  were  rivalled 
in  the  gentlemanly  amusements  of  hunt- 


°  Afterwards  General  Mercer, 
battle  of  Princeton. 


He  was  killed  at  the 


102 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


in"-  and  horse-racinff.    Washington  him- 

C^  O  O 

self  took  delight  in  hunting,  and  always 
kept  a  splendid  stud  of  horses,  many  of 
them  of  high  blood  and  breeding,  im 
ported  from  the  mother  country.  He 
sometimes  visited  Lord  Fairfax  at 
Greemvay  Court,  and  joined  in  the 
hunting  expeditions  of  that  eccentric 
but  accomplished  and  courteous  noble 
man.  "Lord  Fairfax  was  passionately 
fond  of  hunting,  and  often  passed  weeks 
together  in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase. 
When  on  these  expeditions  he  made  it 
a  rule,  that  he  who  got  the  fox,  cut  off 
his  tail,  and  held  it  up,  should  share  in 
the  jollification  which  was  to  follow  free 
of  expense.  Soon  as  the  fox  was  start 
ed,  the  young  men  of  the  company 
dashed  after  him  with  great  impetuosi 
ty,  while  Fairfax  leisurely  waited  be 
hind  with  a  favorite  servant,  who  was 
familiar  with  the  water-courses,  and  of 
a  quick  ear  to  discover  the  course  of  the 
fox.  Following  his  directions,  his  lord- 

O  ' 

ship  would  start  after  the  game,  and, 
in  most  instances,  secure  the  prize,  and 
stick  the  tail  of  the  fox  in  his  hat  in 
triumph."* 

Lord  Fairfax  returned  the  visits  of 
Washington,  and  often  joined  the  nu 
merous  company  who  were  entertained 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  enora^ed  with 

1  O     o 

them   in   hunting    over   the    extensive 

.  O 

domain  of  that  and  the  neighboring 
estates. 

Washington  occasionally  amused  him 
self  with  the  spoit  so  distasteful  to 

0  Lossing,    Field-Hook  of  the   Revolution. — Hnwe,    Hist, 
('ill.  of  Virginia. 


Franklin.      lie  sometimes    enframed   in 

O     O 

fishing.  The  waters  about  Mount  Ver 
non,  as  we  have  already  seen,  were 
stocked  with  fish  in  great  abundance 
and  variety ;  Washington  caught  them 
with  the  usual  angling  apparatus  ;  and 
large  supplies  of  them  were  sometimes 
obtained  by  his  servants  with  the  seine. 
Fowling  and  duck-shooting  in  par 
ticular  were  also  favorite  amusements 
with  him,  and  in  the  late  and  wintei 
months  the  waters  of  the  Potomac  lliver 
abounded  with  flocks  of  canvas-back 
ducks,  the  favorite  object  of  the  sports 
man  in  that  region.  In  connection  with 
this  subject,  Mr.  Sparksf  records  a 
characteristic  anecdote  of  Washington. 
Like  Jackson,  he  was  always  roused  to 
instant,  resolute,  and  decisive  action  by 
any  show  of  insulting  opposition.  The 
grounds  about  Mount  Vernon  were  in 
fested  by  a  poacher  in  pursuit  of  ducks, 
and  this  in  defiance  of  previous  warn 
ings  not  to  repeat  his  trespass.  One 
day,  Washington,  hearing  the  discharge 

«.'   '  O  O 

of  his  crun,  mounted  his  horse  and  rid- 

o          ' 

ing  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  soon 
found  the  intruder,  who  jumped  into 
his  canoe  and  pushed  it  off  a  few  yards 
from  the  shore.  On  Washington's  ap 
proach  the  man  took  aim  at  him  with 
his  gun.  His  object  probably  was  to 
intimidate  the  man  he  had  injured  and 
prevent  further  pursuit.  But  he  made 
a  slight  mistake  in  his  calculations. 
Washington,  on  seeing  the  insulting 
movement,  instantly  rode  into  the  Ava- 

t  Life  of  Washington. 


CHAP.  II.] 


LIFE  AT  MOUNT  VEUXOX. 


163 


tor,  drew  the  boat  on  shore,  disarmed 
the  poacher,  and  gave  him  a  sound 
thrashing  on  the  spot.  History  does 
not  record  any  subsequent  visits  of  this 
personage  to  the  domain  of  Mount  Ver- 
non. 

One  of  Washington's  habits  shows 
the  same  disinterested  character  which 
marked  his  great  public  acts.  This  is 
his  invariable  willingness  to  make  him- 

O 

self  useful  to  his  friends  and  neighbors 

O 

by  acts  of  kindness.  His  correspond 
ence  abounds  with  evidence  of  the 
readiness  with  which  he  undertook 
trusts,  acted  in  arbitrations,  executed 
commissions  for  persons  at  a  distance, 
gave  information  on  disputed  points, 
and  answered  with  courtesy  the  letters 
of  persons  who  really  had  no  particular 
claim  to  his  attention.  All  such  offices 
of  kindness  he  found  time  to  discharge. 

O      i 

notwithstanding  the  many  and  various 
demands  upon  his  time  arising  from  the 
personal  oversight  of  his  estate,  the 
management  of  his  shipments  abroad 
and  imports  of  his  own  supplies,  and 
the  keeping  of  his  own  accounts, — to 
say  nothing  of  his  duties  as  host  to  the 
many  visitors  whom  his  well-known 
hospitality  attracted  to  Mount  Vernon. 


Among  the  tasks  which  lie  volunta 
rily  imposed  upon  himself  in  this  spirit 
of  disinterested  kindness,  was  that  of 
taking  care  that  justice  was  done  to 
the  Virginia  soldiers  who  had  served 
under  his  command  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  and  who  had  thus  become  enti 
tled  to  certain  grants  of  land.  His 

office  of  commissioner  for  settling  the 

~ 

military  accounts  of  the  colony  enabled 
him  to  exert  himself  effectually  in  this 
matter. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  period 
which  followed  his  marriage  and  settle- 

O 

nient  at  Mounc  Vernon,  he  joined  a 
company  who  had  undertaken  to  drain 
the  Great  Dismal  Swamp,  on  the  bor 
ders  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
with  a  view  of  using  the  land  for  agri 
cultural  purposes  ;  and  he  actually  vis 
ited  and  explored  this  formidable  and 
almost  inaccessible  tract.  The  char 
tering  of  the  Dismal  Swamp  Company 
by  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses 
at  its  next  session,  led  to  important 
results.  We  shall  see,  in  the  sequel, 
that  this  was  by  no  means  the  only 
instance  of  Washington's  active  promo 
tion  of  the  cause  of  internal  improve 
ment. 


CHAPTER    III. 

1763—1768, 


CAUSES       OF      THE      REVOLUTION. 

Indian  War  of  1703.— Alliance  of  the  Shawancse,  Delawarcs,  and  other  tribes.— Concerted  attack  on  the  F.ncli.-h 
settlements — Capture  of  Le  Bceuf  and  other  forts.  — General  Amhcrst  sends  detachments  against  tliein.  —  Defeat 
and  death  of  Captain  D.dyell.—  Colonel  r.ou.iuet  advances  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Pitt.  — Falls  into  an  ambuscade.— 
Second  kittle  with  the  Indians.— Colonel  Bouquet  adopts  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare. — Kepulses  the  Indians.— 
Indians  operate  against  Niagara. — Colonels  Bouquet  and  Bradstreet  receive  reinforcements  and  harass  the  In 
dians.— Termination  of  the  war. — Washington  in  retirement  during  this  war. — His  sentiments  on  the  commen 
cing  revolutionary  movements.— His  course  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia.— Treatment  of  the  colonists 
hy  Great  Britain  previous  to  17G-3.— Monopoly  of  trade. — Internal  restrictions. — Disregarded  by  the  colonists.— 
Trade  with  the  Spanish  colonies  nearly  destroyed  by  new  regulations. — Writs  of  assistance.— Their  illegality 
sho\\p  by  James  Otis.— Effect  of  his  extraordinary  eloquence.— Spirit  of  resistance  awakened.— Injurious  effects 
of  tin  breaking  up  of  the  contraband  trade  with  the  French  and  Spanish  colonies.— Apprehensions  of  the  colo 
nists.- -Great  advantages  resulting  to  England  from  the  colonial  trade. — Debts  incurred  by  Great  Britain  during 
the  French  War. — Plan  for  raising -a  revenue  in  the  colonies. — Arguments  for  and  against  it. — Pa-solutions  ot 
Parliament  relative  to  stamp  duties. — The  Americans  object. — Popularity  of  the  measure  in  England.  —  Passage 
of  the  Stamp  Act. — Franklin's  opinion. — Thomson's. — Opinion  of  the  government  that  the  law  would  execute 
itself.  —Consternation  of  the  colonists  on  its  first  reception  in  America. — Opposition  to  it  openly  commenced 
in  Virginia.  —  Patrick  Henry's  celebrated  resolutions. — Washington  present  at  the  debate  on  them. — Henry's 
eloquence. — The  resolutions  everywhere  adopted  by  the  colonists.  — Dissolution  of  the  Assembly.  — Proceedings 
in  Massachusetts. — llhode  Island. — Connecticut. — New  York. — The  West  Indies. — Philadelphia  Continental  Con 
gress  proposed  by  Massachusetts. — Seconded  by  North  Carolina. — The  Congress  meets  at  New  York. —  Its  pro 
ceedings. — Popular  opposition  to  the  Stamp  on  the  first  of  November. — In  Boston. — Portsmouth. — Maryland  — 
Practical  nullification  of  the  Act  by  the  courts. — The  printers. — Men  of  business. — Associations  against  importing 
British  manufactures.— -Effects  of  this  measure,  in  England. — The  colonists  commence  domestic  manufactures  and 
abstain  from  foreign  luxuries. — The  Sons  of  Liberty. — Their  daring  proceedings.  —  Dr.  Franklin  at  the  bar  of  the 
House  of  Commons. — Opinions  of  Lord  Camden  and  Mr.  Pitt. — Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.— Effects  of  the  Repeal. 


AT  the  time  when  Washington  was 
interesting  himself  in  the  project  for 
draining  the  Great  Dismal  Swamp,  a 
new  Indian  war  broke  out  on  the  west 
ern  border.  This  took  place  just  after 
the  news  of  the  definitive  treaty  of  Fon- 
tainebleau  between  France  and  England 

O 

had  been  signed,  and  the  colonists  of 
North  America  were  nattering  them 
selves  with  the  prospect  of  a  long  course 
of  peace  and  tranquillity.  In  order  to 


understand  the  origin  of  this  new  Indian 

O 

war,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  a  re 
view  of  their  affairs  for  the  previous  two 
years. 

In  a  conference  between  several  Amer 
ican  governors  and  the  Six  Nations,  soon 

O 

after  the  peace  of  17G1,  a  warm  dispute 
arose  concerning  certain  lands,  which, 
the  Indians  asserted,  had  been  seized 
by  some  English  settlers,  under  a  frau 
dulent  conveyance.  Population,  too, 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


105 


augmented  so  rapidly  during  peace, 
that  the  colonists  overran  their  pre 
scribed  limits  ;  and,  as  a  chain  of  forts 
had  been  constructed  around  the  most 
important  hunting-lands  of  the  Indians, 
they  perceived  that  the  English,  by 
fate,  or  by  design,  were  about  to  extir 
pate  them,  and  take  possession  of  their 
territory.  The  Shawanese,  Delawares, 
the  tribes  along  the  Ohio,  this  side  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  about  Detroit,  con 
certed  a  plan  in  1703,  to  attack,  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  all  the  English  posts 
and  settlements  in  their  neighborhood. 
Harvest  was  the  time  agreed  upon  ;  and 
so  effectually  was  the  design  concealed, 
that  the  first  notice  was  in  the  yells  of 
the  Indians.  The  settlers  were  sur 
prised  at  work  in  the  field  ;  their  crops 
devastated,  and  their  houses  burnt. 
The  Indians  made  themselves  masters 
of  Forts  Le  Bceuf,  Venango,  Presqu'  lie, 
and  Michilimackinack  ;  and  attempted 
to  reduce  Pitt,  Detroit,  and  Niagara, 

General    Amherst    immediately    de 
tached    strong    reinforcements    to   the 

O 

three  latter  forts.  The  one  destined 
for  Detroit  was  put  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Dalyell ;  who  was  so  little 
acquainted  with  Indians  as  to  imagine 
that  he  might  take  them  by  surprise, 
and  at  once  relieve  the  fort  from  fur 
ther  annoyance.  About  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  he  started  from  the  fort 
with  two  hundred  and  seventy  men ; 
and,  while  he  supposed  he  was  advan 
cing  entirely  unobserved,  received  a  fire 
in  his  front,  and,  before  his  men  had  re 
covered  the  shock,  another  in  the  rear, 


and,  immediately  after,  one  on  each 
flank.  He  fell ;  and  the  command  de 
volved  upon  Captain  Grant,  who  extri 
cated  himself  by  a  resolute  charge,  and 
was  enabled  to  make  his  way  back  to 
the  fort.  The  Indians  knew  that  the 
garrison  was  now  strong  and  well  sup 
plied,  and,  as  they  could  not  endure  a 
protracted  siege,  the  enterprise  was 
abandoned. 

The  reinforcement  for  Fort  Pitt  was 
intrusted  to  Colonel  Bouquet,  who 
started  about  the  end  of  July  with  a 
large  quantity  of  provisions  and  mili 
tary  stores.  Like  Captain  Dalyell,  he 
fancied  it  possible  to  elude  the  obser 
vation  of  the  enemy ;  and,  the  more 
effectually  to  secure  his  purpose,  he 
resolved  to  pass  the  defile  of  Turtle 
Creek  in  the  night.  On  the  5th  of  Au 
gust  his  men  had  marched  seventeen 
miles,  over  a  rough  and  mountainous 
country,  and  were  just  preparing  to  rest 
and  refresh  themselves,  when  a  sudden 
yell  and  fire  in  front  announced  the 
presence  of  the  savages,  and  threw  the 
army  again  upon  their  legs.  A  vigor 
ous  charge  drove  back  the  Indians,  but 
it  was  only  to  lead  the  troops  into  an 
ambuscade  ;  and  whatever  might  be  the 
glory  of  the  conquest,  they  were  satis 
fied  to  regain  their  former  position. 
Similar  charges  were  made  in  every  di 
rection  ;  but  the  troops  seemed  only  to 
beat  the  air,  or  fight  an  invisible  enemy. 
The  Indians  gave  way  in  one  place, 
merely  to  fall  on  in  another ;  and  what 
would  have  been  defeat  to  others  was 
victory  to  them.  The  action  was  con- 


U>6 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tinned  from  one  in  the  afternoon  till 
evening ;  and,  though  the  troops  were 
successful  in  every  attack,  they  gained 
nothing  in  the  end. 

O 

The  men  slept  little  during  the  night ; 
and,  on  the  first  dawn  of  the  morning, 
the  Indians  aroused  them  with  the 
whoop  of  battle,  and  the  roar  of  their 

£uns.      The  taste  of  blood  seemed  to 

~ 

have  given  them  new  ferocity ;  and 
even  the  English  themselves,  exhausted 

O  ' 

as  they  were,  recommenced  the  action 
with  additional  vigor, — some  stimulated 
by  the  hopes  of  revenge,  and  others  by 
a  spirit  of  desperation.  The  Indians 
were  regularly  driven  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet ;  and  as  regularly  turned 
upon  their  pursuers  as  soon  as  the  chase 
was  over.  These  efforts  were  repeated 
till  the  men  became  hopeless  ;  they  saw 
their  strength  thrown  away,  and  their 
courage  exerted  in  vain ;  and  they  stood, 
remembering  the  fate  of  Braddock,  and 
perhaps  trembling  at  their  own, — when 
Colonel  Bouquet,  availing  himself  of 
his  dear-bought  experience,  resolved  to 
fight  the  Indians  in  their  own  way. 

The  army  was  encamped  in  a  circle. 
Two  companies,  who  had  been  posted 
without  the  circumference,  were  ordered 
to  retire  within ;  the  two  ends  of  the 
broken  circle  to  close  up  in  their  rear  : 
and,  after  making  a  show  of  resistance, 
to  give  way  and  retreat.  The  two  first 
companies,  at  the  same  time,  were  joined 
by  one  company  of  grenadiers,  and  an 
other  of  lightririfantry.  The  thin  ranks 
gave  ground,  according  to  orders ;  the 
Indians  followed  with  headlong  im 


petuosity,  and,  supposing  themselves 
masters  of  the  field,  began  what  they 
meant  for  a  slaughter  rather  than  an 
action.  Two  of  the  companies  already 
mentioned  made  a  sudden  turn  upon 
their  flank,  while  the  two  remaining 
attacked  them  in  front.  For  a  moment 
they  were  not  undeceived,  and  returned 
the  fire  with  activity  and  resolution. 
But  a  short  time  served  to  convince 
them  of  their  mistake  ;  they  betook 
themselves  to  their  swiftness  of  foot, 
and  the  four  companies  pursued  them 
so  closely,  that  they  never  looked  be 
hind  until  they- got  beyond  the  proba 
bility  of  annoyance.  But  this  conquest 
was,  in  truth,  a  defeat.  The  great  ob 
ject  of  the  expedition  was  to  supplv 
Fort  Pitt  with  stores  ;  and  so  many  of 
the  pack-horses  were  killed  in  these 
several  engagements,  that  Colonel  Bou 
quet  was  obliged  to  destroy  the  greatest 
part  of  the  provisions.  The  army  ad 
vanced  about  two  miles,  pitched  their 
tents,  and  imagined  that  they  might 
take  some  rest.  Scarcely  had  they 
finished  their  preparations,  when  the 
Indians  again  made  their  appearance. 
They  seemed  not  to  be  yet  certain  that 
they  were  the  weakest ;  but  a  few  dis 
charges  completed  their  conviction ; 
and,  for  the  four  remaining  days,  they 
suffered  the  troops  to  march  unmolested. 
Having  succeeded  so  ill  against  Forts 

o  o 

Detroit  and  Pitt,  the  Indians  now  con 
centrated  their  forces  for  an  attack  upon 
Niagara.  Their  object  was  to  isolate 
the  fort,  and  intercept  its  reinforcements 
and  supplies.  On  the  14th  of  Septem- 


CHAP.  III.J 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


107 


her,  17G4,  they  annihilated  a  convoy 
which  was  marching  to  its  relief;  and, 
not  long  after,  made  an  unsuccessful  at 
tack,  in  canoes,  upon  a  schooner,  which 
was  carrying  provisions  to  Detroit.  All 
the  northern  colonies  were  called  upon 
to  contribute  their  quotas  of  men  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  Avar ;  and,  among 
the  rest,  Connecticut  raised  a  battalion, 
and  put  it  under  the  command  of  Colo 
nel  Israel  Putnam.  Strengthened  by 
these  reinforcements,  Colonels  Bouquet 
and  Bradstreet  so  harassed  the  Indians 
during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1765, 
that  in  September  they  were  willing 
to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  conclude  a 
peace."" 

Washington,  holding  no  military  com 
mand,  at  the  time,  took  no  active  part 
in  this  war,  although  the  Indians,  who 
were  concerned  in  it,  were  the  same  who 
had  been  engaged  either  as  his  allies  or 
enemies  in  the  former  wars  in  wdiich  he 
had  served ;  and  the  theatre  of  their 
operations  was  not  unfamiliar  to  him. 

While  this  war  was  still  in  progress, 
the  course  of  public  affairs  was  gradu 
ally  tending  towards  that  far  more  im 
portant  contest  in  which  Washington 
was  destined  to  act  so  conspicuous  a 
part — the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Mr. 
Sparks,  than  whom  there  can  be  no 
more  competent  authority,  assures  us 
that  notwithstanding  the  contrary  asser 
tions  of  certain  British  writers,  who 
question  his  patriotism  at  the  beginning 
of  the  dispute,  "no  man  in  America 

o  Sanford,  History  of  the  United  States. 


took  a  more  early,  open,  and  decided 
part  in  asserting  and  defending  the 
rights  of  the  colonies,  and  opposing  the 
pretensions  set  up  by  the  British  gov 
ernment." 

As  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses,  he  was  placed  in  a  position 
where  his  political  sentiments  could  not 
but  be  publicly  known  ;  and  the  record 
of  the  proceedings  shows  that  he  acted 
with  Henry,  Randolph,  Lee,  Wythe, 
Pendleton,  and  other  patriotic  oppo 
nents  of  the  oppressive  measures  of 
the  British  parliament.  It  is  necessary, 
for  a  proper  understanding  of  the  origin 
of  these  measures,  to  examine  the  his 
tory  and  character  of  the  connection 
between  the  colonies  and  the  mother 
country  for  a  considerable  period.  • 

From  the  first  settlement  of  the  Eng 
lish  colonies  in  America,  till  the  close  of 
the  year  1755,  tne  conduct  of  Great 
Britain  towards  them  was  that  of  a  kind 
parent  towards  dutiful  children.  As 
her  main  object  was  commerce,  with 
out  charcrins:  herself  with  the  care  of 

O        O 

their  internal  police,  or  seeking  a  reve 
nue  from  them,  she  contented  herself 
with  a  monopoly  of  their  trade.  They 
shared  in  the  privileges  of  native  sub 
jects,  and  felt  but  slight  inconvenience 
from  the  regulations  imposed  by  the 
mother  country. 

Until  1759,  the  only  acts  of  parlia 
ment  which  were  considered  grievances, 
were  such  as  a  prohibition  of  cutting 
down  pitch  and  tar  trees  not  within  a 
fence  or  inclosure,  and  certain  restric 
tions  which  acted  against  colonial  inanu- 


168 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


factures,  particularly  those  of  iron  and 
woollen. 

Though  these  restrictions  were  a  spe 
cies  of  affront,  by  their  implying  that 
the  colonists  had  not  sense  enough  to 
discover  their  own  interest,  and  though 
they  seemed  calculated  to  crush  their 
native  talents,  and  to  keep  them  in  a 
constant  state  of  inferiority,  without  any 
hope  of  arriving  at  those  advantages, 
to  which,  by  the  native  riches  of  their 
country,  they  were  prompted  to  aspire; 
yet,  if  no  other  grievances  had  been  su- 
peradded,  to  what  existed  in  1763,  these 
would  have  been  soon  forgotten,  for 
their  pressure  was  neither  great  nor 
universal.  The  good  resulting  to  the 
colonies  from  their  connection  with 
Great  Britain,  infinitely  outweighed  the 
evil. 

Till  the  year  1764,  the  colonial  regu 
lations  seemed  to  have  no  other  object, 
but  the  common  good  of  the  whole  em 
pire.  Exceptions  to  the  contrary  were 
few,  and  had  no  appearance  of  system. 
\\rhen  the  approach  of  the  colonies  to 
manhood  made  them  more  capable 
of  resisting  imposition,  Great  Britain 
changed  the  ancient  system  under  which 
her  colonies  had  long  flourished.  When 
policy  would  rather  have  dictated  a  re 
laxation  of  authority,  she  rose  in  her  de 
mands  and  multiplied  her  restraints. 

For  some  time  before  and  after  the 
termination  of  the  war  of  1755,  a  con 
siderable  trade  had  been  carried  on  be 
tween  the  British  and  Spanish  colonies, 
in  the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain, 
imported  by  the  former  and  sold  by  the 


latter,  by  which  the  British  colonies  ac 
quired  gold  and  silver,  and  were  enabled 
to  make  remittances  to  the  mother 
country.  This  trade,  though  it  did  not 
clash  with  the  spirit  of  the  British  navi 
gation  laws,  was  forbidden  by  their 
letter. 

On  account  of  the  advantage  which 
all  parties,  and  particularly  Great  Brit 
ain,  reaped  from  this  trade,  it  had  long 
been  winked  at  by  persons  in  power, 
but  at  the  period  before  mentioned, 
some  new  regulations  were  adopted  by 
which  it  was  almost  destroyed.  This 
was  effected  by  armed  cutters,  whose 
commanders  were  enjoined  to  take  the 
usual  custom-house  oaths,  and  to  act  in 
the  capacity  of  revenue  officers. 

The  officers  of  the  customs  be^an  to 

O 

enforce  with  strictness  all  the  acts  of 
parliament  regulating  the  trade  of  the 
colonies,  several  of  which  had  been  sus 
pended,  or  had  become  obsolete.  Gov 
ernor  Bernard,  of  Massachusetts,  who 
was  always  a  supporter  of  the  royal 
prerogative,  appears  to  have  entered 
fully  into  these  views,  and  to  have  indi 
cated,  by  his  appointment  of  confiden 
tial  advisers,  that  his  object  would  be 
to  extend  the  power  of  the  government 
to  any  limits  which  the  ministry  might 
require.  The  first  demonstration  of  the 
new  course  intended  to  be  pursued,  was 
the  arrival  of  an  order  in  council  to 
carry  into  effect  the  acts  of  trade,  and 
to  apply  to  the  supreme  judicature  of 
the  province  for  writs  of  assistance,  to 
be  granted  to  the  officers  of  the  cus 
toms.  According  to  the  ordinary  course 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


100 


of  law,  no  searches  or  seizures  could  be 
made  without  a  special  warrant  issued 
upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath 
or  affirmation,  particularly  designating 
the  place  to  be  searched  and  the  goods 
to  be  seized.  But  the  writ  of  assistance 
was  to  command  all  sheriffs  and  other 
civil  officers  to  assist  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  granted,  in  breaking  open 
and  searching  every  place  where  he 
might  suspect  any  prohibited  or  uncus 
tomed  goods  to  be  concealed.  It  was  a 
sort  of  commission,  during  pleasure,  to 
ransack  the  dwellings  of  the  citizens, 
for  it  was  never  to  be  returned,  nor  any 
account  of  the  proceedings  under  it  ren 
dered  to  the  court  whence  it  issued. 
Such  a  weapon  of  oppression  in  the 
hands  of  the  inferior  officers  of  the  cus 
toms  might  well  alarm  even  innocence, 
ami  confound  the  violators  of  the  law. 

The  mercantile  part  of  the  community 
united  in  opposing  the  petition,  and  was 
in  a  state  of  great  anxiety  as  to  the  re 
sult  of  the  question.  The  officers  of  the 
customs  called  upon  Mr.  Otis*  for  his 

°  James  Otis,  a  distinguished  patriot  and  statesman, 
was  the  sun  of  the  Honorable  James  Otis,  of  Barnstable, 
Massachusetts,  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
174:).  After  pursuing  the  study  of  the  law  under  Mr. 
Gridley,  the  first  lawyer  and  civilian  of  his  time,  at  the 
age  of  t-.venty-onc  he  began  the  practice  at  Plymouth. 
In  17G1.  he  distinguished  himself  by  pleading  against  the 
writs  of  assistance,  which  the  officers  of  the  customs  had 
applied  for  to  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  His  an 
tagonist  was  Mr.  Gridley.  He  was  in  this  or  the  follow 
ing  year  chosen  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  Massa 
chusetts,  in  which  body  the  powers  of  his  eloquence,  the 
keenness  of  his  wit,  the  force  of  his  arguments,  and  the 
resources  of  his  intellect,  gave  him  a  most  commanding 
influence,  When  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great  Britain 
were  advanced,  he  warmly  engaged  in  defence  of  the 
colonies,  and  was  the  first  champion  of  American  freedom 
VOL.  I. -22 


official  assistance,  as  advocate-general, 
to  argue  their  cause  ;  but,  as  he  believed 
these  writs  to  be  illegal  and  tyrannical, 
he  resigned  the  situation,  though  very 
lucrative,  and  if  filled  by  a  compliant 
spirit,  leading  to  the  highest  favors  of 
government.  The  merchants  of  Salem 
and  Boston  applied  to  Otis  and  Thacher, 
who  ensued  to  make  their  defence. 

~     o 

The   trial   took   place   in   the    council- 


who  had  the  courage  to  affix  his  name  to  a  production 
that  stood  forth  against  the  pretensions  of  the  parent 
State.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Congress  which  was  held 
at  New  York,  in  17G5,  in  which  year  his  "Eights  of  the 
Colonies  Vindicated,"  a  pamphlet,  occasioned  by  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  which  was  considered  as  a  masterpiece, 
both  of  good  writing  and  of  argument,  was  published  in 
London.  For  the  boldness  of  his  opinions  he  was  threat 
ened  with  arrest  ;  yet  he  continued  to  support  the  rights 
of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  resigned  the  office  of  judge- 
advocate  in  1707,  and  renounced  all  employment  under 
an  administration  which  had  encroached  upon  the  liber- 
tics  of  his  country.  His  warm  passions  sometimes  be 
trayed  him  into  unguarded  epithets,  that  gave  his  ene 
mies  an  advantage,  without  benefit  to  the  cause  which 
lay  nearest  his  heart. 

Being  vilified  in  the  public  papers,  he  in  return  pub 
lished  some  severe  strictures  on  the  conduct  of  the  com 
missioners  of  the  customs,  and  others  of  the  ministerial 
party.  A  short  time  afterwards,  on  the  evening  of  the 
5th  of  September,  1769,  he  met  Mr.  John  Robinson,  one 
of  the  commissioners,  in  a  public  room,  and  an  affray  fol 
lowed,  in  which  he  was  assaulted  by  a  number  of  ruffians, 
who  left  him  and  a  young  gentleman,  who  interposed  in 
his  defence,  covered  with  wounds.  The  wounds  were  not 
mortal,  but  his  usefulness  was  destroyed,  for  his  reason 
was  shaken  from  its  throne,  and  the  great  man  in  ruins 
lived  several  years  the  grief  of  his  friends.  In  an  inter 
val  of  reason  he  forgave  the  men  who  had  done  him  an 
irreparable  injury,  and  relinquished  the  sum  of  five  thou 
sand  pounds  sterling,  which  Mr.  Robinson  had  been,  by 
a  civil  process,  adjudged  to  pay,  on  his  signing  a  humble 
acknowledgment.  He  lived  to  see,  but  not  fully  to  en 
joy,  the  independence  of  America,  an  event  towards 
which  his  efforts  had  greatly  contributed.  At  length  on 
the  23d  of  May,  1783,  as  he  was  leaning  on  his  cane  at 
the  door  of  Mr.  Osgood's  house  in  Andover,  he  was  struck 
by  a  flash  of  lightning  ;  his  soul  was  instantly  liberated 
from  its  shattered  tenement,  and  sent  into  eternity. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


1701. 


chamber  of  the  old  Town  House  in  Bos 
ton.  The  judges  were  five  in  number, 
including  Lieutenant-governor  Hutchin- 

o  cj 

*on,  wlio  presided  as  chief-justice  ;  and 
the  room  was  filled  with  all  the 
officers  of  government  and  the 

O 

principal  citizens,  to  hear  the  arguments 
in  a  cause  that  inspired  the  deepest 
solicitude.  The  case  was  opened  by 
Mr.  Gridley,  who  argued  it  with  much 
learning,  ingenuity,  and  dignity,  urging 
every  point  and  authority  that  could  be 
found,  after  the  most  diligent  search, 
in  favor  of  the  custom-house  petition ; 
making  all  his  reasoning  depend  on  this 
consideration  —  "if  the  parliament  of 
Great  Britain  is  the  sovereign  legislator 

O  o 

of  the  British  empire."  He  was  fol 
lowed  by  Mr.  Thacher  on  the  opposite 
side,  whose  reasoning  was  ingenious  and 

O  O 

able,  delivered  in  a  tone  of  great  mild 
ness  and  moderation.  "  But,"  in  the 
language  of  President  Adams,  "  Otis 

O          O  t 

was  a  flame  of  fire  ;  with  a  promptitude 
of  classical  allusion,  a  depth  of  research, 
a  rapid  summary  of  historical  events 
and  dates,  a  profusion  of  legal  authori 
ties,  a  prophetic  glance  into  futurity, 
and  a  rapid  torrent  of  impetuous  elo 
quence,  he  hurried  away  all  before  him. 
American  independence  was  then  and 
there  born.  The  seeds  of  patriots  and 
heroes,  to  defend  the  Non  sine  Dii$ 
animo-su-s  infans,  to  defend  the  vigor 
ous  youth,  were  then  and  there  sown. 
Every  man  of  an  immense  crowded  au 
dience  appeared  to  me  to  go  away  as  I 
did,  ready  to  take  arms  against  writs 
of  assistance.  Then  and  there  was  the 


first  scene  of  the  first  act  of  opposition 
to  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great  Britain. 
Then  and  there  the  child  Independence 
was  born.  In  fifteen  years,  i.  e.  in  1770, 
he  grew  up  to  manhood  and  declared 
himself  free." 

The  restrictions  on  the  trade  of  the 
colonists  and  the  unusual  mode  of  en 
forcing  them,  which  Otis  so  eloquently 
opposed,  awakened  a  spirit  of  resistance 
that  never  was  allayed.  Nor  should 
this  be  a  matter  of  surprise. 

So  sudden  a  stoppage  of  an  accus 
tomed  and  beneficial  commerce,  by  an 
unusually  rigid  execution  of  old  laws, 
was  a  serious  blow  to  the  northern  colo 
nies.  It  was  their  misfortune,  that 
though  they  stood  in  need  of  vast  quan 
tities  of  British  manufactures,  their 
country  produced  very  little  that  af 
forded  a  direct  remittance  to  pay  for 
them.  They  were,  therefore,  under  a 
necessity  of  seeking  elsewhere  a  market 
for  their  produce,  and,  by  a  circuitous 
route,  acquiring  the  means  of  support 
ing  their  credit  Avith  the  mother  coun 
try.  This  they  found  by  trading  with 
the  Spanish  and  French  colonies  in  their 
neighborhood.  From  them  they  ac 
quired  gold,  silver,  and  valuable  com 
modities,  the  ultimate  profits  of  which 
centred  in  Great  Britain. 

This  intercourse  gave  life  to  business 
of  every  denomination,  and  established 
a  reciprocal  circulation  of  money  and 
merchandise,  to  the  benefit  of  all  parties 
concerned.  Why  a  trade,  essential  to 
the  colonies,  and  which,  so  far  from 
being  detrimental,  was  indirectly  advan- 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


171 


tageous  to  Great  Britain,  should  he  so 
narrowly  watched,  and  so  severely  re 
strained,  could  not  be  accounted  for  by 
the  Americans,  without  supposing  that 
the  rulers  of  Great  Britain  were  jealous 
of  their  adventurous  commercial  spirit, 
and  of  their  increasing  number  of  sea 
men. 

Their  actual  sufferings  were  great, 
but  their  apprehensions  were  greater. 
Instead  of  viewing  the  parent  state,  as 
formerly,  in  the  light  of  an  affectionate 
mother,  they  conceived  her  as  beginning 
to  be  influenced  by  the  narrow  views 
of  an  illiberal  step-dame. 

After  the  29th  of  September,  1764, 
the  trade  between  the  British  and  the 
French  and  Spanish  colonies  was  in 
some  degree  legalized,  but  under  cir 
cumstances  that  brought  no  relief  to 

~ 

the  colonists,  for  it  was  loaded  with  such 
enormous  duties  as  were  equivalent  to 
a  prohibition. 

While  Great  Britain  attended  to  her 
first  system  of  colonization,  her  Ameri 
can  settlements,  though  exposed  in  un 
known  climates  and  unexplored  wilder 
nesses,  grew  and  nourished,  and  in  the 
same  proportion  the  trade  and  riches 
of  the  mother  country  increased.  Some 
estimate  may  be  made  of  this  increase 
from  the  following  statement :  the  whole 

O 

export  trade  of  England,  including  that 
to  the  colonies,  in  the  year  1704, 
amounted  to  £6,509,000  sterling;  but 
so  immensely  had  the  colonies  increased, 
that  the  exports  to  them  alone,  in  the 
year  1772,  amounted  to  £6,022,132,  and 
they  were  yearly  increasing. 


In  the  short  space  of  68  years,  the 
colonies  added  nearly  as  much  to  the 
export  commerce  of  Great  Britain,  as 
she  had  grown  to  by  a  progressive  in 
crease  of  improvement  in  1700  years. 
And  this  increase  of  colonial  trade  was 
not  at  the  expense  of  the  general  trade 
of  the  kingdom,  for  that  increased  at 
the  same  time  from  six  millions  to  six 
teen  millions. 

In  this  auspicious  period,  the  mother 
country  contented  herself  with  exercis 
ing  her  supremacy  in  superintending  the 
general  concerns  of  the  colonies,  and  in 
harmonizing  the  commercial  interest  of 
the  whole  empire.  To  this  the  most  of 
them  bowed  down  with  such  filial  sub 
mission  as  demonstrated  that  they, 
though  not  subjected  to  parliamentary 
taxes,  could  be  kept  in  subordination, 
and  in  perfect  subserviency  to  the  grand 
views  of  colonization. 

Immediately  after  the  peace  of  Paris, 
1763,  a  new  scene  was  opened.  The 
national  debt  of  Great  Britain  then 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  millions,  for  which  an  interest  of 
nearly  five  millions  was  annually  paid. 
While  the  British  minister  was  digest 
ing  plans  for  diminishing  this  amazing 
load  of  debt,  he  conceived  the  idea  of 
raising  a  substantial  revenue  in  the 

O 

British  colonies,  from  taxes  laid  by  the 
parliament  of  the  parent  state.  On  the 
one  hand  it  was  urged  that  the  late  war 
originated  on  account  of  the  colonies — 

O 

that  it  was  reasonable,  more  especially 
as  it  had  terminated  in  a  manner  so 
favorable  to  their  interest,  that  they 


17:.' 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


should  contribute  to  the  defraying  of 
the  expenses  it  had  occasioned. 

Thus  far  both  parties  were  agreed ; 
but  Great  Britain  contended  that  her 
parliament,  as  the  supreme  power,  was 
constitutionally  vested  with  an  authority 
to  lay  them  on  every  part  of  the  em 
pire.  This  doctrine,  plausible  in  itself, 
and  conformable  to  the  letter  of  the 
British  constitution,  when  the  whole  do 
minions  were  represented  in  one  assem 
bly,  was  reprobated  in  the  colonies  as 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  same  gov 
ernment,  when  the  empire  became  so 
far  extended,  as  to  have  many  distinct 
representative  assemblies.  The  colo 
nists  believed  that  the  chief  excellence 
of  the  British  constitution  consisted  in 
the  right  of  the  subjects  to  grant,  or 
withhold,  taxes,  and  in  their  having  a 
share  in  enacting  the  laws  by  which 
they  were  to  be  bound. 

The  English  colonies  were  originally 
established,  not  for  the  sake  of  revenue, 
but  on  the  principles  of  a  commercial 
monopoly.  While  England  pursued 
trade  and  forgot  revenue,  her  commerce 
increased  at  least  fourfold.  The  colonies 
took  off  the  manufactures  of  Great 
Britain,  and  paid  for  them  with  pro 
visions,  or  raw  materials.  They  united 
their  arms  in  war,  their  commerce  and 
their  councils  in  peace,  without  nicely 
investigating  the  terms  on  which  the 
connection  of  the  two  countries  de 
pended. 

A  perfect  calm  in  the  political  world 
is  not  long  to  be  expected.  The  recip 
rocal  happiness,  both  of  Great  Britain 


and  of  the  colonies,  was  too  great  to  be 
of  long  duration.  The  calamities  of  the 
war  of  17").")  had  scarcely  ended,  when 
|  the  germ  of  another  war  was  planted, 
which  soon  grew  up  and  produced 
deadly  fruit. 

At  that  time  sundry  resolutions  passed 
the  British  parliament,  relative  to  the 
imposition  of  a  stamp  duty  in  America, 
which  gave  general  alarm.  By  them 
the  right,  the  equity,  the  policy,  and 
even  the  necessity,  of  taxing  the  colonies 
was  formally  avowed.  These  resolu 
tions  being  considered  as  the  preface  of 
a  system  of  American  revenue,  were 
deemed  an  introduction  to  evils  of  much 
greater  magnitude.  They  opened  a 
prospect  of  oppression,  boundless  in  ex 
tent,  and  endless  in  duration.  They 
were,  nevertheless,  not  immediately  fol 
lowed  by  any  legislative  act.  Time, 
and  an  invitation  were  given  to  the 
Americans,  to  suggest  any  other  mode 
of  taxation,  that  might  be  equivalent  in 
its  produce  to  the  stamp  act;  but  they 
objected,  not  only  to  the  mode,  but  the 
principle ;  and  several  of  their  assem 
blies,  though  in  vain,  petitioned  against 
it. 

An  American  revenue  was,  in  Eng 
land,  a  very  popular  measure.  The  cry 
in  favor  of  it  was  so  strong,  as  to  con- 

O  / 

found  and  silence  the  voice  of  petitions 
to  the  contrary.  The  equity  of  com 
pelling  the  Americans  to  contribute  to 
the  common  expenses  of  the  empire, 
satisfied  many  who,  without  inquiring 
into  the  policy  or  justice  of  taxing  their 
unrepresented  fellow-subjects,  readily 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  Till-:  KKYOLUTiOX. 


17.'5 


assented  to  the  measures  adopted  ]>y 
the  parliament  for  this  purpose. 

The  prospect  of  easing  their  own 
imrdens  at  the  expense  of  the  colonists 
dazzled  the  eyes  of  gentlemen  of  landed 
interest,  so  as  to  keep  out  of  their  view 
the  probable  consequences  of  the  inno 
vation.  The  omnipotence  of  parliament 
was  so  familiar  a  phrase  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  that  few  in  America, 
and  still  fewer  in  Great  Britain,  were 
impressed,  in  the  first  instance,  with 
any  idea  of  the  illegality  of  taxing  the 
colonists. 

The  illumination  on  that  subject  was 
gradual.  The  resolutions  in  favor  of  an 
American  stamp-act,  which  passed  in 
March,  1704,  met  with  no  opposition. 
In  the  course  of  the  year  which  inter 
vened  between  these  resolutions  and 
the  passing  of  a  law  grounded  upon 
them,  the  subject  was  better  under 
stood,  and  constitutional  objections 
against  the  measure  were  ur^ed  by 

o  o  \J 

several,  both  in  Great  Britain  and 
America.  This  astonished  and  cha 
grined  the  British  ministry ;  but  as  the 
principle  of  taxing  America  had  been 
for  some  time  determined  upon,  they 
were  unwilling  to  give  it  up. 

Impelled  by  partiality  for  a  long 
cherished  idea,  Mr.  Grenville  brought 

'  o 

into  the  House  of  Commons  his  long  ex 
pected  bill  for  imposing  a  stamp  duty 
on  America.  By  this  act,  after  passing 
through  the  usual  forms,  it  was  enacted 
that  the  instruments  of  writing  which 

o 

are  in  daily  use  among  a  commercial 
people  should  be  null  and  void,  unless 


they  were  executed  on  stamp  paper  or 
parchment,  charged  with  a  duty  im 
posed  by  the  British  parliament. 

During  the   debate   on  the  bill,  the 

O  / 

supporters  of  it  insisted  much  on  the 
colonies  being  virtually  represented  in 
the  same  manner  as  Leeds,  Halifax,  and 
some  other  towns  were.  A  recurrence 
to  that  plea  was  a  virtual  acknowledg 
ment  that  there  ought  not  to  be  tax 
ation  without  representation.  It  was 
replied,  that  the  connection  between  the 
electors  and  non-electors  of  parliament 
in  Great  Britain  was  so  interwoven, 
from  both  being  equally  liable  to  pay 
the  same  common  tax,  as  to  give  some 
security  of  property  to  the  latter;  but 
with  respect  to  taxes  laid  by  the  British 
parliament,  and  paid  by  the  Americans, 
the  situation  of  the  parties  was  reversed. 
Instead  of  both  parties  bearing  a  pro 
portionable  share  of  the  same  common 
burden,  what  was  laid  on  the  one  was 
exactly  so  much  taken  off  the  other. 

The  bill  met  with  no  opposition  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  and  on  the 

^T  •  1765. 

22d  of  March  it  received  the 
royal  assent.  The  night  after  it  passed. 
Dr.  Franklin  wrote  to  Mr.  Charles 
Thomson:  "The  sun  of  liberty  is  set. 
you  must  light  up  the  candles  of  in 
dustry  and  economy."  Mr.  Thomson 
answered,  "  he  was  apprehensive  that 
other  lights  would  be  the  consequence," 
and  foretold  the  opposition  that  shortly 
took  place. 

On  its  being  suggested  from  authority, 
that  the  stamp  officers  would  not  be 
sent  from  Great  Britain,  but  selected 


174 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booii  III. 


from  among  the  Americans,  the  colonial 
agents  were  desired  to  point  out  proper 
persons  for  the  purpose.  They  gener 
ally  nominated  their  friends,  which 
affords  a  presumptive  proof  that  they 
supposed  the  act  would  be  carried  into 
effect.  In  this  opinion  they  were  for 
from  being  singular. 

That  the  colonists  would  be  ultimately 
obliged  to  submit  to  the  stamp-act,  was 
at  first  commonly  believed,  both  in  Eng 
land  and  America.  The  framers  of  it  in 
particular,  flattered  themselves  that  the 
confusion  which  would  arise  upon  the 
disuse  of  writings  and  the  insecurity  of 
property,  which  result  from  using  any 
other  than  those  required  by  law,  would 
compel  the  colonies,  however  reluctant, 
to  use  the  stamp  paper,  and  conse 
quently  to  pay  the  taxes  imposed  there 
on.  They  therefore  boasted  that  it  was 
a  law  that  would  execute  itself. 

By  the  terms  of  the  stamp-act,  it  was 
not  to  take  effect  till  the  first  day  of 
November,  a  period  of  more  than  seven 
months  after  its  passing.  This  gave  the 
colonists  an  opportunity  for  leisurely 
canvassing  the  new  subject,  and  examin 
ing  it  fully  on  every  side. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  interval,  struck 
with  astonishment,  they  lay  in  silent 
consternation,  and  could  not  determine 
what  course  to  pursue.  By  degrees 
they  recovered  their  self-possession. 

The  first  strong  and  decisive  opposi 
tion  to  the  stamp-act  took  place  in  Vir 
ginia.     On  the  20th  of  May,  the 

17C5. 

subject  was  brought  forward  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses  by  the  intro 


duction  of  the  celebrated  resolutions  of 

Patrick  Ilenrv,  claiming  for  the  local 

»>  i 

government  of  that  colony  the  exclusive 
right  of  taxing  its  inhabitants.  These 
resolutions  were,  in  fact,  an  expression 
of  the  public  sentiment  throughout  nil 
the  colonies;  and  their  publication  in 
stantly  set  the  country  in  a  flame. 
They  are  given  in  "  llamsay's  History  of 
the  American  Revolution,"  in  the  fol 
lowing  terms :'" 

Resolved,  That  the  first  adventurers, 
settlers  of  this  his  majesty's  colony  and 
dominion  of  Virginia,  brought  with 

O  i  O 

them  and  transmitted  to  their  posterity 
and  all  other  his  majesty's  subjects  since 
inhabiting  in  this  his  majesty's  said 
colony,  all  the  liberties,  privileges,  and 
immunities,  that  have  at  any  time  been 
held,  enjoyed,  and  possessed  by  the 
people  of  Great  Britain. 

liesol/ved,  That  by  two  royal  char 
ters,  granted  by  King  James  the  First, 
the  colonies  aforesaid  are  declared  and 
entitled  to  all  liberties,  privileges,  a:.d 
immunities  of  denizens  and  natural  sub 
jects,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if 
they  had  been  abiding  and  born  within 
the  realm  of  England. 

O 

He-solved,  That  his  majesty's  liege 
people  of  this  his  ancient  colony,  have 
enjoyed  the  rights  of  being  thus  gov 
erned  by  their  own  Assembly  in  the 


°  This  is  probably  the  version  of  the  resolutions  whidi 
was  published  at  the  time.  They  are  said,  however,  to 
have  been  modified  before  passing  the  House,  and  still 
further  altered  before  publication.  We  give,  as  an  illus 
trative  document,  at  the  close  of  this  chapter,  a.  particu 
lar  account  of  the  debate  on  these  resolutions,  with  Mr. 
Henry's  own  transcript  of  them. 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


175 


article  of  taxes  and  internal  police,  and 
that  the  same  have  never  been  forfeited 
or  yielded  up,  but  have  been  constantly 
recognized  by  the  king  and  people  of 
Britain. 

Resolved,  therefore,  That  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  colony,  together  with 
his  majesty,  or  his  substitutes,  have,  in 
their  representative  capacity,  the  only 
exclusive  right  and  power  to  lay  taxes 
and  imposts  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
this  colony  ;  and  that  every  attempt  to 
vest  such  power  in  any  other  person  or 
persons  whatsoever,  than  the  General 
Assembly  aforesaid,  is  illegal,  unconsti 
tutional,  and  unjust,  and  hath  a  mani 
fest  tendency  to  destroy  British  as  well 
as  American  liberty. 

Resolved,  That  his  majesty's  liege 
people,  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony, 
are  not  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  any 

«/  */ 

law  or  ordinance    whatever,   designed 

O 

to  impose  any  taxation  whatever  upon 
them,  other  than  the  laws  or  ordinances 
of  the  General  Assembly  aforesaid. 

Re-solved,  That  any  person  who  shall, 
by  speaking  or  writing,  assert  or  main 
tain,  that  any  person  or  persons,  other 
than  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
colony,  have  any  right  or  power  to  im 
pose  or  lay  any  taxation  on  the  people 
here,  shall  be  deemed  an  enemy  to  this 
his  majesty's  colony. 

As  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  it  was  Washington's  good  for 
tune  to  witness  the  splendid  and  mo 
mentous  debate  which  followed  the 
moving  of  these  resolutions.  His  posi 
tion  as  a  wealthy  planter  would  nat 


urally  have  led  him  to  take  part  with 
the  aristocratic  and  loyal  party  who 
opposed  them.  But  his  habits  and 
character  were  such  as  to  produce  an 
earnest  sympathy  with  the  people. 
Like  Henry  himself,  he  was  born  a  pa 
triot,  and  like  him  he  was  what  is  called 
a  self-made  man.  His  opinions  on  the 
stamp-act  are  expressed  without  reserve 
in  his  correspondence  ;  and  though  no 
record  of  his  vote  on  this  occasion  is 
preserved,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
it  was  cast  on  the  popular  side.  We 
may  therefore  easily  imagine  what  his 
feelings  must  have  been  in  witnessing 
the  debate,  which  is  thus  described  by 
Mr.  Wirt  :* 

"  By  these  resolutions,"  says  Mr.  Jef 
ferson,  "  and  his  manner  of  supporting 
them,  Mr.  Henry  took  the  lead  out  of 
the  hands  of  those  who  had,  thereto 
fore,  guided  the  proceedings  of  the 
House  ;  that  is  to  say,  of  Pendleton, 
Wythe,  Bland  and  Randolph."  It  was, 
indeed,  the  measure  which  raised  him  to 
the  zenith  of  his  glory.  He  had  never 
before  had  a  subject  which  entirely 
matched  his  genius,  and  was  capable 
of  drawing  out  all  the  powers  of  his 
mind.  It  was  remarked  of  him  through 
out  his  life,  that  his  talents  never  failed 
to  rise  with  the  occasion,  and  in  propor 
tion  with  the  resistance  which  he  had 
to  encounter.  The  nicety  of  the  vote 
on  his  last  resolution,  proves  that  this 
was  not  a  time  to  hold  in  reserve  any 
part  of  his  forces.  It  was,  indeed,  an 

°  Life  qj  PaiiiJc  Henry. 


170 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  "in. 


Alpine  passage,  under  circumstances 
even  more  unpropitious  than  those  of 
Hannibal ;  for  he  had  not  only  to  fight, 
hand  to  hand,  the  powerful  party 
who  were  already  in  possession  of  the 
heights,  but,  at  the  same  instant,  to 
cheer  and  animate  the  timid  band  of 
followers,  that  were  trembling,  fainting, 
and  drawing  back,  below  him.  It  was 
an  occasion  that  called  forth  all  his 
strength,  and  he  did  put  it  forth  in 
such  a  manner  as  man  never  did  before. 
The  cords  of  argument  with  which  his 
adversaries  frequently  flattered  them 
selves  they  had  bound  him  fast,  became 
packthreads  in  his  hands.  He  burst 
them  with  as  much  ease  as  the  unshorn 
Samson  did  the  bands  of  the  Philistines. 
lie  seized  the  pillars  of  the  temple, 
shook  them  terribly,  and  seemed  to 
threaten  his  opponents  with  ruin.  It 
was  an  incessant  storm  of  lightning  and 

O  o 

thunder,   which    struck    them    aghast. 

O 

The  faint-hearted  gathered  courage 
from  his  countenance,  and  cowards  be 
came  heroes  while  they  gazed  upon  his 
exploits. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  magnifi- 

O 

cent  debate,  while  he  was  descanting 

O 

on  the  tyranny  of  the  obnoxious  Act, 
that  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  of  thun 
der  and  with  the  look  of  a  god,  "  Caesar 
had  his  Brutus — Charles  the  First  his 
Cromwell — and  George  the  Third  "- 
("  Treason  ! "  cried  the  Speaker — "  trea 
son  !  treason  ! "  echoed  from  every  part 
of  the  House. — It  was  one  of  those  try 
ing  moments  which  is  decisive  of  char 
acter. — Henry  faltered  not  an  instant ; 


but,  rising  to  a  loftier  attitude  and 
fixing  on  the  Speaker  an  eye  of  the 
most  determined  fire,  he  finished  his 
sentence  with  the  firmest  emphasis)— 
"may  profit  ly  their  example  I  \i  this 
be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it." 

The  importance  of  this  debate  and  of 
the  vote  by  which  the  resolutions  were 
passed,  was  shown  by  their  effects. 
They  were  forthwith  "adopted  every 
where  with  progressive  variations.1' 
The  spirit  of  resistance  became  stronger 
and  stronger,  and  by  the  1st  of  Novem 
ber,  when  the  stamp-act  was,  accord 
ing  to  its  provisions,  to  have  taken 
effect,  its  execution  had  become  utterly 
impracticable. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  Mr. 
Henry's  resolutions,  the  lieutenant-gov 
ernor  (Fauquier)  dissolved  the  Assem 
bly  and  issued  writs  for  a  new  election. 
But  this  was  only  a  fruitless  opposition 
to  the  popular  will,  which  was  bearing 
down  all  before  it.  In  point  of  fact, 
"the  minds  of  the  Americans  under 
went  a  total  transformation.  Instead 
of  their  late  peaceable  and  steady  at 
tachment  to  the  British  nation,  they 
were  daily  advancing  to  the  opposite 
extreme." 

The  historian,  Dr.  Ramsay,  who  was 
a  student  at  Princeton  College  when 
the  stamp-act  was  passed,  thus  records 
the  manner  of  its  reception  by  the  colo 
nists  : 

A  new  mode  of  displaying  resent 
ment  against  the  friends  of  the  stamp- 
act  began  in  Massachusetts,  and  was 
followed  by  the  other  colonies.  A  few 


ri'U! 


Ofo 


'''run  fa  ongi/iaL  hy  .'!k>uv  C>LUJH,.!  UL  f :>'/.•  /-•••w^siiJti  sf  the  /.' 


.    III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


179 


Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary 
land,  and  South  Carolina,  met  at  New 
York ;  and,  after  mature  deliberation, 
agreed  on  a  declaration  of  their  rights, 

a  O          ' 


and   on   a    statement    of    their 


Oct.  7, 


grievances.  They  asserted,  in 
strong  terms,  their  exemption 
from  all  taxes  not  imposed  by  their 
own  representatives.  They  also  con 
curred  in  a  petition  to  the  king,  and 
memorial  to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a 
petition  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  colonies  that  were  prevented  from 
sending  their  representatives  to  this 
congress,  forwarded  petitions  similar  to 
those  which  were  adopted  by  the  depu 
ties  which  attended. 

While  a  variety  of  le^al  and  illegal 

«/  O  O 

methods  were  adopted  to  oppose  the 
stamp-act,  the  first  of  November,  on 
which  it  was  to  commence  its  operation, 
approached.  The  day,  in  Boston,  was 
ushered  in  by  a  funereal  tolling  of  bells. 
Many  shops  and  stores  were  shut.  The 
effigies  of  the  planners  and  friends  of 
the  stamp-act  were  carried  about  the 
streets  in  public  derision,  and  then  torn 
in  pieces  by  the  enraged  populace.  It 
was  remarkable  that  though  a  lars;e 

O  O 

crowd  was  assembled,  there  was  not  the 
least  violence  or  disorder. 

At  Portsmouth,  in  New  Hamp- 
'  shire,  the  morning  was  ushered 

I  1  O  <J  • 

iii  with  tolling  all  the  bells  in 
town.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  notice 
was  given  to  the  friends  of  Liberty  to 
attend  her  funeral.  A  coffin,  neatly 
ornamented,  inscribed  with  the  word 
Liberty  in  large  letters,  was  carried  to 


the  grave.  The  funeral  procession  be 
gan  from  the  State-house,  attended  with 
two  unbraced  drums.  While  the  in 
habitants  who  followed  the  coffin  were 
in  motion,  minute-guns  were  fired,  and 
continued  till  the  corpse  arrived  at  the 
place  of  interment.  Then  an  oration  in 
favor  of  the  deceased  was  pronounced. 
It  was  scarcely  ended  before  the  corpse 
was  taken  up,  it  having  been  perceived 
that  some  remains  of  life  were  left,  at 
which  the  inscription  was  immediately 
altered  to  "Liberty  revived."  The  bells 
immediately  exchanged  their  melan 
choly  for  a  more  joyful  sound,  and  satis 
faction  appeared  in  every  countenance. 
The  whole  was  conducted  with  decency, 
and  without  injury  or  insult  to  any 
man's  person  or  property. 

In  Maryland,  the  effigy  of  the  stamp- 
master,  on  one  side  of  which  was  writ 
ten  "  Tyranny,"  on  the  other  "  Oppres 
sion,"  was  carried  through  the  streets 
from  the  place  of  confinement  to  the 
whipping-post,  and  from  thence  to  the 
pillory.  After  suffering  many  indigni 
ties,  it  was  first  hanged  and  then  burnt. 

The  general  aversion  to  the  stamp- 
act  was,  by  similar  methods,  in  a  variety 
of  places,  demonstrated.  It  is  remark 
able  that  the  proceedings  of  the  popu 
lace,  on  these  occasions,  were  carried  on 
with  decorum  and  regularity.  They 
were  not  ebullitions  of  a  thoughtless 
mob,  but,  for  the  most  part,  planned  by 
leading  men  of  character  and  influence, 

o 

who  were  friends  to  peace  and  order. 
These,  knowing  well  that  the  bulk  of 

7  O 

mankind  are  more  led  by  their  feelings 


ISO 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


1765. 


than  by  their  reason,  conducted  the 
public  exhibitions  on  that  principle, 
with  a  view  of  making  the  stamp-act, 
and  its  friends,  both  ridiculous  and 
odious. 

Though  the  stamp-act  was  to  have 
operated  from  the  first  of  November, 
yet  legal  proceedings  in  the  courts  were 
carried  on  as  before.  Vessels 
entered  and  departed  without 
stamped  papers.  The  printers  boldly 
printed  and  circulated  their  newspapers, 
and  found  a  sufficient  number  of  read 
ers,  though  they  used  common  paper,  in 
defiance  of  the  act  of  parliament.  In 
most  departments,  by  common  consent, 
business  was  carried  on  as  though  no 

O 

stamp-act  had  existed.  This  was  ac 
companied  by  spirited  resolutions  to 
risk  all  consequences,  rather  than  sub 
mit  to  use  the  paper  required  by  law. 
While  these  matters  were  in  agitation, 

o 

the  colonists  entered  into  associations 
against  importing  British  manufactures 
till  the  stamp-act  should  be  repealed. 
In  this  manner  British  liberty  was  made 
to  operate  against  British  tyranny. 
Agreeably  to  the  free  constitution  of 
Great  Britain,  the  subject  was  at  liberty 
to  buy  or  not  to  buy,  as  he  pleased. 

By  suspending  their  future  purchases 
on  the  repeal  of  the  stamp-act,  the 
colonists  made  it  the  interest  of  mer 
chants  and  manufacturers  to  solicit  for 
that  repeal.  They  had  usually  taken 
off  so  great  a  proportion  of  British  man 
ufactures,  that  the  sudden  stoppage  of 
all  their  orders,  amounting  annually  to 
several  millions  sterling,  threw  some 


thousands  in  the  mother  country  out  of 
employment,  and  induced  them,  from  a 
regard  to  their  own  interest,  to  advocate 
the  measures  wished  for  by  America. 
The  petitions  from  the  colonies  were 
seconded  by  petitions  from  the  mer 
chants  and  manufacturers  of  Great 
Britain.  What  the  former  prayed  for 
as  a  matter  of  right,  and  connected  with 
their  liberties,  the  latter  also  solicited 
from  motives  of  immediate  advantage. 

In  order  to  remedy  the  deficiency  of 
British  goods,  the  colonists  betook  them 
selves  to  a  variety  of  necessary  d  onus- 
tic  manufactures.  In  a  little  time,  large 
quantities  of  coarse  and  common  cloths 
were  brought  to  market,  and  these, 
though  dearer,  and  of  a  wors".  quality, 
were  cheerfully  preferred  to  similar  ar 
ticles  imported  from  Britain.  That 
wool  might  not  be  wanting,  they  en 
tered  into  resolutions  to  abstain  from 
eatinsr  lamb.  Foreign  elegancies  were 

O  O  O 

generally  laid  aside. 

The  women  were  as  exemplary  as  the 
men  in  various  instances  of  self-denial. 
With  great  readiness  they  refused  every 
article  of  decoration  for  their  persons, 
and  of  luxury  for  their  tables.  These 
restrictions,  which  the  colonists  had 
voluntarily  imposed  on  themselves, 
were  so  well  observed  that  multitudes 
of  artificers  in  England  were  reduced  to 

O 

great  distress,  and  some  of  their  most 
flourishing  manufactories  were,  in  a 
great  measure,  at  a  stand.  An  associa 
tion  was  entered  into  by  many  of  the 
Sons  of  Liberty,  the  name  given  to  those 
who  were  opposed  to  the  stamp-act,  by 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  HKVOLUTIOX. 


181 


which  they  agreed  "to  march  with  the 
utmost  expedition,  at  their  own  proper 
costs  anil  expense,  with  their  whole 
force,  to  the  relief  of  those  that  should 
be  in  danger  from  the  stamp-act,  or  its 
promoters  and  abettors,  or  any  thing 
relative  to  it,  on  account  of  any  thing 
that  may  have  been  done,  in  opposition 
to  its  obtaining."  This  was  subscribed 
by  so  many  in  New  York  and  New 
England,  that  nothing  but  a  repeal  could 
have  prevented  the  immediate  com 
mencement  of  a  civil  war. 

From  the  decided  opposition  to  the 
stamp-act  which  had  been  adopted  by 
the  colonies,  it  became  necessary  for 
Great  Britain  to  enforce  or  to  repeal  it. 
Both  methods  of  proceeding  had  sup 
porters.  The  opposers  of  a  repeal  urged 
arguments,  drawn  from  the  dignity  of 
the  nation,  the  danger  of  ffivincr  way  to 

O  O  O  t./ 

the  clamors  of  the  Americans,  and  the 
consequences  of  weakening  parliamen 
tary  authority  over  the  colonies. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  evident, 
from  the  determined  opposition  of  the 
colonies,  that  it  could  not  be  enforced 
without  a  civil  Avar,  by  which  in  every 
event  the  nation  must  be  a  loser.  In 
the  course  of  these  discussions,  Dr. 
Franklin  was  examined  at  the  bar  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  gave  ex 
tensive  information  on  the  state  of 
American  affairs,  and  the  impolicy  of 
the  stamp-act,  which  contributed  much 
to  remove  prejudices,  and  to  produce  a 
disposition  that  was  friendly  to  a  repeal. 

Some  speakei-s  of  great  Aveight,  in 
both  Houses  of  Parliament,  denied  their 


right  of  taxing  the  colonies.  The  most 
distinguished  supporters  of  this  opinion 
were  Lord  Camden,  in  the  House  of 
Peers,  and  Mr.  Pitt,  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  former,  in  strong  lan 
guage,  said :  "  My  position  is  this,  I  re 
peat  it,  I  Avill  maintain  it  to  my  last 
hour :  Taxation  and  representation  are 
inseparable.  This  position  is  founded 
on  the  laws  of  nature.  It  is  more,  it  is 
itself  an  eternal  hnv  of  nature.  For 
whatever  is  a  man's  own,  is  absolutely 
his  own.  No  man  has  a  ricrlit  to  take 

O 

it  from  him  without  his  consent.  Who 
ever  attempts  to  do  it,  attempts  an 
injury;  whoever  does  it,  commits  a 
robbery." 

Mr.  Pitt,  with  an  original  boldness  of 

'  O 

expression,  justified  the  colonists  in  op 
posing  the  stamp-act.  "  You  have  no 
right,"  said  he,  "  to  tax  America.  I  re 
joice  that  America  has  resisted.  Three 
millions  of  our  felloA\r-subjects,  so  lost  to 
every  sense  of  virtue  as  tamely  to  give 
up  their  liberties,  would  be  fit  instru 
ments  to  make  slaves  of  the  rest."  He 
concluded  Avith  gi\~ing  his  advice,  that 
the  stamp-act  be  repealed  absolutely, 
totally,  and  immediately — that  the  rea 
son  for  the  repeal  be  assigned,  that  it 
was  founded  on  an  erroneous  principle. 
"At  the  same  time,"  said  he,  "let  the 
sovereign  authority  of  this  country,  OA~er 
the  colonies,  be  asserted  in  as  strong 
terms  as  can  be  devised,  and  be  made 
to  extend  to  every  point  of  legislation 
AvhatsoeA^er ;  that  we  may  bind  their 
trade,  confine  their  manufactures,  and 
exercise  every  power,  except  that  of 


182 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[HOOK  III. 


taking  their  money  out  of  their  pockets 
without  their  consent." 

The  approbation  of  this  illustrious 
statesman,  whose  distinguished  abilities 
had  raised  Great  Britain  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  renown,  inspired  the  Americans 
with  additional  confidence  in  the  recti 
tude  of  their  claims  of  exemption  from 
parliamentary  taxation,  and  emboldened 
them  to  farther  opposition,  when,  at  a 
future  day,  as  shall  be  hereafter  related, 
the  project  of  an  American  revenue  was 
resumed. 

After  much  debating,  and  two  pro 

tests  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  passing 

an  act  "  for  securing  the  dependence  of 

America  on  Great  Britain,"  the 

Mar.  18, 


1          j?       ,1 

i7GG     1>ePeal    °i     the    stamp-act   was 

finally  carried. 

This  event  gave  great  joy  in  Lon 
don.  Ships  in  the  river  Thames  dis 
played  their  colors,  and  houses  were 
illuminated  in  every  part  of  the  city. 
It  was  no  sooner  known  in  America, 
than  the  colonists  rescinded  their  reso 
lutions,  and  recommenced  their  mer 
cantile  intercourse  with  the  mother 
country.  They  presented  their  home 
spun  clothes  to  the  poor,  and  imported 
more  largely  than  ever.  The  churches 
resounded  with  thankscrivinffs,  and  their 

O  O     i 

public  and  private  rejoicings  knew  no 
bounds.  By  letters,  addresses,  and 
other  means,  almost  all  the  colonies 
showed  unequivocal  marks  of  acknowl 
edgment  and  gratitude. 

So  sudden  a  calm  recovered  after  so 
violent  a  storm,  is  without  a  parallel  in 
history.  By  the  judicious  sacrifice  of 


one  law,  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain 
procured  an  acquiescence  in  all  that  re 
mained. 

There  were  enlightened  patriots,  fullv 
impressed  with  an  idea,  that  the  im 
moderate  joy  of  the  colonists  was  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  advantage  they  had 
gained. 

The  stamp-act,  though  repealed,  was 
not  repealed  on  American  principles. 
The  preamble  assigned  as  the  reason 
thereof,  "That  the  collecting  the  seve 
ral  duties  and  revenues,  as  by  the  said 
act  was  directed,  would  be  attended 
with  many  inconveniences,  and  produc 
tive  of  consequences  dangerous  to  the 
commercial  interests  of  these  kingdoms." 

Thoiuyh  this  reason  was  a  c;ood  one 

O  o 

in  England,  it  was  by  no  means  satis 
factory  in  America.  At  the  same  time 
that  the  stamp-act  was  repealed,  the 
absolute,  unlimited  supremacy  of  par 
liament  was,  in  words,  asserted.  The 
opposers  of  the  repeal  contended  for 
this  as  essential ;  the  friends  of  that 
measure  acquiesced  in  it  to  strengthen 
their  party,  and  make  sure  of  their  ob 
ject.  Many  of  both  sides  thought  that 
the  dignity  of  Great  Britain  required 
something  of  the  kind  to  counterbalance 
the  loss  of  authority  that  might  result 
from  her  yielding  to  the  demands  of  the 

i/  O 

colonists.  The  act  for  this  purpose  was 
called  the  declaratory  act,  and  was  in 
principle  more  hostile  to  American 
rights  than  the  stamp-act ;  for  it  an 
nulled  those  resolutions  and  acts  of  the 
provincial  assemblies,  in  which  they  had 
asserted  the'-r  right  to  exemption  from 


CHAP.  III.] 


CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION". 


183 


all  taxes  not  imposed  by  their  own  rep 
resentatives  ;  and  also  enacted,  "  That 
the  parliament  had,  and  of  right  ought 
to  have,  power  to  bind  the  colonies  in 
all  cases  whatsoever." 

The  bulk  of  the  Americans,  intoxi 
cated  with  the  advantage  they  had 
gained,  overlooked  this  statute,  which 
in  one  comprehensive  sentence  not  only 
deprived  them  of  liberty  and  property, 
but  of  every  right  incident  to  humanity. 


They  considered  it  as  a  salvo  for  the 
honor  of  parliament,  in  repealing  an  act 
which  had  so  lately  received  their  sanc 
tion,  and  flattered  themselves  it  would 
remain  a  dead  letter,  and  that  although 
the  right  of  taxation  was  in  words  re 
tained,  it  would  never  be  exercised. 
Unwilling  to  contend  about  paper  claims 
of  ideal  supremacy,  they  returned  to 
their  habits  of  goocl-humor  with  the 
parent  state. 


DOCUMENT  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  III, 


DEBATE  ON  PATRICK  HENRY'S  RESOLUTIONS  ON 
THE  STAMP- ACT. 

THE  gentlemen  of  the  country*  had,  at  that 
time,  become  involved  in  that  state  of  indcbt- 
ment,  which  has  since  ended  in  so  general  a  crash 
of  their  fortunes.  Mr.  Robinson,  the  speaker, 
was  also  the  treasurer,  an  officer  always  chosen 
by  the  Assembly.  lie  was  an  excellent  man, 
liberal,  friendly,  and  rich.  lie  had  been  drawn 
in  to  lend  on  his  own  account  great  sums  of 
money  to  planters  who  were  deeply  involved  in 
debt,  and  especially  those  who  were  of  the  As 
sembly.  He  used  freely  for  this  purpose  the 
public  money,  confiding  for  its  replacement  in 
his  own  means,  and  the  securities  he  had  taken  on 
these  loans.  About  this  time,  however,  lie  be 
came  sensible  that  his  deficit  to  the  public  was 
become  so  enormous,  as  that  a  discovery  must 
soon  take  place,  for  as  yet  the  public  had  no 
suspicion  of  it.  He  devised,  therefore,  with  his 
friends  in  the  Assembly,  a  plan  for  a  public  loan- 
office,  to  a  certain  amount,  from  which  moneys 
might  be  lent  on  public  account,  and  on  good 
landed  security,  to  individuals.  I  find  in 
"Royle's  Virginia  Gazette"  of  the  17th  of  May, 
1765,  this  proposition  for  a  loan-office  presented, 
its  advantages  detailed,  and  the  plan  explained. 

It  seems  to  have  been  done  by  a  borrowing 
member,  from  the  feeling  with  which  the  mo 
tives  are  expressed,  and  to  have  been  prepara 
tory  to  the  intended  motion.  Between  the  17th 
and  30th  (the  latter  being  the  date  of  Mr. 
Henry's  resolutions  on  the  stamp-act),  the  mo 
tion  for  a  loan-office  was  accordingly  brought 
forward  in  the  House  of  Burgesses;  and  had  it 
succeeded,  the  debts  clue  to  Robinson  on  these 
loans  would  have  been  transferred  to  the  public, 

°  Virginia. 


and  his  deficit  thus  completely  covered.  This 
state  of  things,  however,  was  not  yet  known  ; 
but  Mr.  Henry  attacked  the  scheme  on  other 
general  grounds,  in  that  style  of  bold,  grand, 
and  overwhelming  eloquence,  for  which  he  be 
came  so  justly  celebrated  afterwards.  I  had 
been  intimate  with  him  from  the  year  1759-00, 
and  felt  an  interest  in  what  concerned  him  ;  and 
I  can  never  forget  a  particular  exclamation  of 
his  in  the  debate,  which  electrified  his  hearers. 
It  had  been  urged,  that  from  certain  unhappy 
circumstances  of  the  colony,  men  of  substantial 
property  had  contracted  debts,  which,  if  exacted 
suddenly,  must  ruin  them  and  their  families,  but 
with  a  little  indulgence  of  time,  might  be  paid 
with  ease.  "What,  sir,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Henry, 
in  animadverting  on  this,  "•  is  it  proposed,  then, 
to  reclaim  the  spendthrift  from  his  dissipation 
and  extravagance,  by  filling  his  pockets  with 
money  ?"  These  expressions  are  indelibly  im 
pressed  on  my  memory.  lie  laid  open  with  so 
much  energy  the  spirit  of  favoritism,  on  which 
the  proposition  was  founded,  and  the  abuses  to 
which  it  would  lead,  that  it  was  crushed  in  iis 
birth.  He  carried  with  him  all  the  members  of 
the  upper  counties,  and  left  a  minority  composed 
merely  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  country.  From 
this  time  his  popularity  swelled  apace;  and  Mr. 
Robinson  dying  the  year  afterwards,  his  deficit 
was  brought  to  light,  and  discovered  the  true 
object  of  the  proposition. 

The  exclamation  above  quoted  by  my  cor 
respondent  as  having  electrified  Mr.  Henry's 
hearers,  is  a  striking  specimen  of  one  of  his 
great  excellences  in  speaking;  which  Avas  the 
power  of  condensing  the  substance  of  a  long 
argument  into  one  short,  pithy  question.  The 
hearer  was  surprised  at  finding  himself  brought 
so  suddenly  and  so  clearly  to  a  just  conclusion. 


CHAP.  III.] 


DOCUMENT. 


185 


He  could  hardly  conceive  how  it  was  effected  ; 
find  could  not  fail  to  regard,  with  high  admira 
tion,  the  power  of  that  intellect,  "which  could 
come  at  its  ends  by  so  short  a  course,  and  work 
out  its  purposes  with  the  quickness  and  certainty 
of  magic. 

The  aristocracy  v/erc  startled  by  such  a  phe 
nomenon  from  the  plebeian  ranks.  They  could 
not  be  otherwise  than  indignant  at  the  presump 
tion  of  an  obscure  and  unpolished  rustic,  who, 
without  asking  the  support  or  countenance  of 
any  patron  among  themselves,  stood  upon  his 
own  ground,  and  bearded  them  even  in  their 
stronghold.  That  this  rustic  should  have  been 
able,  too,  by  Ins  single  strength,  to  baffle  their 
whole  phalanx  and  put  it  to  rout,  was  a  mortifi 
cation  too  humiliating  to  be  easily  borne.  They 
affected  to  ridicule  his  vicious  and  depraved 
pronunciation,  the  homespun  coarseness  of  his 
language,  and  his  hypocritical  canting  in  rela 
tion  to  his  humility  and  ignorance.  But  they 
could  not  help  admiring  and  envying  his  won 
derful  gift ;  that  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
human  heart  which  he  displayed  ;  that  power  of 
throwing  his  reasoning  into  short  and  clear 
aphorisms,  which,  desultory  as  they  were,  sup 
plied,  in  a  great  degree,  the  place  of  method 
and  logic;  that  imagination  so  copious,  poetic, 
and  sublime;  the  irresistible  power  with  which 
he  caused  every  passion  to  rise  at  his  bidding; 
and  all  the  rugged  might  and  majesty  of  his 
eloquence.  From  this  moment  lie  had  no 
friends  on  the  aristocratic  side  of  the  House. 
They  looked  upon  him  with  envy  and  with  terror. 
They  were  forced  at  length  to  praise  his  genius ; 
but  that  praise  was  wrung  from  them  with  pain 
ful  reluctance.  They  would  have  denied  it  if 
they  could.  They  would  have  overshadowed 
it  ;  and  did  at  first  try  to  overshadow  it,  by 
magnifying  his  defects ;  but  it  would  have  been 
as  easy  for  them  to  have  eclipsed  the  splendor 
of  the  sun  by  pointing  to  his  spots. 

If,  however,  he  had  lost  one  side  of  the  House 
by  his  undaunted  manner  of  blowing  up  this 
aristocratic  project,  he  had  made  the  other  side 
his  fast  friends.  77*eyhad  listened  with  admira 
tion  unmixed  with  envy.  Their  souls  had  been 
struck  with  amazement  and  rapture,  and  thrilled 
with  unspeakable  sensations  which  they  had 

VOL    1      24 


never  felt  before.  The  man,  too,  who  had  pro 
duced  these  effects,  was  one  of  themselves.  This 
was  balm  to  them;  for  there  is  a  wide  differ 
ence  between  that  distant  admiration  which  we 
pay  as  a  tax  due  to  long-standing  merit  in  su 
perior  rank,  and  that  throbbing  applause  which 
rushes  spontaneously  and  warm  from  the  heart 
towards  a  new  man  and  an  equal. 

There  is  always  something  of  latent  repining, 
approaching  to  resentment,  mingled  with  that 
respect  which  is  exacted  from  us  by  rank,  and 
we  feel  a  secret  gratification  in  seeing  it  hum 
bled.  In  the  same  proportion  we  love  the  man 
who  has  given  us  this  gratification,  and  avenged, 
as  it  were,  our  own  past  indignities.  Such  was 
precisely  the  state  of  feeling  winch  Mr.  Henry 
produced  on  the  present  occasion.  The  lower 
ranks  of  the  House  beheld  and  heard  him  with 
gratitude  and  veneration.  They  regarded  him 
as  a  sturdy  and  wide-spreading  oak,  beneath 
whose  cool  and  refreshing  shade  they  might  take 
refuge  from  those  beams  of  aristocracy  that  had 
played  upon  them  so  long  with  rather  an  un 
pleasant  heat. 

After  this  victorious  sally  upon  their  party, 
the  former  leaders  of  the  House  were  not  very 
well  disposed  to  look  with  a  favorable  eye  on 
any  proposition  which  he  should  make.  They 
had  less  idea  of  contributing  to  foster  the  popu 
larity  and  pamper  the  power  of  a  man  who 
seemed  born  to  be  their  scourge,  and  to  drag 
down  their  ancient  honors  to  the  dust.  It  Avas 
in  this  unpropitious  state  of  things,  after  having 
waited  in  vain  for  some  step  to  be  taken  on  the 
other  side  of  the  house,  and  when  the  session 
was  within  three  days  of  its  expected  close,  that 
Mr.  Henry  introduced  his  celebrated  resolutions 
on  the  stamp-act. 

I  will  not  withhold  from  the  reader  a  note  of 
this  transaction  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Henry  him 
self.  It  is  a  curiosity,  and  highly  worthy  of 
preservation.  After  his  death,  there  was  found 
among  his  papers  one  sealed,  and  thus  endorsed  : 
"Inclosed  are  the  resolutions  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly  in  1765,  concerning  the  stamp-act. 
Let  my  executors  open  this  paper."  Within 
was  found  the  following  copy  of  the  resolutions 
in  Mr.  Henry's  handwriting  : 

Resoh'ed,  That  the  first  adventurers  and  set- 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tiers  of  this,  his  majesty's  colony  and  dominion, 
brought  with  them,  and  transmitted  to  their 
posterity,  and  all  other  his  majesty's  subjects, 
since  inhabiting  in  this  his  majesty's  said  colony, 
all  the  privileges,  franchises,  and  immunities, 
that  have  at  any  time  been  held,  enjoyed,  and 
possessed,  by  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

Resolved,  That  by  two  royal  charters  granted 
by  King  James  the  First,  the  colonists  afore 
said  are  declared  entitled  to  all  the  privileges, 
liberties,  and  immunities  of  denizens  and  natu 
ral  born  subjects,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as 
if  they  had  been  abiding  and  born  within  the 
realm  of  England. 

Resolved,  That  the  taxation  of  the  people  by 
themselves  to  represent  them,  or  by  persons 
chosen  by  themselves  to  represent  them,  who 
can  only  know  what  taxes  the  people  are  able  to 
bear,  and  the  easiest  mode  of  raising  them,  and 
are  equally  affected  by  such  taxes  themselves,  is 
the  distinguishing  characteristic  of  British  free 
dom,  and  without  Avhich  the  ancient  constitu 
tion  cannot  subsist. 

Resolced,  That  his  majesty's  liege  people  of 
this  most  ancient  colony,  have  uninterruptedly 
enjoyed  the  right  of  being  thus  governed  by 
their  own  Assembly  in  the  article  of  their  taxes 
and  internal  police,  and  that  the  same  hath 
never  been  forfeited,  or  in  any  other  way  given 
up,  but  hath  been  constantly  recognized  by  the 
king  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 

Resolved,  therefore,  That  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  this  colony  have  the  sole  right  and  power 
to  lay  taxes  and  impositions  upon  the  inhabit 
ants  of  this  colony ;  and  that  every  attempt  to 
vest  such  power  in  any  person  or  persons  what 
soever,  other  than  the  General  Assembly  afore 
said,  has  a  manifest  tendency  to  destroy  British 
as  well  as  American  freedom. 

On  the  back  of  the  paper  containing  those 
resolutions  is  the  following  endorsement,  wliiclr 
is  also  in  the  handwriting  of 'Mr.  Henry  himself: 
"The  within  resolutions  passed  the  House  of 
Burgesses  in  May,  1 765.  They  formed  the  first 
opposition  to  the  stamp-act,  and  the  scheme  of 
taxing  America  by  the  British  parliament.  All 
the  colonies,  either  through  fear  or  want  of  op 
portunity  to  form  an  opposition,  or  from  influ 
ence  of  some  kind  or  other,  had  remained  silent. 


I  had  been  for  the  first  time  elected  a  burgess 
a  few  days  before,  was  young,  inexperienced,  un 
acquainted  with  the  forms  of  the  House,  and 
the  members  that  composed  it.  Finding  the 
in e  11  of  weight  averse  to  opposition,  and  the 
commencement  of  the  tax  at  hand,  and  that  no 
person  was  likely  to  step  forth,  I  determined  to 
venture,  and  alone,  unadvised,  and  unassisted, 
on  a  blank  leaf  of  an  old  law-book  wrote  the 
within.  Upon  offering  them  to  the  House,  vio 
lent  debates  ensued.  Many  threats  were  ut 
tered,  and  much  abuse  cast  on  me,  by  the  party 
for  submission.  After  a  long  and  warm  contest, 
the  resolutions  passed  by  a  very  small  majority, 
perhaps  of  one  or  two  only.  The  alarm  spread 
throughout  America  with  astonishing  quickness, 
and  the  ministerial  party  were  overwhelmed. 
The  great  point  of  resistance  to  British  taxation 
was  universally  established  in  the  colonies.  This 
brought  on  the  war,  which  finally  separated  the 
two  countries,  and  gave  independence  to  ours. 
Whether  this  will  prove  a  blessing  or  a  curse, 
will  depend  upon  the  use  our  people  make  of  the 
blessings  which  a  gracious  God  hath  bestowed 
on  us.  If  they  are  wise,  they  will  be  great  and 
happy.  If  they  are  of  a  contrary  character,  they 
will  be  miserable.  Righteousness  alone  can 
exalt  them  as  a  nation.  Reader  !  whoever  thoti 
art,  remember  this  ;  and  in  thy  sphere  practice 
virtue  itself,  and  encourage  it  in  others." 

Such  is  the  short,  plain,  and  modest  account 
which  Mr.  Henry  has  left  of  this  transaction. 
But  other  interesting  particulars  have  been 
handed  down  by  tradition,  and  still  live  in  the 
recollection  of  one,  at  least,  now  in  life,  as  the 
reader  will  presently  see,  by  his  own  statement. 

The  resolutions,  having  been  prepared  in  the 
manner  which  has  been  mentioned,  were  shown 
by  Mr.  Henry  to  two  members  only,  before  they 
were  offered  to  the  House ;  these  were,  John 
•(.Fleming,  a  most  respectable  member  for  the 
county  of  Cumberland,  and  George  Johnston, 
for  that  of  Fairfax. 

The  reader  will  remark  that  the  first  four 
resolutions,  as  left  by  Mr.  Henry,  do  little  more 
than  reaffirm  the  principles  advanced  in  the  ad 
dress,  memorial,  and  remonstrance  of  the  pre 
ceding  year;  that  is,  they  deny  the  right  as 
sumed  by  the  British  parliament,  and  assert  the 


CHAP.  III.] 


DOCUMENT. 


187 


exclusive  right  of  the  colony  to  tax  itself.  There 
is  an  important  difference,  however,  between 
those  State  papers  and  the  resolutions,  in  the 
point  of  time  and  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  were  brought  forward,  for  the  address  and 
the  other  State  papers  were  prepared  before  the 
stamp-act  had  passed  ;  they  do  nothing  more, 
therefore,  than  call  in  question,  by  a  course  of 
respectful  and  submissive  reasoning,  the  pro 
priety  of  exercising  the  right  before  it  had  been 
exercised  ;  and  they  are,  moreover,  addressed 
to  the  legislature  of  Great  Britain,  by  (he  way 
of  prevention,  and  in  a  strain  of  decent  remon 
strance  and  argument.  But  at  the  time  when 
Mr.  Henry  offered  his  resolutions,  the  stamp- 
act  had  passed,  and  the  resolutions  we- re  in 
tended  for  the  people  of  the  colonies.  It  will, 
also,  be  observed  that  the  fifth  resolution,  as 
given  by  Mr.  Henry,  contains  the  bold  asser 
tion,  that  every  attempt  to  vest  the  power  of 
taxation  over  the  colonies  in  any  person  or  per 
sons  whatsoever,  other  than  the  General  Assem 
bly,  had  a  manifest  tendency  to  destroy  British 
as  well  as  American  freedom;  which  was  assert 
ing,  in  effect,  that  the  act  which  had  passed  was 
an  encroachment  on  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
the  people,  and  amounted  to  a  direct  charge  of 
tyranny  and  despotism  against  the  British  king, 
lords,  and  commons. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  even  the  friends  of 
colonial  rights,  who  knew  the  feeble  and  de 
fenceless  situation  of  this  country,  should  be 
startled  at  a  step  so  bold  and  daring.  That 
effect  was  produced  ;  and  the  resolutions  were 
resisted  not  only  by  the  aristocracy  of  the 
House,  but  by  many  of  those  who  were  after 
wards  distinguished  among  the  brightest  chain- 

•>— '  o  o 

pious  of  American  liberty. 

The  following  is  Mr.  Jefferson's  account  of 
this  transaction  : 

"  Mr.  Henry  moved  and  Mr.  Johnston  second 
ed  these  resolutions  successively.  They  were  op 
posed  by  Messrs.  Randolph,  Bland,  Pendleton, 
Wythe,  and  all  the  old  members  whose  influence 
in  the  House  had,  till  then,  been  unbroken. 
They  did  it,  not  from  any  question  of  our  rights, 
but  on  the  ground  that  the  same  sentiments  had 
been,  at  their  preceding  session,  expressed  in  a 
more  conciliatory  form,  to  which  the  answers 


were  not  yet  received.  But  torrents  of  sublime 
eloquence  from  Henry,  backed  by  the  solid 
reasoning  of  Johnston,  prevailed.  The  last, 
however,  and  strongest  resolution,  was  carried 
but  by  a  single  vote.  The  debate  on  it  was 
most  bloody.  I  was  then  but  a  student,  and 
stood  at  the  door  of  communication  between  the 
House  and  the  lobby  (for  as  yet  there  was  no 
gallery),  during  the  whole  debate  and  vote ; 
and  I  well  remember,  that  after  the  numbers  on 
the  division  were  told  and  declared  from  the 
chair,  Peyton  Randolph  (the  attorney-general) 
came  out  at  the  door  where  I  was  standing,  and 
said,  as  he  entered  the  lobby,  "  by  G — d,  I  would 
have  given  five  hundred  guineas  for  a  single 
vote  ;"  for  one  vote  would  have  divided  the 
House,  and  Robinson  was  in  the  chair,  who  lie 
knew  would  have  negatived  the  resolution.  Mr. 
Henry  left  town  that  evening  ;  and  the  next 
morning,  before  the  meeting  of  the  House,  Colo 
nel  Peter  Randolph,  then  of  the  council,  came 
to  the  hall  of  Burgesses  and  sat  at  the  clerk's 
table  till  the  House  bell  rang,  thumbing  over 
the  volumes  of  journals  to  find  a  precedent  of 
expunging  a  vote  of  the  House,  which,  he  said, 
had  taken  place  while  he  was  a  member,  or  clerk 
of  the  House,  I  do  not  recollect  which.  I  stood 
by  him  at  the  end  of  the  table  a  considerable 
part  of  the  time,  looking  on  as  he  turned  over 
the  leaves ;  but  I  do  not  recollect  whether  he 
found  the  erasure.  In  the  mean  time  some 
of  the  timid  members  who  had  voted  for  the 
strongest  resolution  had  become  alarmed  ;  and, 
as  soon  as  the  House  met,  a  motion  was  made 
and  carried  to  expunge  it  from  the  journals. 
There  being  at  that  day  but  one  printer,  and  he 
entirely  under  the  control  of  the  governor,  I  do 
not  know  that  this  resolution  ever  appeared  in 
print.  I  write  this  from  memory  ;  but  the  im 
pression  made  on  me  at  the  time  was  such  as  to 
fix  the  facts  indelibly  in  my  mind.  I  suppose 
the  original  journal  was  among  those  destroyed 
by  the  British,  or  its  obliterated  face  might  be 
appealed  to.  And  here  I  Avill  state  that  Burke's 
statement  of  Mr.  Henry's  consenting  to  with 
draw  two  resolutions,  by  way  of  compromise 
Avith  his  opponents,  is  entirely  erroneous." 

The  manuscript  journal  of  the  day  is  not  to 
be  found  ;  whether  it  was  suppressed,  or  casually 


188 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


lost,  must  remain  a  matter  of  uncertainty ;  it 
disappeared,  however,  shortly  after  the  session, 
and  therefore  could  not  have  been  among  the 
documents  destroyed  by  the  British  during  the 
Revolutionary  war,  as  conjectured  by  Mr.  Jef 
ferson. 

In  the  interesting  fact  of  the  erasure  of  the 
fifth  resolution,  Mr.  Jefferson  is  supported  by 
the  distinct  recollection  of  Mr.  Paul  Carrington, 


late  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia, 
and  the  only  surviving  member,  it  is  believed, 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  1705.  The  state 
ment  is  also  confirmed,  if  indeed  further  con 
firmation  were  necessary,  by  the  circumstance 
that  instead  of  the  five  resolutions,  so  solemnly 
recorded  by  Mr.  Henry  as  having  passed  the 
House,  the  journal  of  the  day  only  exhibits  four. 
—  Wirfs  Patrick  Henry. 


CHAPTER     IY. 

1766—1768. 

THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 

Washington's  pursuits  at  Mount  Vcrnon. — His  opinion  of  the  Stamp-Act  and  of  the  commercial  regulations  for  the 
colonies.— His  remarks  on  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp-Act. — His  foresight  of  coming  troubles. — Views  of  Grenville  and 
Townsheiid's  plan.— Colonial  views  on  Chatham's  declaratory  act. — Lord  Shelburne  receives  intelligence  respect 
ing  the  complaints  of  the  colonists.— Chatham's  remarks. — Shelbume's  remarks. — Chatham's  reply. — Beckford's 
remarks. — Sound  views  of  Gerard  Hamilton. — Shelburne  foresees  that  in  case  of  war,  France  and  Spain  will  aid 
the  Americans. — Townsheud's  bill,  imposing  duties  on  glass,  paper,  pasteboard,  white  and  red  lead,  painters' 
colors,  and  tea,  in  passed.— Also  an  act  for  putting  all  duties  and  customs  in  the  American  colonies  under  the 
management  of  the  king's  resident  commissioners. — Also  an  act  to  suspend  legislative  proceedings  in  New  York. 
—The  Mutiny  Act.— Lord  Shelbume's  remarks  on  it.— Effects  of  Townsheml's  bills  in  the  colonies. — The  colo 
nists  protest  against  them. — Meeting  in  Boston  for  forming  a  non-importation  association. — John  Dickinson. — 
The  American  Farmer.— The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  invites  the  co-operation  of  the  other  colonies  in  measures 
of  opposition  to  British  oppression.  — Lord  Hillsborough  requires  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  to  rescind. — Their 
spirited  reply  to  Governor  Bernard. — The  Assembly  dissolved. — Affair  of  the  sloop  Liberty. — Proceedings  of  the 
Sons  of  Liberty. — The  rioters  escape.— The  commissioners  of  customs  apply  for  military  aid. — Scheme  for  quar 
tering  troops  in  Huston. — Troops  ordered  to  Boston. — Remonstrances  of  the  people. — New  articles  of  association 
for  non-importation  signed. — Their  tenor. — Meeting  of  the  12th  of  September,  17G8. — Its  proceedings. — Meeting 
at  Faneuil  Hall  votes  to  request  the  people  to  provide  themselves  with  arms. — Arrival  of  British  troops  at 
Boston. — The  local  authorities  refuse  to  furnish  them  with  quarters. — Troops  quartered  in  the  State  House  and 
in  Faneuil  Hall.— The  Massachusetts  men  send  complaints  to  the  other  colonies. 


DURING  the  period  which,  has  just 
been  passed  in  review,  Washington  was 
quietly  residing  with  his  family  at 
Mount  Vernon,  his  pursuits  as  a  planter 
being  varied  by  occasional  visits  to  his 
friends  in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  to 
Annapolis,  the  capital  of  Maryland,  as 
well  as  to  WilliamsbuTff.  where  his  at- 

O  / 

tendance  on  the  sessions  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  was  constant  and  assiduous. 
In  his  visits  to  Annapolis  during  the 
season  of  gayety,  he  was  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Washington ;  and  both  enjoyed 
in  a  high  degree  the  cultivated  and  re 
fined  society  of  that  capital. 


Still,  Washington  was  by  no  means 
an  unobservant  or  uninterested  specta 
tor  of  what  was  passing  in  the  politi 
cal  world  at  this  time.  That  his  views 
were  coincident  with  those  of  the  lead 
ing  patriots  of  the  time  is  apparent  in 
his  correspondence.  Writing  to  Francis 
Dand ridge,  London,  in  September,  1*765, 
when  the  stamp-act  was  the  principal 
topic  in  all  political  circles,  he  says  :* 
"  The  stamp-act,  imposed  on  the  colo 
nies  by  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain, 
engrosses  the  conversation  of  the  specu- 


°  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  343. 


190 


LIFE  AND  TD1ES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


lative  part  of  the  colonists,  who  look 
upon  this  unconstitutional  method  of 
taxation  as  a  direful  attack  upon  their 
liberties,  and  loudly  exclaim  against  the 
violation.  What  may  be  the  result  of 
this  and  of  some  other  (I  think  I  may 
add  ill-judged)  measures,  I  will  not  un 
dertake  to  determine  ;  but  this  I  may 
venture  to  affirm,  that  the  advantage 
accruing  to  the  mother  country  will  fall 
greatly  short  of  the  expectations  of  the 
ministry  ;  for  certain  it  is,  that  our 
whole  substance,  in  a  manner,  flows  to 
Great  Britain,  and  that  whatsoever  con 
tributes  to  lessen  our  importations  must 
be  hurtful  to  her  manufacturers.  The 
eyes  of  the  people  already  begin  to  be 
opened  ;  and  they  will  perceive,  that 
many  luxuries,  for  which  we  lavish  our 
substance  in  Great  Britain,  can  well  be 
dispensed  with,  whilst  the  necessaries 
of  life  are  mostly  to  be  had  within  our 
selves.  This,  consequently,  will  intro 
duce  frugality  ;  and  be  a  necessary  in 
citement  to  industry.  If  Great  Britain, 
therefore,  loads  her  manufacturers  with 
heavy  taxes,  will  it  not  facilitate  such 
results  ?  They  will  not  compel  us,  I 
think,  to  give  our  money  for  their  ex 
ports,  whether  we  will  or  not ;  and  I 
am  certain,  that  none  of  their  traders 
will  part  with  them  without  a  valua 
ble  consideration.  Where,  then,  is  the 
utility  of  these  restrictions  ? 

As  to  the  stamp-act,  regarded  in  a 
single  view,  one,  and  the  first  bad  con 
sequence  attending  it,  is,  that  our  courts 
of  judicature  must  inevitably  be  shut 
up ;  for  it  is  impossible,  or  next  to 


impossible,  under  our  present  circum 
stances,  that  the  act  of  parliament  can 
be  complied  with,  were  we  ever  so  will 
ing  to  enforce  its  execution.  And,  not 
to  say  (which  alone  would  be  sufficient) 
that  we  have  not  money  to  pay  for  the 
stamps,  there  are  many  other  cogent 
reasons,  which  prove  that  it  would  be 
ineffectual.  If  a  stop  be  put  to  our 
judicial  proceedings,  I  fancy  the  mer 
chants  of  Great  Britain  trading  to  the 

O 

colonies,  will  not  be  among  the  last  to 
wish  for  a  repeal  of  the  act." 

The  same   opinion  of  the  stamp-act 
is  expressed  in  a  letter  to  a  London  cor 
respondent  after  the  repeal :   "  Unsea 
sonable  as  it  may  be,  to  take 
any  notice  of  the  repeal  of  the 

•>  1  TGI . 

stamp-act  at  this  time,  yet  I 
cannot  help  observing,  that  a  contrary 
measure  would  have  introduced  very 
unhappy  consequences.  Those,  there 
fore,  who  wisely  foresaw  such  an  event, 
and  were  instrumental  in  procuring  the 
repeal  of  the  act,  are,  in  my  opinion, 
deservedly  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the 
well-wishers  of  Britain  and  her  colonies, 
and  must  reflect  with  pleasure,  that, 
through  their  means,  many  scenes  of 

O  «. 

confusion  and  distress  may  have  been 
prevented.  Mine  they  accordingly 
have,  and  always  shall  have,  for  their 
opposition  to  any  act  of  oppression, 
and  that  act  could  be  looked  upon  in 
no  other  light,  by  every  person  who 
would  view  it  in  its  proper  colors.  I 
could  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  con 
gratulate  you  on  the  success  of  having 
the  commercial  system  of  these  colonies 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 


191 


put  upon  a  more  enlarged  and  extensive 
footing  than  it  is ;  because  I  am  well 
satisfied,  that  it  would  ultimately  re 
dound  to  the  advantage  of  the  mother 
country  so  long  as  the  colonies  pursue 
trade  and  agriculture,  and  would  be  an 
effectual  let  to  manufacturing  among 
them.  The  money  which  they  raise, 
would  centre  in  Great  Britain  as  cer 
tainly  as  the  needle  will  settle  to  the 
pole." 

The  last  passages  of  this  letter  show 
that  Washington  was  by  no  means  satis 
fied  with  the  existing  state  of  things. 

o  o 

He  evinces  a  foreboding  of  trouble  with 
respect  to  the  commerce  of  the  colonies. 
As  usual,  his  presentiment  was  verified. 
The  clause  in  the  repeal  of  the  stamp- 
act,  declaring  that  the  king  and  parlia 
ment  had  power  and  authority  to  make 
laws  which  should  bind  the  colonies  and 
people  of  America  in  all  cases  what 
ever,  was  reduced  to  practice  in  1707. 
As  early  as  the  month  of  January, 
George  Grenville,  the  foster-fa 
ther  of  the  stamp-act,  had  pro 
posed  "saddling  America  with  four  hun 
dred  thousand  pounds  per  annum,  for 
the  support  of  the  troops,"  &c.  The 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Charles 
Townshend,  in  answering  him,  fully 
agreed  as  to  the  principle  of  the  stamp- 
act  itself,  only  adding  that  the  heats 
which  had  prevailed  had  made  it  an 
improper  time  to  press  that  tax.  He 
treated  the  distinction  between  external 
and  internal  taxation  as  ridiculous  in 
the  opinion  of  everybody  except  the 
Americans ;  and  he,  in  short,  pledged 


himself  to  the  House  to  find  a  revenue 
in  the  colonies  to  meet  the  expenses. 
Lord  Shelburne,  like  others,  was  at  a 
loss  to  conceive  what  he  meant.  His 
lordship,  however,  heard  from  general 
conversation,  that  Mr.  Townshend  had 
a  plan  for  establishing  a  board  of  cus 
toms  in  America,  and,  by  a  new  regu 
lation  of  the  tea  duty  in  England,  and 
some  other  alterations,  to  produce  a 
revenue  on  imports  in  America. 

"  This,"  added  Lord  Shelburne,  "  in 
many  views  appears  a  matter  that  will 
require  tlie  deepest  consideration,  at  this 
time  especially.  Besides,  I  believe  the 
speech  I  have  just  mentioned  is  not  the 
way  to  make  any  thing  go  down  well 
in  North  America." 

In  fact,  at  this  moment,  the  colonies, 
having  had  time  to  consider  the  Earl  of 
Chatham's  declaratory  bill,  were  still 
more  dissatisfied  with  its  extreme  prin 
ciples  and  strong  expressions.  Lord 
Shelburne  had  letters  from  the  king's 
governors  inveighing  against  the  insub 
ordinate  spirit  of  the  people,  and  com 
plaining  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Houses 
of  Assembly  not  to  provide  the  troops 
with  vinegar  and  other  articles,  lest 
their  compliance  should  be  deemed  a 
precedent  for  some  new  tax  act. 

Chatham,  excited  by  the  communica 
tion  of  this  intelligence,  replied  to  Lord 
Shelburne  in  a  violent  passion  against 
the  Americans,  and  without  expressing 
any  disapprobation  of  Townshend's  ex 
asperating  speech  and  avowed  deter 
mination  of  a  new  taxation  scheme. 
"  America,"  he  says,  "  affords  a  gloomy 


102 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


prospect ;  a  spirit  of  infatuation  lias 
taken  possession  of  New  York.  *  *  * 
I  foresee  confusion  will  ensue.  *  *  ""' 
What  demon  of  discord  blows  the  coals 
in  that  devoted  province  I  know  not ; 
but  they  are  doing  the  work  of  their 
worst  enemies  themselves.  The  torrent 
of  indignation  in  parliament  will,  I  ap 
prehend,  become  irresistible,  and  they 
will  draw  upon  their  heads  national  re 
sentment  by  their  ingratitude,  and  ruin, 
I  fear,  upon  the  whole  State  by  the 
consequences.  But  I  will  not  run  be 
fore  the  event,  as  it  is  possible  your 
lordship  may  receive  an  account  more 
favorable." 

Meanwhile  fresh  petitions  and  remon 
strances,  and  bitter  complaints  against  a 
new  mutiny-act,  kept  pouring  in  from 
the  colonies.  Shelburne  found  himself 
obliged  to  speak  of  the  declaratory  act 
in  a  style  which  could  not  have  been 
very  agreeable  to  the  Earl  of  Chat 
ham  : 

"  That  act,"  says  his  lordship,  "  assort 
ing  the  right  of  parliament,  has  certainly 
spread  a  most  unfortunate  jealousy  and 
diffidence  of  government  throughout 
America,  and  makes  them  jealous  of 
the  least  distinction  between  this  coun 
try  and  that,  lest  tlie  same  principle 
may  le  extended  to  taxing  them" 

Replying,  from  his  easy-chair  at  Bath, 
Chatham  was  more  irate  than  before 
against  the  Americans  ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  discovered  nothing  wrong  either 
in  the  declaratory  bill  or  in  the  scheme 
of  his  colleague  and  nominee,  Town- 
shend.  He  threw  the  whole  blame 


upon  George  Grenville :  "The  advices 
from  America,"  he  says,  "  afford  un- 
pleasing  views.  New  York  has  drunk 
the  deepest  of  the  baneful  cup  of  in 
fatuation  ;  but  none  seem  to  be  quite 
sober  and  in  full  possession  of  reason. 
It  is  a  literal  truth  to  say,  that  the 
stamp-act,  of  most  unhappy  memory, 
has  frightened  those  irritable  and  um 
brageous  people  out  of  their  senses.  I 
foresee  that,  determined  not  to  listen  to 
their  real  friends,  a  little  more  frenzy 
and  a  little  more  time  will  put  them 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies." 

His  friend  Beckford  joined  in  these 
sentiments ;  and  in  the  belief,  implied 
by  Chatham,  that  the  Americans  in 
making  any  attempt  at  resistance  would 
only  seal  their  ruin,  Beckford, — they 
all  seem  to  have  regarded  the  matter 
in  a  frenzy  of  passion, — exclaims,  "The 
devil  has  possessed  the  minds  of  the 
North  Americans.  Georcre  Grenville 

O 

and  his  stamp-act  raised  the  foul  fiend  ; 
a  prudent  firmness  will  lay  him,  I  hope, 
forever." 

But  there  was  one  public  man  who 
took  a  more  correct  view  of  the  spirit 
and  power  of  the  American  people. 
He  calculated  that  there  were  in  the 
provinces  at  least  two  hundred  thou 
sand  men  fit  to  bear  arms,  and  not  only 
to  bear  arms,  but  having  arms  in  their 
possession,  unrestrained  by  any  game- 
laws.  "  In  the  Massachusetts  govern 
ment  in  particular,"  writes  Gerard 
Hamilton*  to  Mr.  Calcraft,  "there  is 


0  This   is   the  gentleman    known  as    Single    Speech 
Hamilton. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 


193 


an  express  law,  by  which  every  man  is 
obliged  to  have  a  musket,  a  pound  of 
powder,  and  a  pound  of  bullets  always 
by  him ;  so  there  is  nothing  wanting 
but  knapsacks  (or  old  stockings,  which 
will  do  as  Avell),  to  equip  an  army  for 
marching,  and  nothing  more  than  a 
Sartorius  or  a  Spartacus  at  their  head 
requisite  to  beat  your  troops  and  your 
custom-house  officers  out  of  the  country, 
and  set  your  laws  at  defiance.  There 
"Is  no  saying  what  their  leaders  may  put 
them  upon ;  but  if  they  are  active, 
clever  people,  and  love  mischief  as  well 
as  I  do  peace  and  quiet,  they  will  fur 
nish  matter  of  consideration  to  the 
wisest  among  you,  and  perhaps  dictate 
their  own  terms  at  last,  as  the  Roman 
people  formerly  in  their  famous  seces 
sion  upon  the  Sacred  Mount.  For  my 
own  part,  I  think  you  have  no  right  to 
tax  them,  and  that  every  measure  built 
upon  this  supposed  right  stands  upon 
a  rotten  foundation,  and  must,  conse 
quently,  tumble  down,  perhaps  upon 
the  heads  of  the  workmen." 

But  few  Englishmen,  either  in  parlia 
ment  or  out,  felt  these  convictions ;  and 
though  Lord  Shelburne  clearly  foresaw 
that  if  the  Americans  should  be  driven 
into  insurrection,  there  was  every  prob 
ability  that  France  and  Spain  would 
break  a  peace,  the  days  of  which  they 
had  already  begun  to  count,  Town- 
shend's  bill,  imposing  duties  on  glass, 
paper,  pasteboard,  white  and  red  lead, 
painters'  colors,  and  tea,  payable  upon 
the  importation  into  the  colonies,  and 
to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  specified 


in  the  stamp-act,  was  carried  through 
both  houses  of  parliament  with  as  much 
ease  as  if  it  had  been  a  turnpike  bill. 
And  the  same  facility  attended  another 
act  by  which  these  duties,  and  all  other 
customs  and  duties  in  the  American 
colonies,  were  put  under  the  manage 
ment  of  the  king's  resident  commis 
sioners.  Moreover,  a  third  bill  was 
passed,  prohibiting  the  governor,  coun 
cil,  and  Assembly  of  New  York  from 
passing  any  legislative  act  for  any  pur 
poses  whatsoever,  till  satisfaction  should 
be  given  as  to  the  treatment  of  the  com 
missioners  and  troops,  and  submission 
paid  to  the  mutiny-act. 

The  reader  has  seen  how  little  the 
Americans  were  satisfied  with  the  de 
claratory  bill  which  accompanied  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp-act.  "The  discon 
tents,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "were  in 
creased  by  the  endeavors  of  govern 
ment  to  enforce  what  was  styled  the 
mutiny-act,  but  what  was  more  properly 
an  act  for  quartering  and  better  provid 
ing  for  the  troops  at  the  expense  of  the 
colonies." 

It  was  an  act  carried  through  in  a 
hurry  at  the  fag-end  of  a  session,  and 
yet  blindly  persevered  in. 

Lord  Shelburne  thus  describes  it  in 
1TC7  :  "It  was  first  suggested  by  the 
military,  and  intended  to  give  a  power 
of  billeting  on  private  houses,  as  was 
done  in  the  war.  It  was  altered  by  the 
merchants  and  agents,  who  substituted 
empty  houses,  provincial  barracks,  and 
barns,  in  their  room,  undertaking  that 
the  Assembly  should  supply  them 


VOL.  I.— 25 


194 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


with  the  additional  necessaries;  and  it 
passed,  I  believe,  Avithout  that  superin 
tendence  or  attentive  examination  on 
the  part  of  government,  which  is  so 
wanting  in  all  cases  where  necessity 
requires  something  different  from  the 
general  principles  of  the  constitution. 
I  am  told  that  it  Avas  carried  through 

o 

by  Mr.  Ellis  Avithout  the  entire  conATic- 
tion  or  cordial  support  of  Mr.  Greuville, 
\vho  made  it  a  separate  bill,  lest  it 
might  embarrass  the  general  mutiny- 
act," 

In  depriving  the  Assembly  of  Revs 
York  of  its  legislative  faculties  for  op 
posing  this  act,  ministers  threAV  fresh 
materials  into  the  black  cauldron  ;  and 
then  came  Charles  ToAvnshend's  taxes 
to  make  it  boil  OA~er ;  and  then  as;am, 

O  > 

as  fuel  to  keep  up  the  fire  beneath  it, 
there  arrived  at  Boston  the  newly 
formed  American  board  of  commis 
sioners  to  enforce  the  payment  of  the 
new  duties,  and  to  put  an  end  to  all 
smuggling. 

Had  the  Americans  admitted  the  pro 
priety  of  raising  a  parliamentary  reve 
nue  from  the  colonies,  the  appointment 
of  an  American  board  of  commissioners 
among  them  for  managing  it,  would 
have  been  a  convenience  rather  than 
an  injury.  But,  regarding  the  tax  itself 
as  oppressive  and  illegal,  they  were 
offended  at  the  new  mode  of  collecting 

o 

it.  As  it  was  coeval  with  the  new  du 
ties,  they  considered  it  as  a  certain  evi 
dence  that  the  project  of  an  exteusiAre 
American  revenue,  notwithstanding  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp-act,  was  still  in  con; 


temptation.  A  dislike  to  British  taxa 
tion  naturally  produced  a  dislike  to  a 
board  Avhich  Avas  to  be  instrumental  in 
that  business,  and  occasioned  many  in 
sults  to  the  commissioners. 

These  commissioners  could  not  possi 
bly  haA^e  been  sent  to  a  Avorse  place 
than  Boston.  New  York  for  many 
reasons  was  preferable  ;  but  Avhenever 
there  was  a  choice  to  make,  the  cabinet 
committed  a  blunder.  The  colonists 
read  in  the  preamble  to  Charles  To \vn- 
shend's*  act,  that  the  duties  Avere  laid 
for  "the  better  support  of  government 
and  the  administration  of  the  colonies  ;" 
and  they  detected  a  clause  in  the  bill 
which  seemed  to  enable  the  king,  by 
sign-manual,  to  establish  a  general  civil 
list  in  every  province  in  North  America, 
with  salaries,  pensions,  Arc.,  Arc.  They 
instantly  declared  that  all  this  was  un 
necessary,  unjust,  and  dangerous  to  their 
most  important  rights ;  and  they  in 
sisted  that  the  establishment  of  any 
ci\dl  list  in  America  independent  of  the 
Assemblies  was  altogether  illegal. 

O  O 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1707,  a  few 
gentlemen  met  at  a  private  club  in  Bos 
ton,  the  great  centre  of  discontent  and 
pivot  of  resistance,  and  arranged  plans 
for  making  real  and  effectual  the  non 
importation  agreements  Avhich  had  been 
before  suggested.  They  drew  up  a  bond 
or  subscription-paper,  whereby  the  par 
ties  signing  engaged  to  encourage  the 
use  and  consumption  of  native  manufac 
tures  only,  and  to  cease  importing,  buy- 

0  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 


11)5 


ing,  or  selling  any  tiling  from  Great 
Britain  except  &  few  named  indispensa 
ble  articles  ;  and  they  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  obtain  subscriptions  to  this 
agreement.  In  this  they  were  success 
ful  ;  but  in  some  instances  they  found 
it  necessary  to  employ  means  for  ob 
taining  subscriptions  which  were  de 
cidedly  coercive. 

In  the  mean  time  various  individuals 
took  up  the  pen  and  employed  the  press 
to  demonstrate  the  iniquity  of  the  tax 
ing  acts,  and  the  little  that  the  Ameri 
can  people  had  to  expect  from  a  cor 
rupt  and  subservient  British  parliament. 
The  foremost  of  these  writers  was  Mr. 
John  Dickinson,*  whose  "  Letters  from 
a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Inhab 
itants  uf  the  British  Colonies,"  made  a 
deep  and  lasting  impression.  Dickin 
son,  however,  recommended  his  coun 
trymen  still  to  have  recourse  to  peti 
tions  to  the  crown  and  parliament,  and 
to  sfa-ong  instructions  to  their  n gents  in 
England,  which,  in  his  opinion,  would 
have  the  same  effect  now  as  they  had 
at  the  time  of  the  stamp-act.  Other 
writers  suggested  more  violent  meas 
ures,  but  not  one  of  them  ventured  to 
hint  at  the  disseverance  of  the  colonies 
from  the  mother  country. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  1768,  the 
Assembly  of  Massachusetts  addressed  a 
circular  letter  to  all  the  other  colonies, 
inviting  them  to  combine  in  taking 
measures  to  defeat  the  obnoxious  act. 
The  Speaker  of  the  New  Hampshire 

c  Sec  Dorumont  [P>1  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


|  Assembly  immediately  replied,  by  or- 
I  der  of  his  House,  that  the  sentiments 
contained  in  the  circular  letter  were 
highly  approved  of;  but  that,  as  the 
time  of  that  House's  existence  was  near 
expiring,  they  could  not  engage  for  their 
successors.  But  other  colonies  readily 
adopted  the  sentiments  and  the  plan 
contained  in  the  letter,  and  passed  votes 
of  thanks  to  the  authors  of  it. 

In  the  month  of  April,  Lord  Hills- 
borough  instructed  Bernard,  the  gov 
ernor  of  Massachusetts,  to  require  the 
House  of  Representatives,  in  the  king's 
name,  to  rescind  the  resolution  which 
gave  birth  to  the  circular  letter,  and  to 
declare  their  disapprobation  of  that  rash 
and  hasty  proceeding.  The  House  re 
fused  compliance,  and  sent  this  answer 
to  the  governor  :  "  If  the  votes  of  this 
House  are  to  be  controlled  by  the 
direction  of  a  minister,  we  have  left  us 
but  a  vain  semblance  of  liberty.  We 
have  now  only  to  inform  yon,  that  this 
House  has  voted  not  to  rescind,  and 
that  on  a  division  of  the  question,  there 
were  ninety-two  nays  and  seventeen 
yeas." 

The  very  next  day,  Governor  Ber 
nard,  in  pursuance  of  Lord  Hillsbor- 
ough's  positive  instructions,  dissolved 
the  Assembly.  By  this  time  associa 
tions  and  committees  were  formed  in 
most  of  the  provinces. 

In  the  month  of  June,  the  sloop  Lib 
erty  arrived  at  Boston  with  a 
cars;o  of  choice  Madeira.      The 

O 

commissioners  sent  an  excise  officer  on 
board,  but  the  skipper -and   his  crew 


106 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III 


confined  the  man  below  deck,  and 
smno-orled  the  wine  on  shore,  without 
entering  at  the  custom-house  or  any 
other  formula.  The  officer  was  then 
liberated  ;  and  the  following  morning, 
:he  skipper  of  the  sloop  entered  at  the 
3ustoni-house  four  or  five  pipes,  swear- 
jig  that  that  was  all  his  cargo  But 
the  commissioners,  aware  of  the  truth, 
ordered  a  comptroller  to  seize  the  sloop 
and  clap  the  king's  broad  arrow  upon 
her.  As  a  crowd  assembled  on  the 
wharfs,  the  comptroller  made  signals 
to  the  Romney  man-of-war,  which  was 
lying  at  anchor  off  Boston,  and  the  cap 
tain  manned  his  boats  and  sent  them  to 
assist  the  excise. 

A  mob  of  people  attempted  to  pre 
vent  the  seizure  of  the  sloop,  and  pelted 
fclie  exciseman  and  the  sailors  with  stones 
and  dirt ;  but  the  man-of-war's  boats 
presently  cut  the  sloop  from  her  moor 
ings  and  carried  her  under  the  guns  of 
the  Romney. 

The  mob  on  shore  continued  their 
riot,  beating  and  nearly  killing  several 
of  the  revenue-officers.  The  commis 
sioners  applied  to  the  governor  for  pro 
tection  ;  but  the  governor  told  them  he- 
had  no  troops,  no  force  of  any  kind,  and 
thereupon  they  fled  on  board  the  Rom 
ney.  The  capture  of  the  sloop  Liberty 
was  made  on  a  Friday ;  Saturday  was  a 
busy  day,  and  Sunday  was  kept  very 
strictly  by  the  New  Englanders ;  but 
on  Monday  an  immense  mob  gathered 
in  the  streets  of  Boston  ;  and  in  the 
afternoon  of  that  day  placards  were 
stuck  up  to  call  a  meeting  of  "  The  Sons 


of  Liberty"  on  Tuesday,  at  ten  o'clock. 
At  this  meeting  they  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  wait  upon  the  governor,  to  in 
quire  why  tlie  sloop  had  been  seized  in 
so  arbitrary  a  manner,  which  they  de 
clared  to  be  an  affront  to  the  town  of 
Boston.  They  declared  that  she  might 
have  been  left  with  perfect  safety  at 
the  wharf. 

The  leading  men  of  the  town  ex 
pressed  disapprobation  of  a  riot,  which 
not  a  few  of  them  were  suspected  of 
having  promoted ;  but  they  took  care 
to  mention,  in  extenuation,  the  extraor 
dinary  circumstances  of  the  said  seizure, 
and  the  violence  and  unprecedentedness 
of  that  procedure.  They  offered  a  re 
ward  for  the  discovery  of  the  ringlead 
ers,  and  a  few  persons  were  pointed  out, 
but  the  grand  jury  quashed  all  prose 
cution.  It  was  this  fact  which  seems  to 
have  persuaded  the  British  ministry 
that  offences  in  America  would  not  be 
punished  by  American  juries,  and  which 
seems  to  have  recommended  to  their  at 
tention  the  statute  of  Henry  the  Eiirlitli, 

»'  O 

by  virtue  of  which  the  offenders  mitrht 

V  O 

be  removed  to  Great  Britain,  and  tried 
there. 

The  commissioners,  who  had  left  the 
Romney  man-of-war  to  take  up  their 
quarters  in  Castle  William,  now  applied 
to  General  Gage,  Colonel  Dairy mple, 
and  Commodore  Wood,  for  troops  to 
support  them  in  their  office. 

Previously,  however,  to  this  applica 
tion,  and  even  a  month  or  six  weeks  be 
fore  the  news  of  these  Boston  riots 
could  have  readied  London,  ministers 


CHAP.  IV.] 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 


10' 


had  resolved  to  employ  force,  and  Lord 
Hillsborongb,  in  a  secret  and  confiden 
tial  letter,  had  told  General  Gage  that 
it  was  his  majesty's  pleasure  that  he 
should  forthwith  send  from  Halifax  one 
regiment  or  more  to  Boston,  to  be  quar 
tered  in  that  town,  to  assist  the  civil 
magistrates  and  tlie  officers  of  revenue. 

This  letter  was  dated  on  the  8th  of 
June;  and  on  the  llth,  his  lordship  in 
formed  Governor  Bernard  that  his  ma 
jesty  had  directed  one  regiment  at  least 
to  be  stationed  in  Boston,  and  had  or 
dered  a  frigate,  two  sloops,  and  two 
armed  cutters,  to  repair  to  and  remain 
in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  in  order  to  sup 
port  and  assist  the  officers  of  the  cus 
toms. 

Fresh  appeals  were  made  by  those 
who  had  put  themselves  in  the  van  of 
the  movement,  to  the  hopes,  fears,  and 
strongest  passions  of  the  American  peo 
ple  ;  and  these  addresses  usually  con 
cluded  with  the  significant  truism  : 
"  United  we  conquer,  divided  we  fall." 
They  called  upon  all  the  colonies  to  re 
sist  to  the  utmost  the  mutiny-act,  which 
granted  power  to  every  officer,  upon  ob 
taining  a  warrant  from  any  justice,  to 
break  into  any  house  by  day  or  by 
night  in  search  of  deserters.  They 
represented  that,  if  the  colonists  would 
only  cordially  agree  as  to  the  non-im 
portation,  multitudes  in  Great  Britain 
who  lived  and  thrived  by  their  trade, 
would  be  reduced  to  want,  and  would 
then,  in  their  desperation,  force  from 
parliament  the  repeal  of  the  acts. 

Tn  the  month  of  August,  the  mer 


chants  and  traders  of  Boston  agreed 
upon  a  new  subscription  paper  to  this 
effect :  "  We  will  not  send  for,  or  import 
from,  Great  Britain,  either  upon  our 
own  account,  or  upon  commission  this 
fall,  any  other  goods  than  what  are  al 
ready  ordered  for  the  fall  supply.  We 
will  not  send  for  or  import  any  kind  of 
goods  or  merchandise  from  Great  Brit 
ain,  <fcc.,  from  the  1st  of  January,  17(39, 
to  the  1st  of  January,  1770,  except  salt, 
coals,  fish-hooks  and  lines,  hemp  and 
duck,  bar-lead  and  shot,  wool-cards,  and 
card-wire.  We  will  not  purchase  of  any 
factor  or  others  any  kind  of  goods  im 
ported  from  Great  Britain,  from  Janu 
ary,  1769,  to  January,  1770.  We  will 
not  import  on  our  own  account  or  on 
commission,  or  purchase  of  any  who 
shall  import  from  any  other  colony  in 
America,  from  January,  1769,  to  Janu 
ary,  1770,  any  tea,  paper,  glass,  or  other 
goods,  commonly  imported  from  Great 
Britain.  We  will  not,  from  and  after 
the  1st  of  January,  1769,  import  into 
this  province  any  tea,  glass,  paper,  or 
painters'  colors,  until  the  act  imposing 
duties  on  these  articles  shall  be  abso 
lutely  repealed." 

Although  this  paper  was  generally 
subscribed,  several  respectable  mer 
chants  refused  their  signatures.  In  the 

O 

course  of  the  same  month  the  merchants 
of  Connecticut  and  New  York 
made  similar  agreements,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  September  the  mer 
chants  of  Salem  did  the  same.  It  ap 
pears  that  it  was  not  till  the  beginning 
of  September  that  the  people  of  Bos- 


1TG8. 


IDS 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[I;,»>K  in. 


ton  became  fully  aware  of  the  intention 
of  Government  to  send  troops.  On  the 
1 2th  of  that  month  a  meeting  was  called, 
ami  a  committee  appointed  to  make  in 
quiries  of  the  governor,  and  to  pray  him 
at  the  same  time  to  convene  a  general 
Assembly. 

Governor  Bernard  said  that  he  had 
intelligence,  of  a  private  nature,  that  a 
military  force  was  coming;  and  that,  as 
to  the  calling  of  another  Assembly,  it 
was  a  measure  not  to  be  complied  with 
till  he  had  received  the  commands  of 
his  majesty.  It  was  then  resolved, 
"That  the  freeholders  and  other  in 
habitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  will,  at 
the  peril  of  their  lives  and  fortunes,  take 
all  legal  and  constitutional  measures  to 
defend  the  rights,  liberties,  privileges, 
and  immunities  granted  in  their  royal 
charter." 

The  inhabitants  further  agreed,  that 
a  suitable  number  of  persons  should  now 
be  chosen  to  act  for  them  as  a  commit 
tee  in  convention,  and  to  consult  and  to 
advise  with  such  as  might  be  sent  to 
join  them  from  the  other  towns  of  the 
province.  They  fixed  a  convention  to 
be  held  at  Faneuil  Hall,  in  Boston,  on 
the  22d  of  September;  and,  before 
breaking  up,  they  voted,  "  That  as  there 
is  an  apprehension  in  the  minds  of  many 
of  an  approaching  war  with  France, 
those  inhabitants  who  are  not  provided, 
be  requested  to  furnish  themselves  forth 
with  with  arms."  This  was  significant ! 

O 

The  approaching  war  with  France  was 
nothing  but  an  ingenious  device. 

On  the  22d  of  September,  the  day 


appointed,  the  convention,  consisting  <>!' 
deputies  front  eight  districts  and  irinetv- 
six  towns  met  at  Faneuil  Hall;  but  the 
day  before  the  men-of-war  and  trail- - 
ports  had  arrived  in  Nantasket  Roads, 
a  few  miles  below  Boston.  The  con 
vention  merely  conferred  and  consulted, 
petitioned  the  governor,  expressed  their 
aversion  to  standing  armies,  tumults  and 
disorders  of  all  kinds,  and  then  ad 
journed. 

Governor  Bernard  then  attempted  to 
prevail  upon  the  town-council  to  pro 
vide  quarters  for  the  troops  in  Boston  ; 
but  they  refused,  and  stated  that  the 
troops,  by  act  of  parliament,  were  to  be 
quartered  in  the  barracks;  that  there 
were  barracks  enough  at  Castle  William 
to  hold  them  all,  and  that  it  was  against 
law  to  bring  any  of  them  into  the  town. 

Colonel  Dalrymple,  who  held  the 
command,  had  positive  orders  to  land 
at  least  one  regiment  at  Boston,  and  he 
of  himself,  concluded  it  would  be  bettei 
not  to  separate  his  small  force.  Ac 
cordingly,  on  the  last  day  of  Septem 
ber,  he  left  Nantasket  Roads  and  sailed 
up  to  Boston.  The  ships-of-war,  con 
sisting  of  the  Romney  of  sixty  guns,  the 
Launcester  of  forty,  the  Mermaid  of 
twenty-eight,  the  Beaver  of  fourteen, 
the  Senegal  of  fourteen,  the  Boreta  of 
ten,  and  several  armed  schooners,  came 
to  anchor  with  springs  on  their  cables, 
with  their  guns  ready  shotted,  and  their 
broadsides  covering1  the  town. 

O 

Resistance  was  expected,  but  none 
offered;  and,  on  the  following  day,  the 
1st  of  October,  1708,  Colonel  Dairy  in- 


CHAP  IV.] 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  STORM  INCREASING. 


191) 


pie  landed  tlie  two  regiments  lie  had 
brought  with  him,  the  twenty-seventh 
and  the  fourteenth,  who,  with  train  of 
artillery  and  all,  did  not  much  exceed 
seven  hundred  men.  They  marched 
from  the  landing-place  up  to  the  com 
mon  on  the  outside  of  Boston,  with 
drums  beating,  fifes  playing,  and  colors 
flying. 

In  the  evening  the  town-council  was 
again  required  to  quarter  the  two  regi 
ments  in  the  town,  and  again  they  re 
fused,  quoting  charters  and  acts  of  par 
liament.  One  of  the  regiments,  who 
had  brought  with  them  no  tents  or 

o 

camp-equipage  of  any  kind,  were  per 
mitted,  or,  which  is  more  probable,  took 
permission  themselves,  to  occupy  Fa- 
neuil  Hall ;  the  other  regiment  lay  out 
all  night  on  the  cold  common.  The 
following  being  the  Lord's  day,  no  busi 
ness  could  be  done  ;  and  the  puritanical 
Bostonians  were  seriously  annoyed  at 
the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath-day  by 
drums  and  fifes — sounds  hitherto  un 
known  on  that  day  in  the  provinces  of 
New  England. 

Pressed  by  Colonel  Dalrymple  and 
his  officers,  the  governor,  towards  even 
ing,  ordered  the  State  House  to  be 
opened  to  the  regiment  which  was  en 
camped  on  the  common.  The  soldiers 
instantly  came  in  and  took  possession  of 
every  part  of  that  public  building  ex 
cept  the  great  council-chamber.  Two 
field-pieces  were  placed  in  front  of  the 
edifice,  and  the  main  guard  was  posted 
at  a  few  yards1  distance. 

These   proceedings   excited  deep  re 


sentment,  and  caused,  besides,  many  in 
conveniences  ;  for  the  lower  part  of  the 
State  House  had  been  used  by  the  mer 
chants  as  an  exchange,  and  the  members 
of  the  town-council  could  no  longer  get 

O  O 

to  their  hall  to  transact  their  business 
without  passing  through  files  of  soldiers. 
Having  thus  obtained  quarters,  the  gov 
ernor  and  Colonel  Dalrymple  required 
the  council  to  provide  barrack  provi 
sions,  as  regulated  by  the  mutiny-act. 
The  council  resolutely  replied  that  they 
would  furnish  nothing,  and  do  nothing 

o '  o 

that  might  be  construed  into  a  submis 
sion  to  that  obnoxious  law. 

For  the  present,  the  Bostonians  and 
their  neighbors  suppressed  their  vindic 
tive  feelings ;  but  the  tranquillity  was 
every  moment  exposed  to  the  chances 
of  sudden  interruption  and  bloodshed : 
every  one  of  them  looked  upon  the  sol 
diers  as  forcible  intruders,  slavish  instru 
ments  of  tyranny,  men  without  faith  or 
morals;  and  every  soldier  had  been 
taught  to  consider  the  colonists  as  smug- 

O  O 

glers,  canting  hypocrites,  and  rebels  to 
a  most  gracious  king. 

o  O 

At  the  same  time,  all  possible  care 
was  taken  by  the  Bostonians  to  impart 
a  highly-colored  picture  of  the  injuries 
and  insults  they  endured  to  every  part 
of  British  America,  Philadelphia,  which 
had  hitherto  been  inclined  to  modera 
tion  and  compromises,  now  spoke  in  a 
louder  tone  ;  and  other  towns  which  had 
been  violent  from  the  beginning,  now 
became  still  more  decided  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  the  acts  of  parliament. 

Meanwhile  the   storrn  thickened  at 


200 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


Boston.  At  the  end  of  May,  the  As 
sembly  being  called  together,  a  commit 
tee  from  the  House  of  Representatives 
remonstrated  with  the  governor,  com 
plaining  of  an  armament  investing  their 
metropolis,  of  the  military  guard,  of 
cannon  pointed  at  the  door  of  their 
State  House,  and  requesting  his  excel 
lency,  as  his  majesty's  representative,  to 
efive  effectual  orders  for  the  removal  of 

o 

the  ships  and  troops.  Governor  Ber 
nard,  who  had  certainly  become  less 
courteous  since  the  arrival  of  the  arma 
ment,  replied  dryly,  "  Gentlemen,  I 
have  no  authority  over  his  majesty's 
ships  in  this  port,  or  over  his  troops 
within  this  town." 

A  few  days  after,  the  House  declared 
that  the  use  of  the  military  power  to 
enforce  the  execution  of  the  laws  was 
inconsistent  with  the  smrit  of  a  free  con- 

.A 

stitution,  and  that  they  would  not  do 
any  business,  surrounded  as  they  were 
with  an  armed  force,  threatening  their 
privileges  and  their  personal  security. 
The  governor  thought  to  remove  the 
latter  strong  objection,  by  adjourning 
the  Assembly  to  Cambridge,  a  village 
situated  at  a  distance  of  three  miles 
from  Boston,  in  which  there  were  no 
troops.  But  they  were  not  likely  to  be 
more  compliant  at  Cambridge  than  they 


had  been  at  Boston.  They  voted, 
"That  the  establishment  of  a  standing 
army  in  this  colony,  in  time  of  peace,  is 
an  invasion  of  natural  rights;  that  a 
standing  army  is  not  known  as  a  part 
of  the  British  constitution  ;  that  sending 

o 

an  armed  force  into  the  colony,  under  a 
pretence  of  assisting  the  civil  authority, 
is  highly  dangerous  to  the  people,  un 
precedented,  and  unconstitutional." 

They  refused  to  make  any  provision 
for  the  troops,  and  they  were  thereupon 
prorogued  by  the  governor,  to  meet  at 
Boston  in  the  month  of  January.  1770. 

The  king,  to  testify  his  approbation, 
created  Governor  Bernard  a  baronet, 
and  took  upon  himself  the  whole  ex 
pense  of  passing  the  patent.  Sir  Fran 
cis  left  the  colony  on  the  1st  of  August 
as  poor  as  when  he  came  there  eleven 
years  before,  and  followed  by  fe\v  re 
grets.  His  departure  for  England  was 
signalized  in  Boston  by  public  rejoic 
ings,  the  firing  of  cannon,  bonfires,  ring 
ing  of  bells,  and  display  of  flags.* 


0  Mr.  Bancroft,  in  his  "  Hi:  tory  of  the  United  States," 
gives  Governor  I'rrnard  a  very  bad  diameter,  charging 
him  with  avarice,  duplicity,  and  had  faith  towards  his 
own  government  as  well  as  the  colonists.  His  had  con 
duct  in  the  government  was  ultimately  serviceable,  how 
ever,  by  widening  the  breac  h  between  the  colonists  and 
the  mother  country. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  IV. 


[A.] 
CHARLES  TOWNSIIEXD. 

Tins  statesman  became  very  conspicuous 
among  the  contemporaries  of  Washington,  by 
originating  the  duties  on  tea,  painters'  colors, 
itc.,  which  caused  so  much  trouble.  He  was 
the  second  son  of  Charles,  the  third  Viscount 
Townshend  ;  and  was  born  on  the  29th  of  Au 
gust,  1725.  lie  evinced  great  quickness  of  con 
ception  and  extraordinary  curiosity  in  his  child 
hood  :  at  school  and  college, — although  noto 
rious  for  his  utter  defiance  of  discipline, — he 
was  eminent  for  his  acquirements  in  various 
branches  of  knowledge.  In  1747,  he  went  into 
parliament  as  member  for  Yarmouth,  for  which 
place  he  sat  until  1701,  when  he  was  elected  for 
Harwich,  and  continued  its  representative  until 
he  died. 

On  his  entrance  into  public  life  he  joined  the 
opposition  ;  but  his  political  connections  soon 
brought  him  into  office.  In  June,  1749,  he  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  of  trade  and  planta 
tions  ;  in  the  following  year,  a  commissioner  for 
executing  the  office  of  lord  high  admiral  ;  in 
1750,  a  member  of  the  privy-council  ;  in  March, 
1701,  secretary  at  war;  in  February,  1703,  first 
lord  of  trade  and  plantations;  in  June,  1765, 
paymaster-general  and  chancellor  of  the  ex- 
(•hequcr  ;  and  a  lord  of  the  treasury  in  August, 
1  700,  from  which  period  he  remained  in  office 
until  his  decease,  which  took  place  on  the  4th 
of  September,  1707. 

In  person  Charles  Townshend  was  tall  and 
beautifully  proportioned  ;  his  countenance  was 
manly,  handsome,  expressive,  and  prepossessing. 
He  was  much  beloved  in  private  life,  and  en 
joyed  an  unusual  share  of  domestic  happiness. 
On  the  15th  of  August,  1755,  he  married  Caro- 
VOL.  L— 26 


line,  eldest  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  and 
widow  of  Francis,  Earl  of  Dalkeith,  by  whom 
he  had  two  sons  and  a  daughter.     His  conduct 
as  a  husband  and  a  father  is  said  to  have  been- 
exceedingly  amiable. 

Burke,  in  his  speech  on  American  taxation, 
thus  admirably  depicted  the  general  character 
of  Charles  Townshend:  "Before  this  splendid 
orb  (alluding  to  the  great  Lord  Chatham)  had 
entirely  set,  and  while  the  western  horizon  was 
in  a  blaze  with  his  descending  glorv,  on  the 

O       O  *    ' 

opposite  quarter  of  the  heavens  arose  another 
luminary,  and  for  his  hour  became  lord  of  the 
ascendant.  This  light,  too,  is  passed  and  set 
forever.  I  speak  of  Charles  Townshend,  offi 
cially  the  reproducer  of  this  fatal  scheme  (Amer 
ican  taxation)  ;  whom  I  cannot  even  now  re 
member  without  some  degree  of  sensibility.  In 
truth,  he  was  the  light  and  ornament  of  this 
House,  and  the  charm  of  every  private  society 
which  he  honored  with  his  presence.  Perhaps 
there  never  arose  in  this  country,  nor  in  any 
country,  a  man  of  more  pointed  and  finished 
wit,  and  (where  his  passions  were  not  con 
cerned)  of  a  more  refined,  exquisite,  and  pene 
trating  judgment.  If  he  had  not  so  great  a 
stock,  as  some  have  had  who  flourished  formerly, 
of  knowledge  long  treasured  up,  he  knew  better 
by  far  than  any  man  I  ever  was  acquainted  with, 
how  to  bring  together,  within  a  short  time,  all 

O  O  * 

that  was  necessary  to  establish,  to  illustrate,  and 
to  decorate  that  side  of  the  question  he  sup 
ported.  He  stated  his  matter  skilfully  and 
powerfully  ;  he  particularly  excelled  in  a  most 
luminous  explanation  and  display  of  his  subject. 
His  style  of  argument  was  neither  trite  and  vul 
gar,  nor  subtle  and  abstruse.  He  hit  the  House 
just  between  wind  and  water ;  and  not  being 
troubled  with  too  anxious  a  zeal  for  any  matter 


l>02 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


in  question,  he  \v:is  never  more  tedious  or  more 
earnest  than  tlie  preconceived  opinions  and 
present  temper  of  his  hearers  required,  with 
whom  he  was  always  in  perfect  unison.  He 
conformed  exactly  to  the  temper  of  the  House, 
and  lie  seemed  to  guide,  because  lie  was  always 
sure  to  follow  it.  Many  of  my  hearers  who 
never  saw  that  prodigy,  Charles  Townshend, 
cannot  know  what  a  ferment  he  was  able  to  ex 
cite  in  every  thing,  by  the  violent  ebullition  of 
his  mixed  virtues  and  failings ;  for  failings  he 
had  undoubtedly.  But  he  had  no  failings  which 
were  not  owing  to  a  noble  cause,  to  an  ardent, 
generous,  perhaps  an  immoderate  passion  for 
fame — a  passion  which  is  the  instinct  of  all  great 
souls.  He  Avorshipped  that  goddess  whereso 
ever  she  appeared  ;  but  he  paid  his  particular 
devotions  to  her  iu  her  favorite  habitation, — in 
her  chosen  temple,  the  House  of  Commons. 
That  fear  of  displeasing  those  who  ought  most 
to  he  pleased,  betrayed  him  sometimes  into  the 
oilier  extreme.  He  had  voted,  and,  in  the  year 
1705,  had  been  an  advocate  for  the  stamp-act. 
lie  therefore  attended  at  the  private  meeting  in 
which  resolutions  leading  to  its  repeal  were 
settled  ;  and  he  -would  have  spoken  for  that 
measure  too,  if  illness  had  not  prevented  him. 
Tiie  very  next  session,  as  the  fashion  of  this 
world  passeth  away,  the  repeal  began  to  be  in 
as  bad  odor  as  the  stamp-act  had  been  before. 
To  conform  to  the  temper  which  began  to  pre 
vail,  and  to  prevail  mostly  among  those  most  in 
power,  he  declared  that  revenue  must  be  had 
out  of  America.  Instantly  he  was  tied  down  to 
his  engagements, — and  the  whole  body  of  cour 
tiers  drove  him  onward.  Here  this  extraor 
dinary  man,  then  chancellor  of  the  exchequer, 
found  himself  in  great  straits  :  to  please  univer 
sally  was  the  object  of  his  life  ;  but  to  tax  and 
to  please,  no  more  than  to  love  and  be  wise,  is 
not  given  to  men.  However,  he  attempted  it. 
He  was  truly  the  child  of  the  House.  lie  never 
thought,  did,  or  said  any  thing,  but  with  a  view 
to  you.  lie  every  day  adjusted  himself  to  your 
disposition,  and  adjusted  himself  before  it  as  at 
a  looking-glass.  lie  had  observed  that  several 
persons, — infinitely  his  inferiors  in  all  respects, — 
had  formerly  rei  lered  themselves  considerable 
in  this  House  by  one  method  alone.  The  for 


tune  of  such  men  was  a  temptation  too  great  to 
be  resisted  by  one  to  whom  a  single  whiff  of  in 
cense  withheld  gave  much  greater  pain  than  he 
received  delight  in  the  clouds  of  it  which  daily 
rose  around  him  from  the  prodigal  superstition 
of  innumerable  admirers.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  contradictory  honors  ;  and  his  great  aim  was 
to  make  those  agree  in  admiration  of  him  who 
never  agreed  in  any  thing  else." 


[B.] 
JOHN  DICKINSON. 

John  Dickinson  was  a  distinguished  political 
writer  and  friend  of  his  country.  lie  was  the 
son  of  Samuel  Dickinson,  Esq.,  of  Delaware. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  in  17G4,  and  of  the  General  Congress,  in 
176-5.  In  November,  1707,  he  began  to  publish 
his  celebrated  letters  against  the  acts  of  the 
British  parliament,  laying  duties  on  paper,  glass, 
tfco.  They  supported  the  liberties  of  his  coun 
try,  and  contributed  much  to  the  American 
Revolution.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  first 
Congress,  in  1774,  and  the  petition  to  the  king, 
which  was  adopted  at  this  time,  and  is  con 
sidered  as  an  elegant  composition,  was  written 
by  him. 

He  was  the  author  of  the  declaration  adopted 
by  the  Congress  of  1775,  setting  forth  the  causes 
and  necessity  of  their  taking  up  arms,  which 
declaration  was  directed  to  be  published  by 
General  Washington,  upon  his  arrival  at  the 
camp  before  Boston,  in  July,  1775.  He  also 
wrote  the  second  petition  to  the  king,  adopted 
by  the  same  Congress,  stating  the  merits  of  their 
claims,  and  soliciting  the  royal  interposition  for 
an  accommodation  of  differences  on  just  princi 
ples.  These  several  addresses  were  executed  in 
a  masterly  manner,  and  were  well  calculated  to 
make  friends  to  the  colonies.  But  their  petition 
to  the  king,  which  was  drawn  up  at  the  same 
time,  produced  more  solid  advantages  in  favor 
of  the  American  cause,  than  any  other  of  their 
productions.  This  was,  in  a  great  measure, 
carried  through  Congress  by  Mr.  Dickinson. 
Several  members,  judging  from  the  violence 
with  which  parliament  proceeded  against  the 


CilAP.    IV.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


203 


colonies,  were  of  opinion  tlint  furtlier  petitions 
were  nugatory  ;  but  this  worthy  citi/.en,  a  friend 
to  l;oth  countries,  and  devoted  to  a  reconcilia 
tion  on  <  onstitntional  principles,  urged  the  expe 
diency  and  policy  of  trving,  once  more,  the 
effect  of  an  humble,  decent,  and  linn  petition, 
to  the  common  head  of  the  empire.  The  high 
opinion  that  was  conceived  of  his  patriotism  and 
abilities,  induced  the  members  to  assent  to  the 
measure,  though  they  generally  conceived  it  to 
be  labor  lost. 

In  .Time,  17 70,  ho  opposed  openly,  and  upon 
principle,  the  declaration  of  independence,  when 
the1  motion  was  considered  by  Congress.  His 
arguments  were  answered  bv  John  Adams, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  and  others,  who 
advocated  a  separation  from  Great  Britain. 
The  part  which  Mr.  Dickinson  took  in  this  de 
bate  occasioned  his  recall  from  Congress,  as  his 
constituents  did  not  coincide  with  him  in  politi 
cal  views,  and  he  was  absent  several  years. 
Perceiving,  at  length,  that  his  countrymen  were 
unalterably  fixed  in  their  system  of  indepen 
dence,  he  fell  in  with  it,  and  was  as  zealous  in 
supporting  it  in  Congress,  about  the  year  1780, 
as  any  of  the  members.  He  was  President  of 
Pennsylvania  from  November,  1782,  to  October, 
]  785,  and  was  succeeded  in  this  oflice  by  Dr. 
Franklin.  Soon  after  1785,  it  is  believed,  he 
removed  to  Delaware,  by  which  State  he  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  old  Congress,  and 
of  which  State  he  was  president. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  address 
of  Congress  to  the  several  States,  dated  May 
20,  1779,  which  was  also  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Dickinson  : 

"Infatuated  as  your  enemies  have  been  from 
the  beginning  of  this  contest,  do  you  imagine 
they  can  now  flatter  themselves  with  a  hope  of 
conquering  you,  unless  you  are  false  to  your 
selves? 

When  unprepared,  undisciplined,  and  un 
supported,  yon  opposed  their  fleets  and  armies 
in  full  conjoined  force,  then,  if  at  any  time,  was 
conquest  to  be  apprehended.  Yet,  what  pro 
gress  towards  it  have  their  violent  and  incessant 
efforts  made  ?  Judge  from  their  own  conduct. 
Having  devoted  yon  to  bondage,  and  after  vainly 
wasting  their  blood  and  treasure  in  the  dishon 


orable  enterprise,  they  deigned  at  length  to 
offer  terms  of  accommodation,  with  respectful 
addresses,  to  that  once  despised  body  the  Con 
gress,  whose  humble  supplications  only  for  peace, 
liberty,  and  safety,  they  had  contemptuously  re 
jected,  under  pretence  of  its  being  an  unconsti 
tutional  assembly.  Nay,  more,  desirous  of  se 
ducing  you  into  a  deviation  from  the  paths  of 
rectitude,  from  which  they  had  so  far  and  so 
rashly  wandered,  they  made  most  specious  offers 
to  tempt  you  into  a  violation  of  your  faith  given 
to  your  illustrious  ally.  Their  arts  were  as  un 
availing  as  their  arms.  Foiled  again,  and  stung 
with  rage,  embittered  by  envy,  they  had  no 
alternative  but  to  renounce  the  inglorious  and 
ruinous  controversy,  or  to  resume  their  former 
modes  of  prosecuting  it.  They  chose  the  latter. 
Again  the  savages  are  stimulated  to  horrid  mas. 
sacrcs  of  women  and  children,  and  domestics  to 
the  murder  of  their  masters.  Again  our  brave 
and  unhappy  brethren  are  doomed  to  miserable 
deaths  in  jails  and  prison-ships.  To  complete 
the  sanguinary  system,  all  the  '  KXTKKMITIKS  of 
war'  are  by  authority  denounced  against  you. 

Piously  endeavor  to  derive  this  consolation 
from  their  remorseless  fury,  that  'the  Father  of 
Mercies'  looks  down  with  disapprobation  on 
such  audacious  defiances  of  his  holy  laws ;  and 
be  further  comforted  with  recollecting  that  the 
arms  assumed  by  you  in  your  righteous  cause 
have  not  been  sullied  by  any  unjustifiable  se 
verities. 

Your  enemies  despairing,  however,  as  it 
seems,  of  the  success  of  their  united  forces 
against  our  main  army,  have  divided  them,  as  if 
their  design  was  to  harass  you  by  predatory, 
desultory  operations.  If  you  are  assiduous  in 
improving  opportunities,  Saratoga  may  not  be 
the  only  spot  on  this  continent  to  give  a  new 
denomination  to  the  bafiled  troops  of  a  nation, 
impiously  priding  herself  in  notions  of  her  om 
nipotence. 

Rouse  yourselves,  therefore,  that  this  cam 
paign  may  finish  the  great  work  you  have  so 
nobly  carried  on  for  several  years  past.  What 
nation  ever  engaged  in  such  a  contest  under 
such  a  complication  of  disadvantages,  so  soon 
surmounted  many  of  them,  and  in  so  short  a 
period  of  time  had  so  certain  a  prospect  of  3 


204 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  III. 


speedy  and  happy  conclusion  ?  We  will  venture 
to  pronounce,  that  so  remarkable  an  instance 
exists  not  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  We  well 
remember  what  you  said  at  the  commencement 
of  this  war.  You  saw  the  immense  difference 
between  your  circumstances  and  those  of  your 
enemies,  and  you  knew  the  quarrel  must  decide 
on  no  less  than  your  lives,  liberties,  and  estates. 
All  these  you  greatly  put  to  every  hazard,  re 
solving  rather  to  die  freemen  than  to  live  slaves ; 
and  justice  will  oblige  the  impartial  world,  to 
confess  you  have  uniformly  acted  on  the  same 
generous  principle.  Consider  how  much  yon 
have  done,  and  how  comparatively  little  remains 
to  be  done,  to  crown  you  with  success.  Perse 
vere,  and  you  insure  peace,  freedom,  safety, 
glory,  sovereignty,  and  felicity  to  yourselves, 
your  children,  and  your  children's  children. 

Encouraged  by  favors  already  received  from 
Infinite  Goodness,  gratefully  acknowledging 
them,  earnestly  imploring  their  continuance, 
constantly  endeavoring  to  draw  them  down  on 
your  heads  by  an  amendment  of  your  lives,  and 
a  conformity  to  the  Divine  will,  humbly  con 
fiding  in  the  protection  so  often  and  wonder 
fully  experienced,  vigorously  employ  the  means 
placed  by  Providence  in  your  hands,  for  com 
pleting  your  labors. 

Fill  up  your  battalions;  be  prepared  in  every 
part  to  repel  the  incursions  of  your  enemies; 
place  your  several  quotas  in  the  continental 


trcasiii-y;  lend  money  for  public  uses;  sink  the 
emissions  of  your  respective  States;  provide 
effectually  for  expediting  the  conveyance  of  sup 
plies  for  your  armies  and  lleets,  and  for  your 
allies;  prevent  the  produce  of  the  country  from 
being  monopolized;  effectually  superintend  tin- 
behavior  of  public  officers;  diligently  promote 
piety,  virtue,  brotherly  love,  learning,  frugality, 
and  moderation ;  and  may  you  be  approved  be 
fore  Almighty  God  worthy  of  those  blessings 
we  devoutly  wish  you  to  enjoy.1" 

lie  was  distinguished  by  his  strength  of  mind, 
miscellaneous  knowledge,  and  cultivated  taste, 
which  were  united  with  an  habitual  eloquence  ; 
with  an  elegance  of  manners,  and  a  benignity 
which  made  him  the  delight  as  well  as  the  orna 
ment  of  society.  The  infirmities  of  declining 
years  had  detached  him  long  before  his  death 
from  the  busy  scenes  of  life;  but  in  retirement 
his  patriotism  felt  no  abatement.  The  welfare 
of  his  country  was  ever  dear  to  him,  and  he  was 
ready  to  make  any  sacrifices  for  its  promotion. 
Unequivocal  in  his  attachment  to  a  republican 
government,  he  invariably  supported,  as  far  as 
his  voice  could  have  influence,  those  men  and 
those  measures,  which  he  believed  most  friendly 
to  republican  principles.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  was  esteemed  for  his 
uprightness  and  the  purity  of  his  morals,  lie 
died  at  Wilmington,  in  the  State  of  Delaware, 
February  15,  1808,  at  an  advanced  age. 


CHAPTER    Y. 

1769. 

WASHINGTON'S    PLAN    OF    ASSOCIATION. 

"The  associations  for  non-importation. — Washington's  support  of  the  system. — His  letter  to  George  Mason  on  that 
subject.  —  Mason's  reply.  —  Washington's  scheme  for  an  association  in  Virginia. — Lord  Botetonrt  governor  of 
Virgin!. i. — His  popularity.  —  Proceedings  in  the  British  parliament. — More  coercion  to  be  employed  against  the 
colonies. — Offenders  against  the  revenue  laws  to  be  sent  to  England  for  trial. — Colonial  commentaries  on  these 
proceedings. — The  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia  meet,  and  pass  high-spirited  resolutions  on  the  proceedings  of 
the  British  parliament.  —  Lord  Botetourt  dissolves  the  Assembly. — The  House  reassembles  and  adopts  the  scheme 
of  association  planned  by  Washington  and  Mason,  and  now  offered  to  the  House  by  Washington. — Pennsylvania 
and  the  Southern  States  follow  the  example  of  Virginia. 


IT  will  li:ive  been  observed  by  the 

reader,  that  the  principal  means  upon 
which  the  colonists  relied  for  coercing 
the  British  government  into  a  repeal  of 
Townshend's  oppressive  revenue  bill, 
was  the  forming  of  associations  bound 

o  ' 

by  voluntary  engagement,  not  to  import 
or  use  the  articles  which  were  loaded 
with  the  obnoxious  duty.  This  was 
more  efficient  than  petitions  and  remon 
strances,  or  even  mobs  and  riots  in  re 
sistance  to  the  law.  It  was  carrying  the 
war  into  the  enemy's  country  by  bring 
ing  loss  and  distress  on  British  maim- 

O 

factnrers  and  merchants,  and  thus  ren 
dering  the  revenue  laws  unpopular  in 
the  mother  country. 

This  non-importation  system  was  cor 
dially  approved  by  Washington,  as  we 
shall  presently  see.  He  and  his  friend, 
George  Mason,  were  in  favor  of  going 
a  step  farther,  and  establishing  what 
would  nearly  have  amounted  to  com 


plete  non-intercourse  with  England,  by 
refusing  to  export  to  that  country  the 
commodities  which  they  were  accus 
tomed  to  receive  from  this  country,  and 
especially  tobacco,  from  which  the  Brit 
ish  government  derived  an  immense 
revenue. 

Washington,  writing  to  George  Ma 
son  under  date  of  January  29th,  1767, 
thus  expresses  himself: 

"  At  a  time  when  our  lordly  masters 
in  Great  Britain  will  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  less  than  the  deprivation  of 
American  freedom,  it  seems  highly  ne 
cessary  that  something  should  be  done 
to  avert  the  stroke,  and  maintain  the 
liberty  which  we  have  derived  from  our 
ancestors.  But  the  manner  of  doing  it, 
to  answer  the  purpose  effectually,  is  the 
point  in  question. 

That  no  man  should  scruple,  or  hesi 
tate  a  moment,  to  use  arms  in  defence 
of  so  valuable  a  blessing,  is  clearly  my 


201) 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


III. 


opinion.  Yet  anus,  I  would  beg  leave 
to  add,  should  be  the  last  resource,  the 
dernier  report.  We  have  already,  it  is 
said,  proved  the  ineffioacy  of  addresses 
to  the  throne,  and  remonstrances  to 
parliament.  How  far,  then,  their  atten 
tion  to  our  rights  and  privileges  is  to  be 
awakened  or  alarmed,  by  starving  their 
trade  and  manufacturers,  remains  to  be 
tried. 

The  northern  colonies,  it  appears,  are 
endeavoring  to  adopt  this  scheme.  In 
my  opinion  it  is  a  good  one,  and  must 
be  attended  with  salutary  effects,  pro 
vided  it  can  be  carried  pretty  generally 
into  execution.  But  to  what  extent  it 
is  practicable  to  do  so,  I  will  not  take 
upon  me  to  determine.  That  there  will 
1>e  a  difficulty  attending  the  execution 
of  it  everywhere,  from  clashing  interests, 
and  selfish,  designing  men,  ever  attentive 
to  their  own  gain,  and  watchful  of  every 
turn  that  can  assist  their  lucrative  views, 
cannot  be  denied ;  and  in  the  tobacco 
colonies,  where  the  trade  is  so  diffused, 
and  in  a  manner  wholly  conducted  by 
factors  for  their  principals  at  home  (in 
England),  these  difficulties  are  certainly 
enhanced,  but  I  think  not  insurmount 
ably  increased,  if  the  gentlemen  in  their 
several  counties  will  be  at  some  pains 
to  explain  matters  to  the  people,  and 
stimulate  them  to  cordial  agreements  to 
purchase  none  but  certain  enumerated 
articles  out  of  any  of  the  stores  after  a 
definite  period,  and  neither  import  nor 
purchase  any  themselves.  This,  if  it 
should  not  effectually  withdraw  the  fac 
tors  from  their  importations,  would  at 


least  make  them  extremely  cautious  in 
doing  it,  as  the  prohibited  goads  could 
be  vended  to  none  but  the  non-assoL-ia- 
tors,  or  those  who  would  pay  no  regard 
to  their  association;  both  of  wham 
ouodit  to  be  stigmatized,  and  made  the 

O  O 

objects  of  public  reproach. 

The  more  I  consider  a  scheme  of  this 
sort,  the  more  ardently  I  wish  success 
to  it,  because  I  think  there  are  private 
as  well  as  public  advantages  to  result 
from  it — the  former  certain,  however 
precarious  the  other  may  prove.  In  re 
spect  to  the  latter,  I  have  always  thought 
that,  by  virtue  of  the  same  power  which 
assumes  the  right  of  taxation,  the  par 
liament  may  attempt,  at  least,  to  restrain 
our  manufacturers,  especially  those  of  a 
public  nature,  the  same  equity  and  jus 
tice  prevailing  in  the  one  case  as  the 
other,  it  being  no  greater  hardship  to 
forbid  my  manufacturing,  than  it  is  to 
order  me  to  buy  goods  loaded  with  du 
ties,  for  the  express  purpose  of  raising  a 
revenue.  But  as  a  measure  of  this  sort 
would  be  an  additional  exertion  of  ar 
bitrary  power,  we  cannot  be  placed  in 
a  worse  condition,  I  think,  by  putting  it 
to  the  test. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  the  colonies 
are  considerably  indebted  to  Great 
Britain,  is  a  truth  universally  acknowl 
edged.  That  many  families  are  reduced 
almost,  if  not  quite,  to  penury  and  want 
by  the  low  ebb  of  their  fortunes,  and 
that  estates  are  selling  for  the  discharge 

O  O 

of  debts,  the  public  papers  furnish  too 
many  melancholy  proofs.  That  a  scheme 
of  this  sort  will  contribute  more  effect- 


CHAP.  V.I 


WASHINGTON'S  PLAN  OF  ASSOCIATION. 


20? 


uallv  than  any  other  that  can  he  de- 

*/  \j 

vised  to  extricate  the  country  from  the 
distress  it  at  present  hibors  under,  I 
most  firmly  "believe,  if  it  can  he  gen 
erally  adopted.  And  I  can  see  hut  one 
class  of  people,  the  merchants  excepted, 
who  will  not,  or  ought  not,  to  wish  well 
to  the  scheme,  namely,  they  who  live 
genteelly  and  hospitably  on  clear  estates. 
Such  as  these,  were  they  not  to  consider 
the  valuable  object  in  view,  and  the 
good  of  others,  might  think  it  hard  to 
be  curtailed  in  their  living  and  enjoy 
ments.  As  to  the  penurious  man,  he 
would  thereby  save  his  money  and  his 
credit,  having  the  best  plea  for  doing 
tli.it,  which  before,  perhaps,  he  had  the 
most  violent  struggles  to  refrain  from 
doing.  The  extravagant  and  expensive 
man  has  the  same  good  plea  to  retrench 
his  expenses.  He  would  be  furnished 
with  a  pretext  to  live  within  bounds, 
and  embrace  it.  Prudence  dictated 
economy  before,  but  his  resolution  was 
too  weak  to  put  it  in  practice ;  '  For 
how  can  I,'  says  he,  '  who  have  lived  in 
such  and  such  a  manner,  change  my 
method  ?  I  am  ashamed  to  do  it,  and, 
besides,  such  an  alteration  in  the  system 
of  my  living  will  create  suspicions  of  the 
decay  of  my  fortune,  and  such  a  thought 
the  world  must  not  harbor.'  He  con 
tinues  his  course,  till  at  last  his  estate 
comes  to  an  end,  a  sale  of  it  being  the  con 
sequence  of  his  perseverance  in  error. 
This,  I  am  satisfied,  is  the  way  that  many 
who  have  set  out  in  the  wronsr  track  have 

O 

reasoned,  till  ruin  has  stared  them  in 
the  face.  And  in  respect  to  the  needy 


man,  he  is  only  left  in  the  same  situa 
tion  that  he  is  found  in — better,  I  may 
say,  because,  as  he  judges  from  compar 
ison,  his  condition  is  amended  in  pro 
portion  as  it  approaches  nearer  to  those 
above  him. 

Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  I  think 
the  scheme  a  good  one,  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  tried  here,  with  such  alterations  as 
our  circumstances  render  absolutely  ne 
cessary.  But  in  what  manner  to  begin 
the  work  is  a  matter  worthy  of  consid 
eration.  Whether  it  can  be  attempted 
with  propriety  or  efficacy,  further  than 
a  communication  of  sentiments  to  one 
another,  before  May,  when  the  Court 
and  Assembly  will  meet  at  Williams 
burg,  and  a  uniform  plan  can  be  con 
certed,  and  sent  into  the  different  comi 
ties  to  operate  at  the  same  time,  and  in 
the  same  manner,  everywhere,  is  a  thing 
upon  which  I  am  somewhat  in  doubt, 
and  I  should  be  glad  to  know  your 
opinion.1"'" 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  Mr. 
Mason's  reply  to  this  letter,  dated  the 
same  day : 

"  I  entirely  agree  with  you,  that  no 
regular  plan  of  the  sort  proposed  can  he 
entered  into  here,  before  the  meeting  of 
the  General  Court  at  least,  if  not  of  the 
Assembly.  In  the  mean  time,  it  may  be 
necessary  to  publish  something  prepara 
tory  to  it  in  our  gazettes,  to  warn  the 
people  of  the  impending  danger,  and  in 
duce  them  the  more  readily  and  cheer 
fully  to  concur  in  the  proper  measures  to 

°  Sparks,  Writings  r>f  Waehington,  vol.  ii.  p.  351. 


208 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


avert  it ;  and  something  of  this  sort  I 
had  begun,  but  am  unluckily  stopped 
by  a  disorder,  which  affects  my  head 
and  eyes.  As  soon  as  I  am  able  I 
shall  resume  it,  and  then  write  you  more 
fully,  or  endeavor  to  see  you.  In  the 
mean  time,  pray  commit  to  writing  such 
hints  as  may  occur. 

Our  all  is  at  stake,  and  the  little  con 
veniences  and  comforts  of  life,  when  set 
in  competition  with  our  liberty,  ought 
to  be  rejected,  not  with  reluctance,  but 
with  pleasure.  Yet,  it  is  plain,  that  in 
the  tobacco  colonies  we  cannot  at  pres 
ent  confine  our  importations  within  such 
narrow  bounds  as  the  northern  colonies. 
A  plan  of  this  kind,  to  be  practicable, 
must  be  adapted  to  our  circumstances ; 
for  if  not  steadily  executed,  it  had  bet 
ter  have  remained  unattempted.  We 
may  retrench  all  manner  of  superfluities, 
finery  of  all  descriptions,  and  confine 
ourselves  to  linens,  woollens,  <fec.,  not 
exceeding  a  certain  price.  It  is  amazing 
how  much  this  practice,  if  adopted  in 
all  the  colonies,  would  lessen  the  Amer 
ican  imports,  and  distress  the  various 
traders  and  manufacturers  in  Great 
Britain. 

This  would  awaken  their  attention. 
They  would  see,  they  would  feel,  the 
oppressions  we  groan  under,  and  exert 
themselves  to  procure  us  redress.  This 
once  obtained,  we  should  no  longer  dis- 

'  O 

continue  our  importations,  confining  our 
selves  still  not  to  import  any  article  that 
should  hereafter  be  taxed  by  act  of  par 
liament  for  raising  a  revenue  in  Amer 
ica  ;  for,  however  singular  I  may  be  in 


my  opinion,  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that,  justice  and  harmony  happily  re 
stored,  it  is  not  the  interest  of  these 
colonies  to  refuse  British  manufactures. 
Our  supplying  our  mother  country  with 
gross  materials  and  taking  her  manufac 
tures  in  return,  is  the  true  chain  of  con 
nection  between  us.  These  are  the 
bands,  which,  if  not  broken  by  oppres 
sion,  must  long  hold  us  together,  by 
maintaining  a  constant  reciprocation  of 
interest.  Proper  caution  should,  there 
fore,  l)e  used  in  drawing  up  the  pro 
posed  plan  of  association.  It  may  not 
be  amiss  to  let  the  ministry  understand, 
that  until  we  obtain  a  redress  of  griev- 

'  O 

ances,  we  will  withhold  from  them  our 
commodities,  and  particularly  refrain 
from  making  tobacco,  by  which  the 

O  J 

revenue  would  lose  fifty  times  more 
than  all  their  oppressions  could  raise 
here. 

Had  the  hint,  which  I  have  given 
with  regard  to  taxation  of  goods  im 
ported  into  America,  been  thought  of 
by  our  merchants  before  the  repeal  of 
the  stamp-act,  the  late  American  reve 
nue  acts  would  probably  never  have 
been  attempted."""" 

Mason  was  not  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  at  this  time,  but 
Washington  held  a  seat  in  that  Assem 
bly,  and,  soon  after  expressing  these 
opinions,  he  was  to  support  them  there 
by  public  acts.  The  result  of  this  con 
ference  with  Mason  was  a  scheme,  pre 
pared  by  him  to  be  offered  by  Wash- 

°  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  354,  note. 


CHAP.  V.] 


WASHINGTON'S  PLAN  OF  ASSOCIATION. 


209 


ington,  at  the  coming  session  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses.* 

The  governor  of  Virginia  at  this  time 
was  the  liberal  and  courteous  Lord  Bote- 
tourt.f  Governor  Fauquier,  of  whom 
we  have  frequently  made  mention,  died 
early  in  1768,  and  Lord  Botetourt 
was  his  successor.  He  was  extremely 
anxious  to  promote  a  reconciliation  be 
tween  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 
He  had  become  the  most  popular  of  all 
the  royal  governors,  from  not  seeming 
to  make  the  matter,  at  present  in  dis 
pute,  personal  to  himself,  or  losing  his 
temper,  or  acting  unwisely  or  unjustly 
towards  the  colonies.  As  a  servant  of 
the  crown  he  did  his  duty ;  but  always 
courteously,  and  with  an  honest  en 
deavor  to  allay  excitement  and  prevent 
those  overt  acts,  which  his  position 
would  require  him  to  censure.  We 
shall  presently  see  him  placed  in  cir 
cumstances  which  called  for  the  exer 
cise  of  all  his  good  qualities.  Had  the 
British  parliament  adopted  his  policy 
towards  the  colonists,  the  controversy 
might  have  terminated  peacefully.  But 
the  members  of  this  body  seemed  bent 
upon  sustaining  their  oppressive  system 
by  force. 

In  February,  1769,  both  houses  of 
parliament  went  one  step  be 
yond  all  that  had  preceded. 
They  then  concurred  in  a  joint  address 
to  his  majesty,  in  which  they  expressed 
their  satisfaction  in  the  measures  his 
majesty  had  pursued, — gave  the  strong- 

Q  Bancroft,  History  of  (he  United  States,  vol.  vi.  p.  273. 
f  See  Document  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— '21 


1709. 


est  assurances  that  they  would  effect 
ually  support  him  in  such  further  meas 
ures  as  might  be  found  necessary,  to 
maintain  the  civil  magistrates  in  a  due 
execution  of  the  laws  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  besought  him  "to  direct  the 
governor  to  take  the  most  effectual 
methods  for  procuring  the  fullest  in 
formation  touching  all  treasons,  or  mis- 
prisions  of  treason,  committed  within 
the  government  since  the  30th  day  of 
December,  1767 ;  and  to  transmit  the 
same,  together  with  the  names  of  the 
persons  who  were  most  active  in  the 
commission  of  such  offences,  to  one  of 
the  secretaries  of  state,  in  order  that 
his  majesty  might  issue  a  special  com 
mission  for  inquiring  of,  hearing,  and 
determining  the  said  offences,  within 
the  realm  of  Great  Britain,  pursuant  to 
the  provision  of  the  statute  of  the  35th 
of  King  Henry  the  Eighth."};  The  lat 
ter  part  of  ^Iiis  address,  which  proposed 
the  bringing  of  delinquents  from  Mas 
sachusetts,  to  be  tried  at  a  tribunal  in 
Great  Britain  for  crimes  committed  in 
America,  underwent  many  severe  ani 
madversions. 

It  was  asserted  to  be  totally  inconsis 
tent  with  the  spirit  of  the  constitution  ; 
for  in  England,  a  man  charged  with  a 
crime  had  a  right  to  be  tried  in  the 
county  in  which  his  offence  was  sup 
posed  to  have  been  committed.  "  Jus- 

$  The  real  object  of  this  proposed  revival  of  the  Act 
of  35th  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth,  was  believed  to  be 
the  arrest  of  the  New  England  leaders,  John  Hancock. 
Samuel  Adams,  James  Otis,  Josiah  Quincy,  jr.,  and 
others,  and  their  transportation  to  England,  thus  re 
moving  them  effectually  from  the  scene  of  action. 


210 


LIKE  AND  T01ES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tice  is  regularly  and  impartially  admin 
istered  in  our  courts,"  said  the  colonists, 
"and  yet,  by  direction  of  parliament, 
offenders  are  to  be  taken  by  force,  to 
gether  with  all  such  persons  as  may  be 
pointed  out  as  witnesses,  and  carried  to 
England,  there  to  be  tried  in  a  distant 
land,  by  a  jury  of  strangers,  and  subject 
to  all  the  disadvantages  which  result 
from  want  of  friends,  want  of  witnesses, 
and  want  of  money." 

The  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia 
met  soon  after  official  accounts  of  the 
joint  address  of  Lords  and  Commons  on 
this  subject  reached  America ;  and,  in 
a  few  days  after  their  meeting,  passed 
resolutions*  expressing  "  their  exclusive 
right  to  tax  their  constituents,  and  their 
right  to  petition  their  sovereign  for  re 
dress  of  grievances,  and  the  lawfulness 
of  procuring  the  concurrence  of  the 
other  colonies  in  praying  for  the  royal 
interposition  in  favor  of  the  violated 
rights  of  America ;  and  that  all  trials 
for  treason,  or  for  any  crime  whatso 
ever,  committed  in  that  colony,  ought 
to  be  before  his  majesty's  courts,  writhin 
the  said  colony ;  and  that  the  seizing 
any  person  residing  in  the  said  colony, 
suspected  of  any  crime  whatsoever,  com 
mitted  therein,  and  sending  such  person 
to  places  beyond  the  sea  to  be  tried, 
was  highly  derogatory  of  the  rights  of 
British  subjects."  The  next  day,  Lord 
Botetourt  sent  for  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  and  addressed  them  as  follows : 

0  These  resolution^  were  drafted  by  Thomas  Jefferson, 
who  had  just  been  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses. 


"Mr.  Speaker,  and  gentlemen  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  I  have  heard  ot 
your  reso_ves,  and  augur  ill  of  their 
effects.  You  have  made  it  my  duty  to 
dissolve  you,  and  you  are  dissolved  ac 
cordingly.'^ 

Not  in  the  least  degree  deterred  from 
their  purpose  by  this  act  of  duty  on  the 
part  of  the  governor,  on  the  very  next 
day  the  burgesses  repaired  to  the  Ra 
leigh  tavern,  and  in  a  room  which  bore 
the  name  of  Apollo,  they  entered  into 
the  articles  of  agreement  already  re 
ferred  to  as  Washington  and  Mason's 
scheme,  by  which  they  pledged  their 
honor  not  to  import  British  merchan 
dise  so  long  as  the  acts  of  parliament 
for  raising  a  revenue  in  America  re 
mained  unrepealed. 

Among  the  eighty-eight  signatures  to 
this  Virginia  association  were  those  of 
George  Washington,  Peyton  Randolph, 
Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee, 
Thomas  Jefferson,  and  others  who  after 
wards  took  the  lead  in  the  crreat  strug1- 

O  O 

gle.  On  returning  to  their  respective 
counties,  all  these  Virginia  members  were 
re-elected  for  the  next  Assembly;  and 
the  small  minority  who  had  opposed  the 
resolutions  were  rejected  to  a  man. 

The  gentlemen  and  merchants  of 
Maryland  and  South  Carolina  followed 
the  example  of  Virginia,  and  adopted 
the  articles  of  association.  Pennsyl 
vania,  through  her  merchants,  expressed 
her  approval.  The  Assembly  of  Dela 
ware  adopted  the  Virginia  resolves, 

f  Ramsay,  History  of  the  American  Revolution. 


CHAP.  V.] 


WASHINGTON'S  PLAN  OF  ASSOCIATION. 


"and  every  colony  south  of  Virginia," 
says  Bancroft,  "in  due  time  followed 
the  example." 

Thus  Virginia,  under  the  leading  of 

o  /  o 

Washington,  had  nobly  come  forward 
to  the  aid  of  the  New  England  colonies, 
who  had  recently  borne  the  brunt  of 
parliamentary  indignation.  This  was 
done,  too,  in  defiance  of  the  recent 
threat  of  military  coercion,  and  extra 
dition  of  offenders  against  the  revenue 
acts  for  trial  in  England. 

"  The  non-importation  agreement," 
says  Ramsay,  "was  in  this  manner  for 
warded  by  the  very  measures  which 
were  intended  to  curb  the  spirit  of 
American  freedom,  from  which  it 
sprung.  Meetings  of  the  associators 
were  regularly  held  in  the  various  prov 
inces.  Committees  were  appointed  to 
examine  all  vessels  arriving  from  Brit 


ain.  Censures  were  freely  passed  on 
such  as  refused  to  concur  in  these  asso 
ciations,  and  their  names  published  in 
the  newspapers  as  enemies  to  their  coun 
try.  The  regular  acts  of  the  provincial 
Assemblies  were  not  so  much  respected 
and  obeyed  as  the  decrees  of  these  com 
mittees  ;  the  associations  were  in  gen 
eral  as  well  observed  as  could  be  ex 
pected  ;  but  nevertheless  there  were 
some  collusions.  The  fear  of  mobs,  of 
public  resentment  and  contempt,  co 
operating  with  patriotism,  preponder 
ated  over  private  interest  and  conven 
ience." 

Washington  scrupulously  observed 
this  agreement ;  and  enjoined  upon  his 
London  factor  to  send  him  none  of  the 
interdicted  goods,  unless  the  offensive 
acts  of  parliament  should  in  the  mear 
time  be  repealed. 


DOCUMENT  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  Y. 


LORD  BOTETOURT,  GOVERNOR  OF  VIRGINIA 
FROM  1768  TO  1770. 

NORBORXE  BERKELEY  (Baron  de  Botetourt) 
was  appointed  governor  of  Virginia  in  July, 
1768,  and  arrived  at  Williarasburg  in  October 
of  the  same  year.  On  his  first  arrival,  he  af 
fected  the  style  of  royalty,  going  to  deliver  his 
address  at  the  opening  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  in  a  state  carriage,  and  returning  to  his 
residence  in  the  same  pompous  style  after  the 
opening  speech  was  delivered,  precisely  as  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  opens  the  sessions  of  par 
liament.  He  soon  discovered,  however,  that  the 
colonists,  at  the  time  when  his  government  be 
gan,  were  engaged  in  too  serious  work  to  pay 
any  regard  to  this  amusing  attempt  to  overawe 
them,  and  he  wisely  dropped  the  vice-royal 
style,  and  adopted  the  free,  frank,  and  cordial 
manner,  which  prevailed  among  the  gentlemen 
of  Virginia.  This  change  of  manner,  and  an 
evident  desire  to  serve  the  colony  as  well  as  the 
king  by  conciliatory  measures,  rendered  him 
exceedingly  popular.  His  administration  was 
brought  to  a  speedy  termination  by  his  decease. 
He  died  at  Williamsburg,  October  15th,  1770. 
His  successor,  John  Murray,  Earl  of  Dunmore, 
was  of  a  directly  opposite  character. 

In  Howe's  "Historical  Collections  of  Vir 
ginia"  we  find  an  amusing  account  of  the  recep 
tion  of  Lord  Botetourt  on  his  first  arrival  in 
Virginia,  copied  from  the  Virginia  Gazette 
(October,  1768) : 

"  Last  Tuesday  evening  arrived  at  Hampton 
Roads,  in  eight  weeks  from  Portsmouth,  the 
Rippon  man-of-war,  of  sixty  guns,  Samuel 
Thompson,  Esq.,  commander,  having  on  board 
his  Excellency,  the  Right  Honorable  NOR- 


BORXE,  Baron  de  BOTETOURT,  his  majesty's  lit  i- 
tenant  and  governor-general  of  this  colony  and 
dominion.  Next  morning,  his  Excellency  landed 
at  Little  England,  and  was  saluted  with  a  dis 
charge  of  the  cannon  there.  After  tarrying  a 
few  hours  and  taking  a  repast,  his  Excellency 
set  out  about  noon  for  this  city,  where  he  ar 
rived  about  sunset.  His  Excellency  stopped  at 
the  capitol,  and  was  received  at  the  gate  by  his 
majesty's  Council,  the  Honorable  the  Speaker, 
the  Attorney-general,  the  Treasurer,  and  many 
other  gentlemen  of  distinction,  after  which,  be 
ing  conducted  to  the  council-chamber  and  hav 
ing  his  commissions  read,  was  qualified  to  exer 
cise  his  high  office  by  taking  the  usual  oaths. 
His  Excellency  then  swore  in  the  members  of 
his  majesty's  council,  after  which  he  proceeded 
to  the  Raleigh  Tavern,  and  supped  there  with 
his  majesty's  council.  His  Excellency  retired 
about  ten,  and  took  up  his  lodgings  at  the 
palace,  which  had  been  put  in  order  for  his  re 
ception.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  the  city 
was  illuminated,  and  all  ranks  vied  with  each 
other  in  testifying  their  gratitude  and  joy,  that 
a  nobleman  of  such  distinguished  merit  and 
abilities  is  appointed  to  preside  over  and  live 
among  them." 

In  the  description  of  Williamsburg  by  the  au 
thority  above  quoted,  is  the  following  notice  of 
Lord  Botetourt's  statue  in  that  town  : 

"  In  a  beautiful  square,  fronting  the  college, 
stands  the  statue  of  Lord  Botetourt,  one  of 
the  colonial  governors.  It  is  much  mutilated, 
though  still  presenting  a  specimen  of  elegant 
sculpture.  He  appears  in  the  court-dress  of  that 
day,  with  a  short-sword  at  his  side.  It  was 
erected  in  1774,  at  the  expense  of  the  colony, 
and  removed  in  1797  from  the  old  capitol  to  its 


CHAP.  V.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


213 


present  situation.     Its  pedestal  bears  the  follow 
ing  inscription  : 

The  Eight  Honorable  Norborne  Berkeley,  Baron  de 
Botetourt,  his  majesty's  late  lieutenant,  and  governor- 
general  of  the  colony  and  dominion  of  Virginia. 

[Right  side.'] — Deeply  impressed  with  the  warmest  sense 
of  gratitude  for  his  Excellency's,  the  Right  Honorable 
Lord  Botetourt' s,  prudent  and  wise  administration,  and 
that  the  remembrance  of  those  many  pullic  and  social 
virtues  which  so  eminently  adorned  his  illustrious  char 
acter  might  be  transmitted  to  posterity,  the  General 


Assembly  of  Virginia,  on  the  xx.  day  July,  Ann.  Dom., 
M.DCC.LXXI,  resolved,  with  one  united  voice,  to  erect 
this  statue  to  his  lordship's  memory.  Let  wisdom  and 
justice  preside  in  any  country,  the  people  must  and  will 
be  happy. 

[Left  side.] — America  !  behold  your  friend,  who,  leav 
ing  his  native  country,  declined  those  additional  honors 
which  were  there  in  store  for  him,  that  he  might  heal 
your  wounds  and  restore  tranquillity  and  happiness  to 
this  extensive  continent.  With  what  zeal  and  anxiety 
he  pursued  these  glorious  objects,  Virginia  thus  bears 
her  grateful  testimony." 


CHAPTER    VI. 


1769,   1710, 

THE   DISCONTENTS     PRODUCE     VIOLENCE     AND     BLOODSHED. 

Position  of  affairs  in  Virginia  and  in  New  England. — Lord  Hillsborough's  professions  of  good-will  to  the  American 
colonists. — How  they  were  received  in  America. — Determination  of  the  people  to  insist  on  a  total  repeal  of  the 
revenue  laws. — Proceedings  of  the  meeting  of  the  trading  classes  in  Boston.— New  association  for  non-importa 
tion  formed.— Lord  Hillsborough's  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  Lord  Botetourt,  professing  a  desire  to  re 
establish  confidence  by  repealing  the  obnoxious  acts  of  parliament. — Lord  Botetourt's  address  to  the  Virginia 
Assembly.— GreaL  joy  of  the  Virginians. — Answer  of  the  Assembly  to  Lord  Botetourt's  address. — Probable  object 
of  the  government  of  Great  Britain  in  these  professions  to  the  Virginians.— Franklin's  opinion  of  Lord  Hills- 
borough. — Lord  North  appointed  premier. — Character  of  his  administration. — His  first  measure. — Repeal  of  duties 
of  1707,  with  the  exception  of  the  duty  on  tea. — Reasons  for  that  exception. — Remarks  in  parliament  on  the  im 
policy  of  his  course.— His  angry  reply.— Governor  Pownall's  views. — His  superior  knowledge  of  American 
affairs. — Effect  of  the  continued  presence  of  the  British  troops  in  Boston. — Affrays  between  the  soldiers  and  the 
people.— Samuel  Adams's  proposition  for  removing  them  to  Castle  William. — Hutchinson  defeats  it  by  pro 
roguing  the  General  Court. — Quarrel  between  Hutchinson  and  the  merchants. — Hutchinson  defeated.— News 
from  New  York  increases  the  excitement  in  Boston. — Riot  at  Gray's  ropewalk. — Boston  Massacre. — Trial  of 
Captain  Preston  and  the  soldiers. — Session  of  the  General  Court. — Its  proceedings. — Death  of  George  Grenville. 


WHILE  British  troops  were  menacing 
the  Bostonians  without  effect,  and  Vir 
ginia  was  leading  the  southern  colonies 
on  to  the  support  of  refractory  New  Eng 
land,  the  British  government,  still  vacil 
lating  and  uncertain,  was  already  be 
ginning  to  retract  her  late  proceedings. 
It  was  on  the  1st  of  August,  1769,  that 
Sir  Francis  Bernard*  was  recalled  from 
the  government  of  Massachusetts.  A 
few  days  before  his  departure,  he  re 
ceived  letters  from  the  secretary  of 
state,  which,  being  circular  to  the  seve 
ral  governors  of  the  continent,  were  ap 
parently  intended  to  be  made  public. 
One  of  the  last  acts  of  his  administra- 

0  See  Note  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


tion  was  his  directing,  or  authorizing, 
the  publication  of  the  assurance  to  the 
people  of  the  colonies  in  those  letters, 
"  that  the  administration  is  well  disposed 
to  relieve  the  colonies  from  all  '  real' 
grievances  arising  from  the  late  acts  of 
revenue.  And  though  the  present  min 
isters  have  concurred  in  the  opinion  of 
the  whole  legislature,  that  no  measure 
ought  to  be  taken  which  can  derogate 
from  the  legislative  authority  of  Great 
Britain  over  the  colonies,  yet  they  have 
declared  that  they  have  at  no  time  en 
tertained  a  design  to  propose  any  further 
taxes  upon  America  for  the  purpose  of  a 
revenue;  and  it  is  their  intention  to 
propose,  in  the  next  session  of  parlia 
ment,  to  take  off  the  duties  upon  glass, 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DISCONTENTS. 


215 


paper,  and  colors,  upon  consideration 
of  sncli  duties  being  contrary  to  the  true 
principles  of  commerce." 

Government  in  England  expected,  by 
this  assurance  of  intended  favor,  to  in 
cline  the  people  to  abate  their  opposi 
tion.  But  it  had  a  very  different  effect. 
It  was  immediately  the  common  lan 
guage  among  the  candidates  for  liberty, 
"Repealing  the  act  upon  principles  of 
commerce  is  a  mere  pretence,  calculated 
to  establish  the  grievance  we  complain 
of.  The  true  reason  why  the  duty 
upon  tea  is  to  continue,  is  to  save  the 
'right'  of  taxing.  Our  acquiescing  in 
the  repeal  of  the  rest  will  be  construed 
into  an  acknowledgment  of  this  '  ri<?ht.' 

O  o 

The  fear  of  trouble,  from  the  discontent 
of  merchants  and  manufacturers  upon 
our  non-importation  agreements,  has 
brought  the  ministry  to  consent  to  this 
partial  repeal.  A  vigorous  enforcement 
of  these  agreements  will  increase  the 
fear,  and  we  shall  certainly  carry  the 
point  we  contend  for,  and  obtain  a  re 
peal  of  the  whole." 

A  meeting  of  the  trading  classes  was 
called  in  Boston.  The  repeal  of  only 
part  of  the  act  was  unanimously  re 
solved  to  be  a  measure  intended  merely 
to  quiet  the  manufacturers  in  Great 
Britain,  and  to  prevent  the  setting  up 
of  manufactures  in  the  colonies,  and  one 
that  would  by  no  means  relieve  trade 
from  its  difficulties ;  it  was,  therefore, 
further  resolved,  to  send  for  no  more 
goods  from  Great  Britain,  a  few  speci 
fied  articles  excepted,  unless  the  reve 
nue  acts  should  be  repealed. 


A  committee  was  appointed  to  pro 
cure  a  written  pledge  from  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  town,  not  to  purchase  anv 
goods  from  persons  who  have  imported 
them,  or  who  shall  import  them,  con 
trary  to  the  late  agreement;  and  an 
other  committee  to  inspect  the  mani 
fests  of  the  cargoes  of  all  vessels  arriv 
ing  from  Great  Britain,  and  to  publish 
the  names  of  all  importers,  unless  they 
immediately  delivered  their  goods  into 
the  hands  of  a  committee  appointed  to 
receive  them. 

The  intimations  of  a  relaxation  in  the 
British  system  of  oppression  was  re 
ceived  in  a  different  spirit  by  the  Vir 
ginians,  who,  at  first,  were  effectually 
deceived  by  the  bland  professions  of  the 
ministry. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1769,  the  king, 
in  his  speech  to  parliament,  highly  ap 
plauded  their  hearty  concurrence,  in 
maintaining  the  execution  of  the  laws 
in  every  part  of  his  dominions.  Five 
days  after  this  speech,  Lord  Hills- 
borough,  secretary  of  state  for  the 
colonies,  wrote  to  Lord  Botetourt :  "  I 
can  take  upon  me  to  assure  you,  not 
withstanding1  informations  to  the  con- 

O 

trary,  from  men  with  factious  and  se 
ditious  views,  that  his  majesty's  present 
administration  have  at  no  time  enter 
tained  a  design  to  propose  to  parlia 
ment    to    lay   any   further   taxes    upon 
America  for  the   purpose  of  raising   a 
revenue,  and  that  it  is  at  present  their 
intention  to  propose  to  the  next  session  of 
parliament  to  take  off  the  duties  upon 
glass,  paper,  and  colors,  upon  considera- 


S21G 


LIFK  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tion  of  such  duties  having  been  laid 
contrary  to  the  true  principles  of  com 
merce."  The  governor  was  also  in 
formed,  that  "his  majesty  relied  upon 
his  prudence  and  fidelity  to  make  such 
an  explanation  of  his  majesty's  measures 
as  would  tend  to  remove  prejudices, 
and  to  re-establish  mutual  confidence 
and  affection  between  the  mother  coun 
try  and  the  colonies."  In  the  exact 
spirit  of  his  instructions,  Lord  Botetourt 
addressed  the  Virginia  Assembly  as  fol 
lows:  "It  may  possibly  be  objected, 
that  as  his  majesty's  present  administra 
tion  are  not  immortal,  their  successors 
may  be  inclined  to  attempt  to  undo 
what  the  present  ministers  shall  have 
attempted  to  perform,  and  to  that  ob 
jection  I  can  give  but  this  answer,  that 
it  is  my  firm  opinion,  that  the  plan  I 
have  stated  to  you  will  certainly  take 
place,  and  that  it  will  never  be  de 
parted  from ;  and  so  determined  am  I 
forever  to  abide  by  it,  that  I  will  be 
content  to  be  declared  infamous,  if  I  do 
not  to  the  last  hour  of  niy  life,  at  all 
times,  in  all  places,  and  upon  all  occa 
sions,  exert  every  power  with  which  I 
either  am,  or  ever  shall  be,  legally  in 
vested,  in  order  to  obtain  and  maintain 
for  the  continent  of  America  that  satis 
faction  which  I  have  been  authorized 
to  promise  this  day,  by  the  confiden 
tial  servants  of  our  gracious  sovereign, 
who,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  rates  his 
honor  so  high  that  he  would  rather  part 
with  his  crown  than  preserve  it  by  de 
ceit." 

These  assurances  were  received  with 


transports   of  joy   by   the    Virginians. 
They  viewed  them  as  pledging  his  maj 
esty  for  security,  that  the  late  design 
for  raising  a  revenue  in  America 
was  abandoned,  and  never  more 

1  ~C>:>. 

to  be  resumed.  The  Assembly 
of  Virginia,  in  answer  to  Lord  Bote 
tourt,  expressed  themselves  thus  :  "  We 
are  sure  our  most  gracious  sovereign, 
under  whatever  changes  may  happen 
in  his  confidential  servants,  will  re 
main  immutable  in  the  ways  of  truth 
and  justice,  and  that  he  is  incapable  of 
deceiving  his  faithful  subjects ;  and  we 
esteem  your  lordship's  information  not 
only  as  warranted,  but  even  sanctified 
by  the  royal  word." 

How  far  these  promises  made  by 
Lord  Hillsborough  to  the  governor  of 
Virginia,  and  by  the  governor  to  the 
Assembly,  were  founded  in  sincerity 
and  good  faith,  will  be  demonstrated 
by  subsequent  events.  They  were  prob 
ably  made  with  a  design  to  detach  the 
Virginians  from  the  earnest  support 
which  they  had  hitherto  given  to  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  who  were  still 
the  most  decided  opponents  of  the 
British  ministry. 

Of  Lord  Hillsborough,  who,  as  colo 
nial  secretary,  had  written  to  Lord 
Botetourt  in  the  conciliatory  vein,  Dr. 
Franklin  thus  speaks  in  a  letter  to 
Samuel  Cooper  :  "  His  character  is  con 
ceit,  wrong-headeduess,  obstinacy,  and 
passion.  Those  who  would  speak  most 
favorably  of  him  allow  all  this  ;  they 
only  add,  that  he  is  an  honest  man,  and 
means  well.  If  that  be  true,  as  per- 


CHAP.  VI. J 


DISCONTENTS. 


217 


haps  it  may,  I  wish  him  a  better  place, 
where  only  honesty  and  well-meaning 
are  required,  and  where  his  other  quali 
ties  can  do  no  harm.  *  *  *  I  hope, 
however,  that  our  affairs  will  not  much 
longer  be  perplexed  and  embarrassed 
by  his  perverse  and  senseless  manage 
ment." 

The  policy  of  Lord  Hillsborough  to 
wards  the  colonies,  bad  as  it  was,  was 
destined  to  be  supported  by  Lord 
North,  who  came  into  the  office  of 
prime  minister  on  the  28th  of  January, 
1770. 

Having  been  chancellor  of  the  ex 
chequer  in  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  ad 
ministration,  on  his  grace's  resignation, 
which  took  place  in  the  end  of  January, 
he  succeeded  him  as  first  lord  of  the 
treasury,  a  pre-eminence  he  held  till 
the  close  of  the  American  Revolution. 
His  administration  will  ever  be  cele 
brated  by  the  fact,  that  during  its  ex 
istence  Great  Britain  lost  more  territory 
and  acquired  more  debt  than  in  any 
previous  period  of  her  history.  His 
first  measure  was  partially,  and,  unhap 
pily,  only  partially,  of  a  conciliatory 
character, — a  motion  for  the  repeal  of 
the  port-duties  of  1767,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  duty  on  tea,  which  his  lord 
ship  expressly  declared  he  desired  to 
keep  on  as  an  assertion  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  parliament.  In  vain  it  was  con 
tended  that  the  reservation  of  this  sin 
gle  article  would  keep  up  the  conten 
tion  which  it  was  so  desirable  to  allay ; 
that  after  giving  up  the  prospect  of  a 
revenue  from  the  colonies,  it  was  absurd 

VOL.  I.— 28 


and  impolitic  to  persevere  in  the  asser 
tion  of  an  abstract  claim  of  right,  which, 
if  attempted  in  any  mode  to  be  carried 
into  practice,  would  produce  nothing 
but  civil  discord  and  interminable  op 
position  ;  that,  in  short,  if  nothing  more 
was  meant  by  this  omission  of  the  tea 
in  the  repeal,  than  the  mere  declaration 
of  parliamentary  supremacy,  the  law 
already  in  existence,  under  the  title  of 
the  Declaratory  Act,  was  abundantly 
sufficient  for  this  purpose,  and  that  the 
Americans  had  hitherto  silently  acqui 
esced  in  that  law.  To  all  these  argu 
ments  Lord  North  replied,  "  Has  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp-act  taught  the 
Americans  obedience  ?  Has  our  lenity 
inspired  them  with  moderation  ?  Can 
it  be  proper,  while  they  deny  our  legal 
power  to  tax  them,  to  acquiesce  in  the 
argument  of  illegality,  and,  by  the  re 
peal  of  the  whole  law,  to  give  up  that 
power  ?  No  !  the  most  proper  time  to 
exert  our  iwht  of  taxation  is  when  the 

o 

right  is  denied.  To  temporize  is  to 
yield  ;  and  the  authority  of  the  mother 
country,  if  it  is  now  unsupported,  will, 
in  reality,  be  relinquished  forever.  A 
total  repeal  cannot  be  thought  of  till 
America  is  prostrate  at  our  feet ! " 

Governor  Pownall,  who  moved,  as  an 
amendment,  to  include  the  duty  on  tea, 
acknowledged,  that  even  the  total  re 
peal  of  the  duties  in  question,  though  it 
might  be  expected  to  do  much,  would 
not  restore  satisfaction  to  America. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  it  be  asked,  whether  it 
wrill  remove  the  apprehensions  excited 
by  your  resolutions  and  address  of  the 


218 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  m. 


last  year,  for  bringing  to  trial  in  Eng 
land  persons  accused  of  treason  in 
America?  I  answer,  No.  If  it  be 
asked,  if  this  commercial  concession 
would  quiet  the  minds  of  the  Ameri 
cans  as  to  the  political  doubts  and  fears 
which  have  struck  them  to  the  heart, 
throughout  the  continent  ?  I  answer, 
No.  So  long  as  they  are  left  in  doubt 
whether  the  habeas  coipu-s  act,  whether 
the  bill  of  rights,  whether  the  common 
law  as  now  existing  in  England  have 

o  o 

any  operation  and  effect  in  America, 
they  cannot  be  satisfied.  At  this  hour 
they  know  not  whether  the  civil  consti 
tutions  be  not  suspended  and  superseded 
by  the  establishment  of  a  military  force. 
The  Americans  think  that  they  have, 
in  return  to  all  their  applications,  expe 
rienced  a  temper  and  disposition  that  is 
unfriendly,  and  that  the  enjoyment  and 
exercise  of  the  common  rights  of  free 
men  have  been  refused  to  them.  Never 
with  these  views  will  they  solicit  the 
favor  of  this  House ;  never  more  will 
they  wish  to  bring  before  parliament 
the  grievances  under  which  they  con 
ceive  themselves  to  labor.  Deeply  as 
they  feel,  they  suffer  and  endure  with 
a  determined  and  alarming  silence  ;  for 
their  liberty  they  are  under  no  appre 
hensions.  It  was  first  planted  under 
the  auspicious  genius  of  the  constitu 
tion  ;  it  has  grown  up  into  a  verdant 
and  nourishing  tree ;  and  should  any 
severe  strokes  be  aimed  at  the  branches, 
and  fate  reduce  it  to  the  bare  stock,  it 
v  ould  only  take  deeper  root,  and  spring 
out  again  more  durable  than  before. 


They  trust  to  Providence,  and  wait  with 
firmness  and  fortitude  the  issue." 

The  event  proved  that  Mr.  Pownall 
knew,  incomparably  better  than  Lord 
North,  the  character  and  state  of  the 
colonies.  During  his  residence  in  Amer 
ica,  while  successively  governor  of  two 
of  the  provinces,  he  acquired  that 
knowledge  which  the  British  ministry 
could  not,  and  some  provincial  gov 
ernors  would  not,  acquire. 

It  might  have  been  supposed,  that 
the  very  unsatisfactory  result  of  the 
previous  half-measures  of  this  kind 
would  have  deterred  any  minister  from 
a  repetition  of  them.  It  displays  as  lit 
tle  knowledge  of  the  construction  of  the 
human  mind,  as  attention  to  the  history 
of  popular  agitations,  to  intermingle 
professions  of  kindness  with  threats,  or 
concessions  with  expressions  of  insult. 

The  colonies,  however,  would  proba 
bly  have  assumed  a  less  agitated  aspect, 
had  not  other  circumstances  existed  to 
ferment  and  perpetuate  feelings  of  hos 
tility.  Among  these,  the  continued 
presence  of  troops  of  the  line  in  Boston 
was  one  of  the  most  aggravating.  The 

oo  o 

inhabitants  felt  that  their  remaining 
stationed  in  the  place  was  designed  to 
overawe  and  control  the  expression  of 
their  sentiments,-  and  the  military  ap 
pear  to  have  viewed  the  matter  in  the 
same  limit.  Under  the  excitement  that 

O 

was  thus  occasioned,  affrays  were  fre 
quently  occurring  between  the  populace 
and  the  soldiers ;  and  it  would  appear 
that,  as  might  be  expected,  neither 
party  conducted  themselves  with  pru- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DISCONTENTS. 


IT  7O. 


clence  or  forbearance.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  soldiers  are  represented  as 
parading  the  town  armed  with  heavy 
clubs,  insulting  and  seeking  occasion  to 
quarrel  with  the  people  ;"""  while,  on  the 
other,  the  populace  are  declared  to  be 
the  aggressors,  and  the  military  to  have 
acted  on  the  defensive.'}'  It  was  pro 
posed  by  Samuel  Adams,  the  most  reso 
lute  and  daring  of  the  Boston  patriots, 
that  the  General  Court  should  have  the 
soldiers  removed  to  Castle  William  ;  but 
the  meeting  of  that  body  appointed  for 
the  tenth  of  January,  was  pro 
rogued  by  Hutchinson  to  the 
middle  of  March.  This  was  said  to 
be  done  under  an  arbitrary  instruction 
of  Lord  Ilillsboroncrh.t 

O         *r 

A  quarrel  took  place  between  the 
merchants  who  had  signed  the  non-im- 

O 

portation  agreement  and  Hutchinson, 
whose  sons  had  signed  and  broken  it, 

o  / 

bv  selling  tea,  in  which  the  lieutenant- 

«/• 

governor  was    obliged   to   yield.     This 

O  O  »/ 

was  thought  by  the  British  party  to 
furnish  a  good  occasion  for  an  attack  on 
the  people  by  the  troops ;  and  Colonel 
Dalrymple  prepared  his  men  for  the 
purpose.  But  although  repeated  as 
semblages  took  place  among  the  mer 
chants  and  the  people,  Hutchinson  was 
afraid  to  order  an  attack  on  them. 

Intelligence  received  from  New  York 
of  repeated  affrays  between  the  people 
and  the  soldiers  stationed  there,  served 
to  increase  the  ferment  in  Boston.  The 

°  Bradford,  History  of  MatsacJiusetfs,  p.  205. 

f  Hutcliiiison,  p.  270. 

i  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  vi.  p.  729. 


219 

soldiers  in  the  latter  place  were  more 
licentious,  and  under  less  restraint  from 
their  officers,  than  they  had  ever  been 
before ;  and  the  boys  and  idlers  exas 
perated  them  by  calling  them  rascals, 
bloody  backs,  and  lobster  scoundrels. 
Matters  were  rapidly  drawing  to  a 
crisis. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  a  private 

.  17  TO. 

soldier  01  the  twentieth  regiment 
applying  for  employment  at  Gray's  rope- 
walk  was  refused  in  an  insulting  manner, 
which  led  to  a  boxing-match  with  one 
of  the  ropemakers,  in  which  the  soldier 
was  beaten  and  driven  away.  He  re 
turned  with  other  soldiers.  A  riot  en 
sued,  in  which  clubs  and  cutlasses  were 
employed,  which  was  terminated  by  the 
interference  of  Mr.  Gray  and  others.§ 
This  trifling  affair  undoubtedly  had  an 
influence  in  producing  the  more  serious 
collision  which  took  place  a  few  days 
afterwards.  In  the  mean  time,  the  peo 
ple  of  the  surrounding  country  sympa 
thized  deeply  with  the  Bostonians,  and 
were  ready  to  support  them  against  the 
soldiers.  A  great  part  of  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  had  been  engaged  in  mil- 

O     O 

itary  service  in  the  colonial  wars. 

Early  in  the  evening  of  the  5th  of 
March,  the  inhabitants  were  observed 
to  assemble  in  different  quarters  of  the 
town ;  parties  of  soldiers  were  also  driv 
ing  about  the  streets,  as  if  both  the  one 

O  / 

and  the  other  had  something  more  than 
ordinary  upon  their  minds.  About 
eii>;ht  o'clock,  one  of  the  bells  of  the 

O  ' 


§  Bancroft. 


220 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[.BOOK  III. 


town  was  rung  in  sucli  a  manner  as  if 
for  an  alarm  of  fire.  This  called  the 
people  into  the  streets.  A  large  num 
ber  assembled  in  the  market-place,  not 
far  from  King-street,  armed  with  bind- 

O  ' 

geons  or  clubs. 

A  small  affray  between  some  of  the 
inhabitants  and  the  soldiers  arose  at  or 
near  the  barracks,  at  the  west  part  of 
the  town,  but  it  was  of  little  importance, 
and  was  soon  over.  A  sentinel  who  was 
posted  at  the  cnstom-honse,  not  far  from 
the  main  guard,  was  next  insulted,  and 
pelted  with  ice  and  other  missiles,  which 
caused  him  to  call  to  the  main  guard  to 
protect  him. 

Notice  was  soon  given  to  Captain 
Preston,  whose  company  was  then  on 
guard,  and  a  sergeant  with  six  men  was 
sent  to  protect  the  sentinel ;  but  the 
captain,  to  prevent  any  precipitate  ac 
tion,  followed  them  himself.  There 
seem  to  have  been  but  few  people  col 
lected  when  the  assault  was  first  made 
on  the  sentinel ;  but  the  sergeant's 
guard  drew  a  greater  number  together, 
and  they  were  more  insulted  than  the 
sentinel  had  been,  and  received  frequent 
blows  from  snowballs  and  lumps  of  ice. 
Captain  Preston  thereupon  ordered  them 
to  charge ;  but  this  was  no  discourage 
ment  to  the  assailants,  who  continued  to 
pelt  the  guard,  daring  them  to  fire. 
Some  of  the  people  who  were  behind 
the  soldiers,  and  observed  the  abuse  of 
them,  called  on  them  to  do  so  A* 
length  one  received  a  blow  with  a  club, 
which  brought  him  to  the  ground ;  but, 
rising  again,  he  immediately  fired,  kill 


ing  a  mulatto  named  Crispns  Attucks : 
all  the  rest  of  the  soldiers  fired,  except 
one. 

This  seems,  from  the  evidence  on  the 
trials,  and  the  observation  of  persons 
present,  to  have  been  the  course  of  the 
material  facts.  Throe  men  were  killed, 
two  mortally  wounded,  who  died  soon 
after,  and  several  slightly  wounded. 
The  soldiers  immediately  withdrew  to 
the  main  guard,  which  was  strengthened 
by  additional  companies.  Two  or  three 
of  the  persons  who  had  seen  the  action 
ran  to  the  lieutenant-governor's  (Ilntch- 
inson's)  house,'"  which  was  about  half  a 
mile  distant,  and  begged  he  would  go 
to  King-street,-)-  where  they  feared  a 
general  action  would  come  on  between 
the  troops  and  the  inhabitants.  He 
went  immediately ;  and,  to  satisfy  the 
people,  called  for  Captain  Preston,  and 
inquired  why  he  had  fired  upon  the  in 
habitants  without  the  direction  of  a  civil 
magistrate.  The  noise  was  so  creat  that 

O  *— > 

his  answer  could  not  be  understood ; 
and  some  persons,  who  were  apprehen 
sive  of  the  lieutenant-governor's  danger 
from  the  general  confusion,  called  out, 
"  The  town-house,  the  town-house !" 
when,  with  irresistible  violence,  he  was 
forced  up  by  the  crowd  into  the  council- 
chamber. 

°  Hutchinson,  as  lieutenant-governor,  luul  succeeded 
Sir  Francis  Bernard  in  the  administration  of  affairs  in 
Massachusetts.  He  was  subsequently  appointed  gover 
nor.  Although  an  American  by  birth,  he  was  a  bitter 
tory  ;  and  excelled  even  the  Earl  of  ctraffonl  himself  in 
tyranny  and  duplicity.  His  character  is  well  described 
by  Mr.  Bancroft  in  his  "  History  of  the  United  States," 
vol.  vi.  pp.  SO:;-COG. 

f  Now  called  State-street. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DISCOXTEXTS. 


003 


gality,  and  to  encourage  the  use  of  do 
mestic  manufactures  throughout  the 

O 

province  ;  and  having  appointed  a  com 
mittee  of  correspondence  to  communi 
cate  with  the  agents  of  Great  Britain, 

O  ' 

and  with  the  committees  of  the  colo 
nies.  The  first  of  these  resolutions  of 
the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  namely,  to 
discourage  the  use  of  foreign  articles, 
had  been  adopted  in  consequence  of  a 
determination  of  the  merchants  of  Bos 
ton,  made  during  the  present  session, 
by  which  they  agreed  to  alter  their  non 
importation  agreement,  and  to  adopt 
the  plan,  which  had  been  for  some  time 
followed  in  New  York  and  in  Philadel 
phia,  of  importing  all  the  usual  articles 
of  trade  except  tea,  which  it  was  unan 
imously  agreed  should  not  be  brought 

*/          O  O 

into  the  country  unless  it  could  be 
smusrarled.* 

«-— -O 

The  same  month  that  witnessed  the 
close  of  this  session  of  the  Massachusetts 
General  Court,  was  marked  by  the  de 
cease  of  the  celebrated  George  Gren- 

O 

ville,  who  had  made  himself  so  conspic 
uous  as  the  originator  of  the  stamp-act. 
Lord  Botetourt,  governor  of  Virginia, 
also  died  in  the  autumn  of  this  year 
(Oct.  If)).  The  close  of  his  administra 
tion  was  darkened  by  events  which  gave 
him  great  uneasiness.  The  Virginians, 

o  O 

who  had  received  with  so  much  gratifi 
cation  the  announcement  made  through 

o 

him  of  the  good  intentions  of  the  minis 
try  towards  the  colonists,  were  deeply 
disgusted  with  the  partial  repeal  of  the 

°  Allen,  History  of  Ike  American  Revolution,  vol.  i.  p.  149. 


revenue  laws,  and  loudly  expressed  their 
discontent.  Lord  Botetourt,  conceiving 
himself  to  have  been  deceived  by  the 
ministry,  demanded  his  discharge  ;  but 
before  its  arrival,  he  fell  sick  of  a  bilious 
fever  which  soon  terminated  his  life. 
The  statue  erected  to  his  memory  by 
order  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  is  still 
standing  at  Williamsburg. 

NOTE.  —  Francis  Bernard,  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
frequently  mentioned  in  this  chanter,  was  the  governor 
of  New  Jersey  after  Governor  Belcher,  in  1758.  He  suc 
ceeded  Governor  Pownall,  of  Massachusetts,  in  1700. 
He  governed  the  province  for  nine  years,  during  one  of 
the  most  interesting  periods  of  American  history.  The 
first  part  of  his  administration  was  very  agreeable  to  the 
General  Court,  and  much  harmony  prevailed  for  two  or 
three  years. 

Two  parties  had  long  existed  in  the  province,  the  ad 
vocates  of  the  crown,  and  the  defenders  of  the  rights  of 
the  people.  Governor  Bernard  was  soon  classed  with 
those  who  were  desirous  of  strengthening  the  royal  au 
thority  in  America  ;  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  therefore,  uni 
formly  opposed  him.  His  indiscretion  in  appointing  Mr. 
Ilutchinson  chief  justice,  instead  of  giving  that  office  to 
Colonel  Otis,  of  Barnstable,  to  whom  it  had  been  prom 
ised  by  Shirley,  proved  very  injurious  to  him.  In  conse 
quence  of  this  appointment  he  lost  the  inlluence  of  Colo 
nel  Otis,  and  by  yielding  himself  to  Mr.  Hutchinson, 
drew  upon  himself  the  hostility  of  James  Otis,  the  son.  a 
man  of  great  talents,  who  soon  became  the  leader  on  the 
popular  side. 

The  causes  which  finally  brought  on  the  American 
Revolution  were  then  operating.  Governor  Bernard  pos 
sessed  no  talent  for  conciliation  ;  he  endeavored  to  ac 
complish  ministerial  purposes  by  force  ;  and  the  spirit  of 
freedom  gained  strength  from  the  open  manner  in  which 
he  attempted  to  crush  it.  He  was  the  principal  means 
of  bringing  the  troops  to  Boston,  that  he  might  overawe 
the  people  ;  and  it  was  owing  to  him  that  they  were  re 
tained  in  the  town.  He  endeavored  to  obtain  an  altera 
tion  of  the  charter,  in  order  to  transfer  the  right  of 
electing  the  council  from  the  General  Court  to  the  crown. 

This  attempt,  though  it  drew  upon  him  the  indigna- 
nation  of  the  province,  was  so  pleasing  to  the  ministry 
that  he  was  created  a  baronet  in  17G9.  One  of  his  last 
public  measures  was  the  proroguing  of  the  General  Court, 
in  consequence  of  their  refusing  to  make  provision  for  the 
support  of  the  troops.  It  was  found  necessary  to  recall 
him.  He  died  in  England,  in  June,  1779. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1770, 

W  A  S  II 1 1ST  G  T  O  X     VISITS     THE      WES  T  E  R  X     C  O  U  X  T  II  Y . 

•.Yashington  plans  ;i  tour  (o  the  Western  country  to  inspect  certain  lands  which  had  been  promised  to  the  Virginian 
soldiers  of  the  Seven  Years'  War. — Origin  of  the  soldiers'  claims. — Interfered  with  hy  Walpole's  grant,  and  re 
sisted  by  thy  British  minihtry  and  the  government  of  Virginia. — Washington's  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers. 
— His  correspondence  with  Lord  Botetonrt  respecting  Walpole's  grant.  —  His  final  success. — Case  of  Yanbraam  — 
Washington  and  Dr.  Craik  set  out  on  the  tour  to  the  West. — Arrival  at  Fort  Pitt. — Entertained  by  the  officers; 
of  the  garrison. — Meets  Colonel  George  Croghan  — Live  at  an  inn  in  1'ittsburg  near  Fort  I'itt.  —  Invited  by 
Croghan  to  a  talk  with  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations. — Speech  of  the  White  Miugo. — Washington's  answer. — Wash 
ington  dines  with  Colonel  Croghan. — Returns  to  Pittsburg  and  engages  an  interpreter  and  other  attendants.  — 
Canoe  voyage  down  the  Ohio  commences.  —  Its  inconveniences  and  dangers. — Hunting. — First  day  on  the  river. — 
Persons  of  the  party.  —  Scenery  on  the  Ohio  — Arrival  at  Logstown. — Observations  on  the  quality  of  the  land. — 
Croghan  offers  a  speculation  in  land. — Washington's  remarks  on  it. — Arrival  at  the  month  of  Yellow  Creek. — 
At  Mingo  Town. — Indians  of  the  Six  Nations. — Character  of  the  river. — Scenery  on  its  banks. — News  of  Indian 
hostilities  in  the  neighborhood. — The  report  proves  to  be  a  false  alarm.  —  Great  abundance*  of  game. — The  party 
come  IIJVJM  the  camp  of  Ki.nhnta  an  I  hi-;  hunting  party. — His  hospitality. — Washington  meets  an  old  acquaint 
ance. —  Lung  conference  with  Kiashuta.  —  His  friendly  professions.  —  Arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhawa. 
- — Description  of  the  country  in  that  neighborhood. — Ascent  of  the  Great  Kanhawa. — Hunting  party  on  its 
banks.  —  Great  quantities  of  buffaloes  and  wild  game. — Return  voyage. — Washington  marks  boundaries  on  the 
trees  — The  party  again  meet  with  Kiashuta,  who  gives  Washington  much  information  about  the  lauds  in  Ohio  — 
Return  to  Mingo  Town — Knd  of  the  canoe  voyage. — Dr.  Connolly  gives  Washington  valuable  information  about 
lands. — Washington  returns  to  Mount  Yernon.  —  His  intention  to  make  another  tour. — Governor  Dmunore  to  go 
with  him.  —  Design  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the  sickness  of  Miss  Custis. — Her  death. 


Ix  the  autumn  of  1770,  Washington 
made   a  tour  in  the  western   country  | 
which  lasted  nine  weeks  (Oct.  5  to  Dec.). 
His  immediate   ol>ject  was  to  inspect 
certain  lands  which   had   been   desis;- 

O 

nated  to  l>e  granted  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  Virginia,  who  had  served  in 
the  French  war. 

An  order  of  Council  of  the  18th  of 
February,  1754,  followed  by  a  procla 
mation  of  Governor  Dinwiddie,  promis 
ing  some  two  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  what  we  now  call  military  bounty 
lands,  had  its  effect  in.  inducing  the  en 


listment  of  soldiers  who  had  subse 
quently  "behaved  so  much  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  country,  as  to  be  honored 
with  the  most  public  acknowledgments 
of  it  by  the  Assembly."'""  The  claims  of 
the  officers  and  soldiers  to  these  lands 
had  long  been  resisted  by  the  British 
ministry  and  the  authorities  in  Virginia ; 
and  were  now  threatened  with  defeat 
by  a  proposed  grant  of  land  to  a  Mr. 
Wai  pole  (a  British  banker)  and  others, 
which  Avould  have  comprehended  at 

0  Washington's  letter  to  Lord  Botetourt,    April    15, 
1770.     See  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  vol    ;i.  p.  3o8. 


CHAP.  VII. J 


VISITS  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


225 


least  four-fifths  of  this  very  land,  prop 
erly  belonging  to  the  officers  and  sol 
diers,  for  the  purchase  and  survey  of 
which  the  government  had  recently 
voted  two  thousand  five  hundred  pounds 
sterling.* 

Washington  had  used  great  exertions 
and  spent  a  large  sum  of  money  in  urg 
ing  these  claims.  He  had  set  forth 
their  justice  and  equity  in  a  correspond 
ence  with  Lord  Botetourt,  whose  in 
tercession  with  the  ministry  he  strongly 
solicited ;  and  at  a  subsequent  period 
(June  15,  1771),  it  formed  the  subject 
of  a  letter  to  Lord  Dunmore,  in  which 
he  requests  to  be  informed  respecting 
the  truth  of  a  report  that  the  "Wai- 
pole  Grant"  had  actually  been  made. 

Washington's  exertions  in  this  good 
cause  were  crowned  with  success,  and 
every  officer  and  soldier  received  his 
proper  share  of  the  land.  "  Even  Yan- 
braam,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,f  "  who  was 
believed  to  have  deceived  him  at  the 
Great  Meadows,  and  wrho  went  as  a 
hostage  to  Canada,  thence  to  England, 
and  never  returned  to  America,  was  not 
forgotten  in  the  distribution.  His  share 
was  reserved,  and  he  was  informed  that 
it  was  at  his  disposal." 

It  was  while  this  affair  was  in  pro 
gress,  that  Washington  made  his  tour 
to  the  West  for  the  purpose  of  inspect 
ing  the  bounty  lands,  and  selecting  for 
the  surveys  such  tracts  as  were  really 
valuable.  It  was  one  of  those  disin- 


°  Washington's  letter  to  Lord  Botetourt,  April  15, 
1770.     See  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  357. 
f  Life  of  Washington. 
VOL.  I.— 29 


1T7O. 


terested  and  public-spirited  actions 
which  abound  throughout  his  whole 
career. 

In  this  tour  he  was  accompanied  by 
his  friend  and  physician,  Dr.  Craik,  Avho 
had  been  with  him  in  Braddock's  expe 
dition.  They  were  attended  by  three 
negro  servants,  and  the  whole  party 
was  mounted.  They  set  out  on  the  5th 
of  October,  and  in  twelve  days 
arrived  at  Fort  Pitt  (old  Fort 
Duquesne).  The  following  extract  from 
Washington's  journal  of  the  tour  in 
forms  us  how  the  party  were  enter 
tained  at  Fort  Pitt  and  in  its  neighbor 
hood  during  their  stay,  by  the  officers 
of  the  garrison  and  Washington's  old 
acquaintance,  George  Croghan,  now 
Colonel  Croghan,  deputy-agent  to  Sir 
William  Johnson :  J 

"October  17th. — Dr.  Craik  and  my 
self,  with  Captain  Crawford  and  others, 
arrived  at  Fort  Pitt,  distant  from  the 
Crossing  forty-three  and  a  half  meas 
ured  miles.  In  riding  this  distance  we 
passed  over  a  great  deal  of  exceedingly 
fine  land,  chiefly  white  oak,  especially 
from  Sewickly  Creek  to  Turtle  Creek; 
but  the  whole  broken,  resembling,  as  I 
think  all  the  lands  in  this  country  do, 
the  Loudoun  lands.  We  lodged  in  what 
is  called  the  town,  distant  about  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  fort,  at  one  Mr. 
Semple's,  who  keeps  a  very  good  house 
of  public  entertainment.  The  houses, 
which  are  built  of  logs  and  ranged  in 
streets,  are  on  the  Monongahela,  and  I 

J  The  "Journal"  is  given  in  Sparks,  Writings  of  Wash 
ington,  vol.  ii.  p.  516. 


226 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III 


suppose  may  be  about  twenty  in  num 
ber,  and  inhabited  by  Indian  traders. 
The  fort  is  built  on  the  point  between 
the  rivers  Alleghany  and  Monongahela, 
but  not  so  near  the  pitch  of  it  as  Fort 
Duquesne  stood.  It  is  five-sided  and 
regular,  two  of  which,  near  the  land, 
are  of  brick  ;  the  others  stockade.  A 
moat  encompasses  it.  The  garrison  con 
sists  of  two  companies  of  Royal  Irish, 
commanded  by  Captain  Edmondson. 

18th. — Dined  in  the  Fort  with  Colo 
nel  Croghan  and  the  officers  of  the  gar 
rison  ;  supped  there  also,  meeting  with 
great  civility  from  the  gentlemen,  and 
engaged  to  dine  with  Colonel  Croghan 
the  next  day  at  his  seat,  about  four 
miles  up  the  Alleghany. 

19th. — Received  a  message  from  Col 
onel  Croghan,  that  the  White  Mingo 
and  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  had 
something  to  say  to  me,  and  desiring 
that  I  would  be  at  his  house  about 
eleven,  where  they  were  to  meet.  I 
went  up  and  received  a  speech,  with  a 
string  of  wampum,  from  the  White 
Mingo,  to  the  following  effect : 

'  That,  as  I  was  a  person  whom  some 
of  them  remember  to  have  seen  when 
I  was  sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  French, 
and  most  of  them  had  heard  of,  they 
were  come  to  bid  me  welcome  to  this 
country,  and  to  desire  that  the  people 
of  Virginia  would  consider  them  as 
friends  and  brothers,  linked  together  in 
one  chain ;  that  I  would  inform  the 
governor,  that  it  was  their  wish  to  live 
in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  white 
people,  and  that  though  there  had  been 


some  unhappy  differences  between  them 
and  the  people  upon  our  frontiers,  they 
were  all  made  up  and  they  hoped  for 
gotten  ;  and  concluded  with  saying, 
that  their  brothers  of  Virginia  did  not 
come  among  them  and  trade  as  the  in 
habitants  of  the  other  provinces  did, 
from,  whence  they  were  afraid  that  we 
did  not  look  upon  them  with  so  friendly 
an  eye  as  they  could  wish.' 

To  this  I  answered,  after  thanking 
them  for  their  friendly  welcome,  'that 
all  the  injuries  and  affronts  that  had 
passed  on  either  side  were  now  totally 
forgotten,  and  that  I  was  sure  nothing 
was  more  wished  and  desired  by  the 
people  of  Virginia,  than  to  live  in  the 
strictest  friendship  with  them  ;  that  the 
Virginians  were  a  people  not  so  much 
engaged  in  trade  as  the  Pennsylvanians, 
which  was  the  reason  of  their  not  being 
so  frequently  among  them  ;  but  that  it 
was  possible  they  might  for  the  time  to 
come  have  stricter  connections  with 
them,  and  that  I  would  acquaint  the 
government  with  their  desires.' 

After  dining  at  Colonel  Croghan's  we 
returned  to  Pittsburg,  Colonel  Croghan 
with  us,  who  intended  to  accompany  us 
part  of  the  way  down  the  river,  having 
en^asred  an  Indian  called  the  Pheasant, 

o     O 

and  one  Joseph  Nicholson,  an  inter 
preter,  to  attend  us  the  whole  voyage  ; 
also  a  young  Indian  warrior." 

The  party  were  now  obliged  to  leave 
their  horses,  and  descend  the  Ohio  some 
two  hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  to  the 
Great  Kenhawa.  This  part  of  the  jour 
ney  was  through  a  perfect  wilderness. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


VISITS  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


227 


There  were  no  settlers  on  the  Ohio 
River  below  Pittsburg.  The  Indians 
were  sole  possessors  of  the  country.  A 
few  adventurers  in  search  of  lands  had 
been  the  only  visitors  to  what  is  now 
one  of  the  most  cultivated,  rich,  and 
beautiful  regions  in  the  United  States. 

As  they  proceeded  down  the  river  in 
a  large  open  canoe,  entirely  unprotected 
from  the  inclemency  of  the  autumn 
weather,  they  were  under  the  necessity 
of  landing  every  night,  and  encamping 
in  the  woods.  Occasionally  they  left 
the  canoe  in  the  daytime  for  the  pur 
pose  of  examining  the  lands  or  for  hunt 
ing.  This  thickly  wooded  region,  at 
that  early  time,  abounded  in  choice 
game.  Deer,  buffaloes,  wild  turkeys, 
ducks,  and  geese  were  found  in  plenty  ; 
and  Washington,  who  delighted  in  hunt- 

O  I  O 

ing,  had  ample  opportunities  for  enjoy- 
in  2*  his  favorite  recreation. 

O 

The  first  two  days  of  the  voyage  down 
the  river  are  thus  noticed  in  the  journal : 

"  October  20th. — We  embarked  in  a 
large  canoe,  with  sufficient  store  of  pro 
vision  and  necessaries,  and  the  follow 
ing  persons,  besides  Dr.  Craik  and  my 
self,  to  wit,  Captain  Crawford,  Joseph 
Nicholson,  Robert  Bell,  William  Harri 
son,  Charles  Morgan,  and  Daniel  Ken- 
don,  a  boy  of  Captain  Crawford's,  and 
the  Indians,  who  were  in  a  canoe  by 
themselves.  From  Fort  Pitt  we  sent 
our  horses  and  boys  back  to  Captain 
Crawford's,  with  orders  to  meet  us  there 
again  on  the  14th  day  of  November. 
Colonel  Croghan,  Lieutenant  Hamilton, 
and  Mr.  Mao;ee  set  out  with  us.  At 

O 


two  we  dined  at  Mr.  Magee's,  and  en 
camped  ten  miles  below,  and  four  above 
Logstown.  We  passed  several  large 
islands,  which  appeared  to  be  very 
good,  as  the  bottoms  also  did  on  each 
side  of  the  river  alternately ;  the  hills 
on  one  side  being  opposite  to  the  bot 
toms  on  the  other,  which  seemed  gen 
erally  to  be  about  three  or  four  hun 
dred  yards  wide,  and  so  vice  versa. 

21st. — Left  our  encampment  about  six 
o'clock,  and  breakfasted  at  Logstown, 
where  we  parted  with  Colonel  Croghan 
and  company  about  nine  o'clock.  At 
eleven  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big 
Beaver  Creek,  opposite  to  which  is  a 
good  situation  for  a  house,  and  above  it, 
on  the  same  side,  that  is,  the  west,  there 
appears  to  be  a  body  of  fine  land. 
About  five  miles  lower  down,  on  the 
east  side,  comes  in  Racoon  Creek,  at 
the  mouth  of  which  and  up  it  appears 
to  be  a  body  of  good  land  also.  AL 
the  land  between  this  creek  and  the 
Monongahela,  and  for  fifteen  miles  back, 
is  claimed  by  Colonel  Croghan  under  a 
purchase  from  the  Indians,  which  sale, 
he  says,  is  confirmed  by  his  majesty. 
On  this  creek,  where  the  branches 
thereof  interlock  with  the  waters  of 
Shurtees  Creek,  there  is,  according  to 
Colonel  Croghan's  account,  a  body  of 
fine,  rich,  level  land.  This  tract  he 
wants  to  sell,  and  offers  it  at  five  pounds 
sterling  per  hundred  acres,  with  an  ex 
emption  of  quit-rents  for  twenty  years  ; 
after  which,  to  be  subject  to  the  pay 
ment  of  four  shillings  and  two  pounds 
sterling  per  hundred  acres ;  provided 


228 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK    III. 


he  can  sell  it  in  ten-thousand-acre  lots. 
At  present  the  unsettled  state  of  this 
country  renders  any  purchase  danger- 
From  Racoon  Creek  to  Little 


ous. 


Beaver  Creek  appears  to  me  to  be  little 
short  of  ten  miles,  and  about  three 
miles  below  this  we  encamped,  after 
hiding  a  barrel  of  biscuit  in  an  island 

o 

to  lighten  our  canoe." 

In  these  extracts  from  the  journal  as 
well  as  in  those  that  follow,  it  will  be 
observed  that  Washington  does  not  for 
get  the  main  object  of  the  tour,  the 
selection,  namely,  of  good  lands  for  the 
soldiers  of  the  Seven  Years'  War.  His 
usual  prudence  is  apparent  in  the  re 
mark  on  Croghan's  offer  of  an  oppor 
tunity  for  speculating  in  land.  Wash 
ington  was  by  no  means  averse,  how 
ever,  to  investing  his  money  in  wild 
lands  ;  and  he  subsequently,  as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  remark,  bought  large 
tracts,  and  became  interested  in  com 
panies  whose  object  it  was  to  form  set 
tlements  in  the  rich  and  beautiful  re 
gion  which  he  was  now  visiting. 

The  next  extract  from  the  journal 
refers  to  the  dangers ;  but  the  writer 
does  not  complain,  as  travellers  gener 
ally  do,  of  the  discomforts  and  hard 
ships  of  the  voyage.  It  also  gives  us  a 
glimpse  of  the  Indians,  and  a  specimen 
of  the  hunting  excursions  of  the  voy 
agers.  It  also  refers  to  an  alarm  of  In 
dian  hostility,  which  happily  proved 
groundless : 

"  October  22d. — As  it  began  to  snow 
about  midnight  and  continued  pretty 
steadily,  it  was  about  half  past  seven 


before  we  left  our  encampment.  At 
the  distance  of  about  eight  miles  we 
came  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek, 
opposite  to,  or  rather,  below  which,  ap 
pears  to  be  a  long  bottom  of  very  good 
land,  and  the  ascent  to  the  hills  ap 
parently  gradual.  There  is  another 
pretty  large  bottom  of  very  good  land 
about  two  or  three  miles  above  this. 
About  eleven  or  twelve  miles  from  this, 
and  just  above  what  is  called  the  Long 
Island  (which,  though  so  distinguished, 
is  not  very  remarkable  for  length, 
breadth,  or  goodness),  comes  in  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river  a  small  creek  or 
run,  the  name  of  which  I  could  not 
learn ;  and  a  mile  or  two  below  the 
island,  on  the  west  side,  comes  in  Big 
Stony  Creek  (not  larger  in  appearance 
than  the  other),  on  neither  of  which 
does  there  seem  to  be  any  large  bot 
toms  or  bodies  of  good  land.  About 
seven  miles  from  the  last-mentioned 
creek,  twenty-eight  from  our  last  en 
campment,  and  about  seventy-five  from 
Pittsburg,  we  came  to  the  Mingo  Town, 
situate  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  a 
little  above  the  Cross  Creeks.  This 
place  contains  about  twenty  cabins,  and 
seventy  inhabitants  of  the  Six  Nations. 
Had  we  set  off  early,  and  kept  con 
stantly  at  it,  we  might  have  reached 
lower  than  this  place  to-day,  as  the 
water  in  many  places  ran  pretty  swift, 
in  general  more  so  than  yesterday. 
The  river  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Logstown 
has  some  ugly  rifts  and  shoals,  which 
we  found  somewhat  difficult  to  pass, 
whether  from  our  inexperience  of  the 


ClIAP.    VII.] 


VISITS  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


229 


channel,  or  not,  I  cannot  undertake  to 


say. 


From  Logstown  to  the  mouth  of 


Little  Beaver  Creek  is  much  the  same 
kind  of  water ;  that  is,  rapid  in  some 
places,  gliding  gently  along  in  others, 
and  quite  still  in  many.  The  water 
from  Little  Beaver  Creek  to  the  Mingo 
Town,  in  general,  is  swifter  than  we 
found  it  the  preceding  day,  and  with 
out  any  shallows  ;  there  being  some  one 
part  or  another  always  deep,  which  is  a 
natural  consequence,  as  the  river  in  all 
the  distance  from  Fort  Pitt  to  this  town 
has  not  widened  at  all,  nor  do  the  bot 
toms  appear  to  be  any  larger.  The 
hills  which  come  close  to  the  river  op 
posite  to  each  bottom  are  steep,  and,  on 
the  side  in  view,  in  many  places  rocky 
and  cragged ;  but  said  to  abound  in 
good  land  on  the  tops.  These  are  not 
a  range  of  hills,  but  broken  and  cut  in 
two,  as  if  there  were  frequent  water 
courses  running  through,  which,  how 
ever,  we  did  not  perceive  to  be  the 
case.  The  river  abounds  in  wild  geese 
and  several  kinds  of  ducks,  but  in  no 
great  quantity.  We  killed  five  wild 
turkeys  to-day.  Upon  our  arrival  at 
the  Mingo  Town,  we  received  the  dis 
agreeable  news  of  two  traders  being 
killed  at  a  town  called  the  Grape- Vine 
Town,  thirty-eight  miles  below  this ; 
which  caused  us  to  hesitate  whether 
we  should  proceed  or  wait  for  further 
intelligence." 

The  sequel  of  this  affair  is  thus  no 
ticed  in  the  record  of  events  on  the 
24th  and  25th  of  October  : 

"Two  or  three  miles  below  the  Pipe 


Creek  is  a  pretty  large  creek  on  the 
west  side,  called  by  Nicholson,  Fox- 
Grape- Vine,  by  others  Captema,  Creek, 
on  which,  eight  miles  up,  is  the  town 
called  the  Grape- Vine  Town;  and  at 
the  mouth  of  it  is  the  place  where  it  is 
said  the  trader  was  killed.  To  this 
place  we  came  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  finding  nobody  there, 
we  agreed  to  encamp,  that  Nicholson 
and  one  of  the  Indians  might  go  up  to 
the  town  and  inquire  into  the  truth  of 
the  report  concerning  the  murder. 

25th. — About  seven  o'clock,  Nichol 
son  and  the  Indian  returned;  they 
found  nobody  at  the  town  but  two  old 
Indian  women  (the  men  being  a  hunt 
ing)  ;  from  these  they  learned  that  the 
trader  was  not  murdered,  but  drowned 
in  attempting  to  cross  the  Ohio ;  and 
that  only  one  boy,  belonging  to  the 
traders,  was  in  these  parts ;  the  trader, 
his  father,  being  gone  for  horses  to  take 
home  their  skins.  About  half  an  hour 
after  seven  we  set  out  from  our  en 
campment,  around  which  and  up  the 
creek  is  a  body  of  fine  land.  In  our 
passage  down  to  this  place  we  saw  in 
numerable  quantities  of  turkeys,  and 
many  deer  watering  and  browsing  on 
the  shore-side,  some  of  which  we  killed." 

On  the  next  day,  near  Long  Reach, 
the  party  encountered  traders,  from 
whom  they  learn  more  particulars  about 
the  false  alarm: 

"  At  the  end  of  this  reach  we  found 
Martin  and  Lindsay,  two  traders,  and 
from  them  learnt  that  the  person 
drowned  was  one  Philips,  attempting, 


230 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  III. 


in  company  with  Bogers,  another  In 
dian  trader,  to  swim  the  river  with 
their  horses  at  an  improper  place ; 
Rogers  himself  narrowly  escaping." 

In  the  following  record  of  the  pro 
ceedings  on  the  28th  of  October,  we 
find  an  exquisite  picture  of  Indian  life 
and  manners : 

"  28th. — Left  our  encampment  about 
seven  o'clock.  Two  miles  below,  a  small 
run  comes  in  on  the  east  side,  through 

/  o 

a  piece  of  land  that  has  a  very  good 
appearance,  the  bottom  beginning  above 
our  encampment,  and  continuing  in  ap 
pearance  wide  for  four  miles  down, 
where  we  found  Kiashuta  and  his  hunt 
ing  party  encamped.  Here  we  were 
under  the  necessity  of  paying  our  com 
pliments,  as  this  person  was  one  of 
the  Six  ]STation  chiefs,  and  the  head  of 
those  upon  this  river.  In  the  person  of 
Kiashuta  I  found  an  old  acquaintance, 
he  being  one  of  the  Indians  that  went 
with  me  to  the  French  in  1*753.  He 
expressed  a  satisfaction  at  seeing  me, 
and  treated  us  with  great  kindness,  giv 
ing  us  a  quarter  of  very  fine  buffalo. 
He  insisted  upon  our  spending  that 
night  with  him,  and,  in  order  to  retard 
us  as  little  as  possible,  moved  his  camp 
down  the  river  just  below  the  mouth 
of  a  creek,  the  name  of  which  I  could 
not  learn.  At  this  place  we  all  en 
camped.  After  much  counselling  over 
night,  they  all  came  to  my  fire  the  next 
morning  with  great  formality,  when 
Kiashuta,  rehearsing  what  had  passed 
between  me  and  the  sachems  at  Colonel 
Croghan's,  thanked  me  for  saying  that 


peace  and  friendship  with  them  were 
the  wish  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  and 
for  recommending  it  to  the  traders  to 
deal  with  them  upon  a  fair  and  equita 
ble  footing ;  and  then  again  expressed 
their  desire  of  having  a  trade  opened 
with  Virginia,  and  that  the  governor 
thereof  might  not  only  be  made  ac 
quainted  therewith,  but  with  their 
friendly  disposition  towards  the  white 
people.  This  I  promised  to  do. 

29th. — The  tedious  ceremonv  which 

*/ 

the  Indians  observe,  in  their  counsel- 
lings  and  speeches,  detained  us  till  nine 
o'clock." 

In  the  following  record  of  the  31st  of 
October,  and  the  two  following  days, 
we  find  the  travellers  at  the  furthest 
point  they  had  proposed  to  visit,  the 
Great  Kenhawa  Biver : 

"  31st. — I  sent  the  canoe  down  about 
five  miles  to  the  junction  of  the  two 
rivers,  that  is,  the  Kenhawa  with  the 
Ohio,  and  set  out  upon  a  hunting  party 
to  view  the  land.  We  steered  nearly 
east  for  about  eight  or  nine  miles,  then 
bore  southwardly  and  westwardly,  till 
we  came  to  our  camp  at  the  confluence 
of  the  rivers.  The  land  from  the  rivers 
appeared  but  indifferent,  and  very 
broken ;  whether  these  ridges  may  not 
be  those  that  divide  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio  from  the  Kenhawa  is  not  certain, 
but  I  believe  they  are ;  if  so,  the  lands 
may  yet  be  good ;  if  not,  that  which 
lies  beyond  the  river  bottoms  is  worth 
little. 

November  1st. — Before  eight  o'clock 
we  set  off  with  our  canoe  up  the  river, 


CHAP.  VII.] 


VISITS  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


231 


to  discover  what  kind  of  lands  lay  upon 
the  Kenhawa.  The  land  on  both  sides 
this  liver,  just  at  the  mouth,  is  very 
fine,  but  on  the  east  side,  when  you  get 
towards  the  hills,  which  I  judge  to  be 
about  six  or  seven  hundred  yards  from 
the  river,  it  appears  to  be  wet,  and  bet 
ter  adapted  for  meadow  than  tillage. 
This  bottom  continues  up  the  east  side 
for  about  two  miles ;  and  by  going  up 
the  Ohio  a  good  tract  might  be  got  of 
bottom  land,  including  the  old  Shawnee 
Town,  which  is  about  three  miles  up  the 
Ohio,  just  above  the  mouth  of  a  creek. 
We  judged  we  went  up  the  Kenhawa 
about  ten  miles  to-day.  On  the  east 
side  appear  to  be  some  good  bottoms, 
but  small,  neither  long  nor  wide,  and 
the  hills  back  of  them  rather  steep  and 
poor. 

2d. — We  proceeded  up  the  river  with 
the  canoe  about  four  miles  further,  and 
then  encamped,  and  went  a  hunting ; 
killed  five  buffaloes  and  wounded  some 
others,  three  deer,  <fec.  This  country 
abounds  in  buffaloes  and  wild  game  of  all 
kinds ;  as  also  in  all  kinds  of  wild  fowl, 
there  being  in  the  bottoms  a  great  many 
small,  grassy  ponds,  or  lakes,  which  are 
full  of  swans,  geese,  and  ducks  of  dif 
ferent  kinds :" 

The  following  notice  of  the  first  day 
on  the  return  voyage,  is  exceedingly 
characteristic  of  Washington's  method 
ical  and  business-like  habits : 

"  3d. — We  set  off  down  the  river,  on 
our  return  homewards,  and  encamped 
at  the  mouth.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
bottom  above  the  junction  of  the  rivers, 


and  at  the  mouth  of  a  branch  on  the 
east  side,  I  marked  two  maples,  an  elm, 
and  hoop-wood  tree,  as  a  corner  of  the 
soldiers'  land  (if  we  can  get  it),  intend 
ing  to  take  all  the  bottom  from  hence 

O 

to  the  rapids  in  the  Great  Bend  into  one 
survey.  I  also  marked  at  the  mouth  of 
another  run  lower  down  on  the  west 
side,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  long  bot 
tom,  an  ash  and  hoop-wood  for  the  be 
ginning  of  another  of  the  soldiers'  sur 
vey,  to  extend  up  so  as  to  include  all 
the  bottom  in  a  body  on  the  west  side. 
In  coming  from  our  last  encampment  up 
the  Kenhawa,  I  endeavored  to  take  the 
courses  and  distances  of  the  river  by  a 
pocket-compass,  and  by  guessing." 

In  the  following  memorandum,  Kia- 
shuta  again  comes  upon  the  stag$ : 

"  6th. — We  left  our  encampment  a 
little  after  daylight,  and  after  about  five 
miles  we  came  to  Kiashuta's  hunting 
camp,  which  was  now  removed  to  the 
mouth  of  that  creek,  noted  October  29th 
for  having  fallen  timber  at  the  mouth 
of  it,  in  a  bottom  of  good  land.  By 
kindness  and  idle  ceremony  of  the  In 
dians,  I  was  detained  at  Kiashuta's  camp 
all  the  remaining  part  of  this  day." 

From  Kiashuta,  Washington  on  this 
occasion  obtained  much  valuable  in 
formation  respecting  the  topography  of 
that  part  of  the  neighboring  country 
which  he  had  not  seen ;  and  this  in 
formation  is  entered  in  detail  on  the 
journal  evidently  for  future  reference. 
The  portion  of  the  journal  from  the  9th 
to  the  17th  of  November  was  so  much 
injured  by  an  accident,  that  it  could  not 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


be  transcribed  for  publication  ;  but  the 
record  for  the  17th,  the  day  of  their 
arrival  at  Mingo  Town,  contains  an  ex 
tended  notice  of  the  rivers  and  lands 
the  party  had  visited,  as  well  as  of  the 
Indians  and  their  disposition  towards 
land-speculators  and  squatters,  Avho  had 
already  commenced  operations  on  the 
land  lying  between  the  Ohio  River  and 
the  recognized  boundary  of  Virginia. 

At  Mingo  ToAvn  the  party  brought 
their  boatinsr  excursion  to  an  end.  On 

O 

the  18th  of  November,  Washington 
agreed  with  two  Delaware  Indians  to 

o 

take  the  canoe  up  to  Fort  Pitt,  and  on 
the  20th,  their  horses  having  been 
brought  to  them,  the  party  set  forward 
for  Fort  Pitt,  where  they  arrived  the 
next  (3,ay. 

The  record  of  the  22d  mentions  Dr. 
Connolly,  afterwards  distinguished  in 
the  history  of  the  western  country  as  a 
large  operator  in  lands  and  in  coloniza 
tion.  The  reader  will  notice,  that  in 
this  and  several  previous  extracts  Pitts- 
burg  is  mentioned ;  this  name  it  seems 
being  already  given  to  the  little  clus 
ter  of  log-cabins  just  commenced  near 
the  site  of  Fort  Pitt  (old  Fort  Du- 
quesne) : 

"  22d. — Stayed  at  Pittsburg  all  day. 
Invited  the  officers  and  some  other  gen 
tlemen  to  dinner  with  me  at  Semple's, 
among  whom  was  one  Dr.  Connolly, 
nephew  to  Colonel  Croghan,  a  very  sen 
sible,  intelligent  man,  who  had  travel 
led  over  a  good  deal  of  this  western 
country  both  by  land  and  water,  and 
who  confirms  Nicholson's  account  of  the 


good  land  on  the  Shawnee  River,  up 
which  he  had  been  near  four  hundred 
miles.  This  country  (I  mean  on  the 
Shawnee  River),  according  to  Dr.  Con 
nolly's  description,  must  be  exceedingly 
desirable  on  many  accounts.  The  cli 
mate  is  fine,  the  soil  remarkably  good  ; 
the  lands  well  watered  with  good 
streams,  and  level  enough  for  any  kind 
of  cultivation.  Besides  these  advan 
tages  from  nature,  it  has  others  not  less 
important  to  a  new  settlement,  particu 
larly  game,  Avhich  is  so  plentiful  as  to 
render  the  transportation  of  provisions 
thither,  bread  only  excepted,  altogether 
unnecessary.  Dr.  Connolly  is  so  much 
delighted  with  the  lands  and  climate 
on  that  river,  that  he  wishes  for  nothing 
more  than  to  induce  one  hundred  fam 
ilies  to  go  there  and  live,  that  he  might 
be  among  them.  A  new  and  most  de 
sirable  government  might  be  established 
there,  to  be  bounded,  according  to  his 
account,  by  the  Ohio  northward  and 
westward,  by  the  ridge  that  divides 
the  waters  of  the  Tennessee  or  Chero 
kee  River  southward  and  westward, 
and  a  line  to  be  run  from  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  or  above,  so  as  to  cross  the 
Shawnee  River  above  the  fork  of  it. 
Dr.  Connolly  gives  much  the  same  ac 
count  of  the  land  between  Fort  Char- 
tres  in  the  Illinois  country  and  Post  St. 
Vincent  that  Nicholson  does,  except  in 
the  article  of  water,  which  the  doctor 
says  is  bad,  and  in  the  summer  scarce, 
there  being  little  else  than  stagnant 
water  to  be  met  with." 

On  the  23d  of  November,  Washing- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


VISITS  THE  WESTERN  COUNTRY. 


233 


I1TO. 


ton  set  out  on  his  return  to  Mount  Ver- 
non,  which  he  reached  on  the  1st  of 
December,  after  an  absence  of 
nine  weeks  and  one  day.  The 
journal  of  his  tour,  from  which  we  have 
made  such  copious  extracts,  shows  the 
laborious  and  fatiguing  nature  of  travel 
ling  in  the  wilderness  ;  but  it  was  also 
attended  with  a  species  of  danger  still 
more  formidable  than  any  which  he 
actually  encountered.  This  was  the 
hostility  of  the  Indians,  who  had  re 
cently  been  engaged  in  war  with  the 
British  colonists ;  and  who,  soon  after 
this  tour  of  Washington,  again  attacked 
them,  and  a  bloody  war  ensued,  of 
which  the  principal  battle  took  place 
on  the  banks  of  the  Great  Kenhawa, 
which  had  so  recently  been  visited  by 
Washington  and  his  party. 

Washington  intended  to  make  an 
other  tour  to  the  West  shortly  after  his 
return,  in  company  with  Lord  Dunmore, 
governor  of  Virginia,  successor  to  Lord 
Botetourt.  But  he  was  prevented  by 
severe  domestic  affliction  from  fulfilling 
his  purpose.  This  was  occasioned  by 
the  death  of  Miss  Custis,  the  only 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Washington. 

"  The  long,  severe,  and  fatal  illness  of 
Mrs.  Washington's  daughter,"  says  Mrs. 
Kirkland,"*  "  was  the  darkest  cloud  that 


°  Memoirs  of  Washington,  p.  202. 
VOL.  I.— 80 


overspread  Mount  Vernon  for  many 
years  of  quiet  time.  The  feeble  child 
was  the  darling  of  her  mother ;  and  her 
prolonged  suffering  made  large  drafts, 
not  only  upon  the  tender  mother,  but 
upon  the  kind  step-father ;  and  when 
at  length  she  died,  Washington,  who 
was  just  setting  out  upon  a  long  jour 
ney  of  exploration,  preparatory  to  the 
purchase  of  some  tracts  of  land  at  the 
West,  gave  up  the  expedition,  and  staid 
at  home  to  comfort  and  cheer  his  wife 
under  her  great  affliction.  Mrs.  Lewis, 
granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington,  says 
that  on  the  occasion  of  this  young  lady's 
death,  Washington  exhibited  a  passion 
ate  excess  of  feeling — falling  on  his 
knees  at  the  bedside,  and  praying  aloud 
and  with  tears  that  she  might  be  spared, 
unconscious  that,  even  as  he  spoke,  life 
had  departed.  We  find,  by  his  diary 
after  this  time,  that  he  took  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  out  every  day,  driving  about  the 
neighborhood  and  calling  on  intimate 
friends,  endeavoring  by  exercise  in  the 
open  air  and  by  the  society  of  those 
she  loved,  to  turn  her  thoughts  from 
the  too  constant  contemplation  of  her 
loss.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  affec 
tions,  very  quiet  and  retiring  in  her 
habits,  and  devoted  to  her  family ;  and 
Washington's  sympathy  was  never  want 
ing  when  she  suffered  from  loss  or  sep 
aration." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

1771—1773, 

POLITICAL   UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 

Hutckinson  appointed  governor  of  Massachusetts. — He  informs  the  legislature  that  the  king  had  provided  for  his 
support. — Object  of  this  innovation. — Decision  of  the  legislature. — The  judges  also  made  independent  of  the 
people. — The  legislature  resolves  that  the  acceptance  of  a  salary  from  the  king  makes  any  one  of  the  judges  an 
enemy  of  his  country. — Four  judges  accept  compensation  from  the  legislature. — Oliver  refuses,  and  is  impeached. 
— Samuel  Adams  invents  the  system  of  committees  of  correspondence. — The  harbor  of  Boston  made  the  general 
rendezvous  for  the  British  ships-of-war  in  America. — Castle  William  surrendered  by  Hutchinson  to  the  king's 
troops. — Hutchinson  seeks  the  subversion  of  the  Massachusetts  charter. — General  Court  meets  at  Cambridge  and 
is  adjourned  to  Boston. — Affair  of  the  schooner  Gaspee. — Vain  attempts  to  discover  the  agents  in  it. — Hutchin 
son  is  desirous  to  hang  them. — The  General  Court  pronounces  the  system  of  rendering  civil  officers  dependent 
on  the  crown  for  their  salaries  unconstitutional. — Lord  Hillsborough  resigns  the  secretaryship,  and  is  succeeded 
by  Lord  Dartmouth. — Dr.  Franklin  obtains  certain  letters  of  Hutchinson,  Oliver,  and  others,  recommending 
coercive  measures  against  the  colonies,  and  sends  them  to  Boston. — The  General  Court  petition  the  king  to 
remove  them  from  office. — The  petition  discussed  before  the  privy  council,  where  Wedderburne  grossly  insults 
Franklin. — Indignation  of  the  Americans. — Franklin  dismissed  from  his  office  of  postmaster-general. — Virginia 
consolidates  the  union  of  the  colonies,  by  extending  the  system  of  committees  of  correspondence  to  them  all. — 
Resolves  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. — Supported  by  Washington,  Henry,  and  Lee. — Effects  of  the  measure. — 
Favorably  received  by  the  Bostonians  and  the  Massachusetts  Assembly. — Extract  from  their  circular  letter. - 
Hutchinson  defeated  by  the  Assembly  in  an  argument  on  the  legislative  supremacy  of  parliament. 


IN  March,  1771,  Hutchinson  received 
his  commission  as  governor  of  Massa 
chusetts.  It  was  unfortunate  for  his 
character  that  he  accepted  it,  as  it  was 
destined  to  bring  him.  nothing  but  dis 
appointment  and  disgrace ;  but  his  mal 
administration  was  ultimately  service 
able  to  the  colonies,  as  it  undoubtedly 
served  to  hasten  the  period  of  open  hos 
tilities  and  of  consequent  independence. 
One  of  the  first  incidents  which  followed 
his  appointment  was  the  announcement 
of  a  fresh  attack  on  the  chartered  rights 
of  the  colony  by  the  ministry. 

He  had  enjoyed  his  commission  as 
governor  but  a  very  short  time,  when 


he  acquainted  the  provincial  Assembly 
that  he  no  longer  required  a  salary  from 
them,  as  the  king  had  made  provision 
for  his  support.  By  this  measure  the 
British  court  expected  gradually  to  in 
troduce  into  practical  operation  the 
principle  for  which  it  had  already  con 
tended,  of  rendering  the  emoluments,  as 
well  as  the  communication  and  endur 
ance,  of  executive  functions  in  America 
wholly  dependent  on  the  pleasure  of  the 
crown;  and  probably  it  was  supposed 
that  the  Americans  would  give  little 
heed  to  the  principle  of  an  innovation  of 
which  the  first  practical  effect  was  to 
relieve  them  from  a  considerable  burden. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


POLITICAL  UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


235 


1771. 


But  the  Americans  valued  liberty 
more  than  money,  and  justly  accounted 
it  the  political  basis  on  which-  reposed 
the  stability  of  every  temporal  advan 
tage.  Hutchinson's  communication  was 
deliberately  examined  and  discussed, 
and  a  month  afterwards  (July 
10)  the  Assembly  by  a  message 
declared  to  him  that  the  royal  provi 
sion  for  his  support,  and  his  own  accep 
tance  of  it,  was  an  infraction  of  the 
rights  of  the  inhabitants  recognized  by 
the  provincial  charter,  an  insult  to  the 
Assembly,  and  an  invasion  of  the  im 
portant  trust  which  from  the  founda 
tion  of  their  commonwealth  they  had 
ever  continued  to  exercise. 

Hutchinson,  who,  like  many  scholars, 
entertained  sentiments  rather  kindly 
than  respectful  of  the  mass  of  mankind, 
and  never  justly  appreciated  the  forti 
tude,  resolution,  and  foresight  of  his 
countrymen,  appears  to  have  been  struck 
with  surprise  at  their  conduct  on  this 
occasion.  This,  at  least,  is  the  most  in 
telligible  explanation  of  his  behavior, 
when,  some  time  after,  they  desired  his 
assent  to  the  usual  provision  they  made 
for  the  salaries  of  the  judges.  Instead 
of  frankly  granting  or  withholding  his 
sanction,  he  continued  to  hesitate  and 
temporize,  until  a  remonstrance  from  the 
Assembly  elicited  from  him  the  avowal, 
for  which  they  were  quite  prepared, 
that  he  could  no  longer  authorize  a  pro 
vincial  provision  for  the  judges,  as  the 
king  had  undertaken  to  provide  for 
tlieir  remuneration  also. 

The    Assembly   instantly   passed   a 


resolution  declaring  that  this  measure 
tended  to  the  subversion  of  justice  and 
equity ;  and  that,  while  the  tenure  of 
judicial  office  continued  to  depend  on 
the  pleasure  of  the  king,  "  any  of  the 
judges  who  shall  accept  of  and  depend 
upon  the  pleasure  of  the  crown  for  his 
support,  independent  of  the  grants  of 
the  Assembly,  will  discover  that  he 
is  an  enemy  to  the  constitution,  and 
has  it  in  his  heart  to  promote  the  estab 
lishment  of  arbitrary  power  in  the 
province." 

We  shall  here  so  far  overstep  the 
march  of  time  and  order  of  events  as  to 
notice  the  issue  of  this  particular  dis 
pute,  which  did  not  occur  till  the  com 
mencement  of  the  year  1*774,  when  four 
of  the  judges  acquainted  the  Assembly 
that  they  had  received  the  salary  voted 
to  them  by  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  and  refused  to  accept  emolument 
from  any  other  quarter ;  but  Oliver,  the 
chief-justice,  announced  that  he  had  re 
ceived  the  king's  salary,  and  without 
his  majesty's  permission  could  not  ac 
cept  any  other  emolument.  The  As 
sembly  thereupon  tendered  an  impeach 
ment  against  Oliver  to  the  governor  and 
council;  and  as  Hutchinson  refused  to 
receive  it,  they  protested  that  his  refusal 
was  occasioned  by  his  own  dependence 
on  the  crown.  They  had  never,  indeed, 
any  hope  that  it  would  be  received,  and 
were  incited  to  these  measures  by  the 
desire  of  rendering  Hutchinson  and 
Oliver  additionally  unpopular.* 

°  Graham,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  p.  470. 


236 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 


[BOOK  m. 


1TT2. 


Iii  the  close  of  the  present  year, 
Samuel  Adams  suggested  to  his 
countrymen  the  expediency  of  a 
measure  fitted  to  counteract  the  repre 
sentations  of  Hutchinson  and  his  ad 
herents,  who  gave  out  that  the  popular 
opposition  was  more  formidable  in  ap 
pearance  than  in  reality,  and  was  at 
bottom  merely  an  intrigue  of  a  few  fac 
tious  men ;  and  in  conformity  with  his 
suggestion,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston 

OO 

(November  22,  1772)  elected  twenty- 
one  of  their  fellow-citizens  as  a  commit 
tee  empowered  to  correspond  with  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province, 
to  consider  and  represent  the  common 
grievances,  and  to  publish  to  the  world 
an  account  of  their  transactions.  The 
committee  thus  elected  prepared  and 
dispersed  throughout  the  province  a  re 
port  of  all  the  encroachments  that  had 
been  attempted  or  committed  upon 
American  liberty,  together  Avith  a  cir 
cular  letter  which  concluded  in  these 
terms : — "  Let  us  consider,  brethren,  that 
we  are  struggling  for  our  best  birth 
right  and  inheritance,  of  which  the  in 
fringement  renders  all  other  blessings 
precarious  in  their  enjoyment,  and  con 
sequently  trifling  in  their  value.  We 
are  not  afraid  of  poverty,  hut  we  disdain 
slavery.  Let  us  disappoint  the  men  who 
are  raising  themselves  on  the  ruin  of 
this  country.  Let  us  convince  every  in 
vader  of  our  freedom  that  we  will  be  as 
free  as  the  constitution  which  our  fathers 
recognized  will  justify." 

The  powerful  influence  of  this  meas 
ure  was  not  confined  to  the  province  of 


Massachusetts,  nor  even  to  the  States  of 
New  England.  It  will  be  seen  in  the 
sequel  that  it  was  adopted  by  all  the 
colonies."* 


°  The  following  extract,  from  a  British  writer,  evinces 
how  well  the  importance  of  Samuel  Adams's  invention  of 
committees  of  correspondence  was  understood  in  Eng 
land,  where  it  was  attributed  to  their  "favorite  aversion," 
Dr.  Franklin  : 

"  But  the  storm  raised  by  the  Whiteboys  and  Hearts 
of  Steel  was  not  to  be  compared  to  the  tempest  further 
west,  conjured  up  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  upon  the  appa 
rition  of  Lord  North's  tea.  and  upon  his  attempt  at  tak 
ing  the  payment  of  the  colonial  judges  and  governors  out 
of  the  Houses  of  Assembly.  While  the  British  govern 
ment  argued  that  the  salaries  of  the  judges  were  inade 
quate  to  the  dignity  of  their  stations — that  both  judges 
and  governors  were  too  dependent  upon  the  people  to  be 
able  to  execute  justice  impartially,  or  in  any  way  to  do 
their  duty — the  Americans  declared  that  the  design  of 
the  British  government  was  to  impose  its  own  arbitrary 
instruments  upon  them,  to  destroy  the  very  essence  of 
their  charters  and  liberties,  by  making  the  judges  and 
governors  wholly  independent  of  the  people,  and  wholly 
dependent  upon  the  crown.  A  series  of  protests,  begun 
at  Boston,  where  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  had  re 
turned  to  sit,  soon  ran  through  all  the  colonies ;  and  a 
general  corresponding  committee  was  established,  with 
branches  and  ramifications  reaching  to  nearly  every  town 
and  village  in  the  colonies.  This  committee  of  corre 
spondence  proved  the  great  lever  of  revolution.  The  in 
vention  of  it  has  been  attributed  to  Franklin  ;  but  the 
thing  itself,  the  uses  to  which  it  might  be  applied,  and 
its  absolute  necessity  in  a  country  where  the  population 
was  scattered  over  such  immense  tracts  of  land,  with 
mighty  rivers  and  forests,  mountains  and  deserts,  inter 
vening,  were  all  so  obvious  that  they  must  have  struck 
the  dullest  apprehension,  and  the  idea  no  doubt  sprung 
up  spontaneously  in  thousands  of  minds  at  once.  The 
effect  was  soon  seen  in  a  general  combination  of  meas 
ures,  a  unanimity  of  language,  and  a  general  avoidance 
or  persecution  of  all  who  presumed  to  side  with  the  Brit 
ish  government.  The  words  and  deeds  of  an  individual 
at  Boston  were  made  known  everywhere,  and  the  tories, 
as  they  were  called,  could  not  travel  or  show  their  faces 
anywhere  without  being  reviled  and  threatened  as  ene 
mies  to  their  country.  Liberty  has  its  arbitrary  devices 
as  well  as  despotism.  Description  of  persons,  like  the 
SIGNALKMEXS  on  a  French  passport,  were  scattered  far  and 
wide,  so  that  the  travelling  tories  found  themselves  rec 
ognized  even  where  they  least  expected  to  be  known." 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


POLITICAL  UNIOX  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


237 


17  TO. 


During  the  month,  before  Washing- 

o  o 

ton  commenced  his  journey  to  the 
western  country,  another  impor 
tant  change  had  taken  place  in 
the  measures  adopted  by  the  British 
ministry  for  reducing  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  to  obedience.  While  the 
General  Court  were  in  session  for  the 
third  time  at  Cambridge,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  Hutchinson,  had  received  an 
order  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
king  in  council,'"  making  the  harbor  of 
Boston  the  rendezvous  of  all  ships  sta 
tioned  in  North  America,  and  the  for 
tress  (Castle  William),  which  command 
ed  it,  was  to  be  delivered  up  to  such 
officer  as  General  Gagef  should  appoint, 
to  be  garrisoned  by  regular  troops  and 
put  into  a  respectable  state  of  defence. 
Gage  directed  Hutchinson  to  deliver 
up  Castle  William  to  Colonel  Dalrym- 
ple. 

This  command  of  the  king,  Hutchin 
son,  after  one  day's  hesitation,  carried 
into  effect  by  a  sort  of  stratagem  ;  thus 
violating  the  charter  of  Massachusetts, 
which  confided  the  military  force  of  the 
colony  and  its  forts  to  the  governor 
alone.  The  civil  power  was  thus 
brought  into  subjection  to  the  military, 
and  "  the  act,"  says  Bancroft,  "  was  a 
commencement  of  civil  war." 

~No  attempt  was  made  by  the  Bos- 
tonians  to  displace  the  royal  troops. 
The  people  understood  the  menace,  but 

e  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  Slates,  vol.  vi.  p.  369. 

f  Commander-in-chief  of  the  royal  forces  in  America  : 
at  this  time  he  was  in  England.  See  Document  [B]  at 
the  end  of  this  chapter. 


"  bided  their  time."  The  General  Court 
protested ;  and  then  proceeded  to  in 
stitute  an  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the 
province,  with  a  view  to  the  redress  of 
grievances.  Hutchinson  in  the  mean 
time  was  secretly  urging  on  Lord  Hills- 
borough  the  complete  subversion  of  the 
charter  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  re 
modelling  of  its  government  on  the 
principles  of  despotism. 

In  June,  1772,  Hutchinson  for  the 
fourth  time  ordered  the  General  Court 
to  assemble  in  Cambridge.  He  per 
sisted  in  this  course,  so  vexatious  to  the 
members,  merely  as  an  assertion  of  pre 
rogative,  and  it  was  precisely  on  this 
ground  that  the  legislature  remonstrated 
against  being  exiled  from  the  proper 
seat  of  government  for  the  province. 
Weary  of  the  contest,  he  now  put  an 
end  to  discussion  by  adjourning  the  ses 
sion  to  Boston. 

Soon  after,  the  famous  affair  of  the 
schooner  Gaspee  took  place.  This  ves- ' 
sel  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Dud- 
ingston,  who  was  loudly  complained  of 
by  the  people  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  for  obstructing  the  commerce  of 
the  place,  without  having  shown  any 
evidence  of  his  authority.  Chief-justice 
Hopkins  pronounced  this  conduct  a 
trespass,  if  not  piracy ;  but  he  was  sus 
tained  by  the  admiral,  who  threatened 
those  persons  who  should  rescue  a  ves 
sel  from  any  of  the  king's  officers  with 
being  hung  as  pirates.  Thus  supported, 
Dudinorston  "insulted  the  inhabitants, 

o 

plundered  the  island  of  sheep  and  hogs, 
cut  down  trees,  fired  at  market-boats, 


238 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK   III. 


detained  vessels  without  a  colorable 
pretext,  and  made  illegal  seizures  of 
goods,  of  which  the  recovery  cost  more 
than  they  were  worth."* 

On  the  9th  of  June,  the  Providence 
packet  was  sailing  into  the  harbor  of 
Newport,  and  Lieutenant  Dudingston 
thought  proper  to  require  the  captain 
to  lower  his  colors.  This  the  captain  of 
the  packet  deemed  repugnant  to  his  pa 
triotic  feelings,  and  the  Gaspee  fired  at 
the  packet  to  bring  her  to  ;  the  Ameri 
can,  however,  still  persisted  in  holding 
on  her  course,  and,  by  keeping  in  shoal 
water,  dexterously  contrived  to  run  the 
schooner  aground  in  the  chase. 

As  the  tide  was  upon  the  ebb,  the 
Gaspee  was  set  fast  for  the  night,  and 
afforded  a  tempting  opportunity  for  re 
taliation  ;  and  a  party  of  men  led  by 
John  Brown  and  Joseph  Brown,  of 
Providence,  and  Simeon  Potter,  of  Bris 
tol,  being  determined  to  rid  themselves 
of  so  uncivil  an  inspector,  in  the  middle 
of  the  night  manned  several  boats  and 
boarded  the  Gaspee.  The  lieutenant 
was  wounded  in  the  affray ;  but,  with 
every  thing  belonging  to  him,  he  was 
carefully  conveyed  on  shore,  as  were  all 
his  crew.  The  vessel,  with  her  stores, 
was  then  burnt ;  and  the  party  returned 
unmolested  to  their  homes.  When  the 
governor  became  acquainted  with  this 
event,  he  offered  a  reward  of  five  hun 
dred  pounds  for  the  discovery  of  the 
offenders,  and  the  royal  pardon  to  those 
who  would  confess  their  guilt.  Coni- 

0  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  Slates,  vol.  vi.  p   413. 


missioners  were  appointed  also  to  inves 
tigate  the  offence,  and  bring  the  perpe 
trators  to  justice  ;  but,  after  remaining 
some  time  in  session,  they  reported  that 
they  could  obtain  no  evidence,  and  thus 
the  affair  terminated ;  a  circumstance 
which  forcibly  illustrates  the  inviolable 
brotherhood  which  then  united  the  peo 
ple  against  the  governrnent.f 

Governor  Hutchinson  was  anxious  to 
have  the  persons  concerned  in  the  de 
struction  of  the  Gaspee  sent  to  England 
for  trial  and  hung  at  Execution  Dock, 
under  an  act  recently  passed  for  the 
protection  of  the  king's  dockyards, 
ships,  and  stores ;  and  Lord  Sandwich 
wished  to  have  the  charter  of  Rhode 
Island  revoked. 

Mean  time  the  General  Court  were 
examining  the  subject  of  the  re 
cent  attacks  on  the  charter,  in 
the  provision  for  rendering  civil  officers 
independent  of  the  people  by  making 
them  dependent  on  the  crown  for  their 
salaries.  The  House  declared  "  that  the 
innovation  was  an  important  change  in 
the  constitution,  and  exposed  the  prov 
ince  to  a  despotic  administration  of  the 
government." 

Lord  Hillsborough,  who  had  been 
greatly  influenced  in  his  despotic  meas 
ures  against  the  colonies  by  the  letter 
of  Hutchinson,  resigned  his  office  of 
secretary  for  the  colonies,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Lord  Dart 
mouth, J  an  amiable  and  candid  man,  sin 
cerely  desirous  of  conciliation  and  peace, 

f  Hinton,  History  of  tJie  United  Stales. 
J  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  Slates 


1772 


1TT2. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


POLITICAL  UXION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


239 


but,  like  the  other  members  of  the  Brit 
ish  ministry,  by  no  means  well  informed 
on  the  actual  condition  of  the  colonies, 
and  the  real  disposition  of  the  people. 

A  personal  animosity  between  Gov 
ernor  Hutchinson  and  some  distin 
guished  patriots  in  Massachusetts,  con 
tributed  to  perpetuate  a  flame  of  dis 
content  in  that  province,  after  it  had 
elsewhere  visibly  abated.  This  was 
worked  up,  in  the  year  1*773,  to  a  high 
pitch  by  a  singular  combination  of  cir 
cumstances.  Some  letters  had  been 
writen  in  the  course  of  the  dispute,  by 
Governor  Hutchinson,*  Lieutenant-gov 
ernor  Oliver,  and  others,  in  Boston,  to 
persons  in  power  and  office  in  England, 
which  contained  a  very  unfavorable 
representation  of  the  state  of  public 
affairs,  and  tended  to  show  the  neces 
sity  of  coercive  measures,  and  of  chang 
ing  the  chartered  system  of  government, 
to  secure  the  obedience  of  the  province. 
These  letters  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Dr.  Franklin,  agent  of  the  province, 
who  transmitted  them  to  Boston.  The 
indignation  and  animosity,  which  was 
excited  on  the  receipt  of  them,  knew 
no  bounds.  The  House  of  Assembly 
agreed  on  a  petition  and  remonstrance 
to  his  majesty,  in  which  they  charged 
their  governor  and  lieutenant-governor 
with  being  betrayers  of  their  trusts, 
and  of  the  people  they  governed,  and 
of  giving  private,  partial,  and  false  in 
formation.  They  also  declared  them 
enemies  to  the  colonies,  and  prayed 

c  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


for  justice  against  them,  and  for  their 
speedy  removal  from  their  places 
These  charges  were  carried  through  by 
a  majority  of  eighty-two  to  twelve. 

This  petition  and  remonstrance  be 
ing  transmitted  to  England,  the  merits 
of  it  were  discussed  before  his  maj 
esty's  privy-council.  After  a  hearing 
before  that  board,  in  which  Dr.  Frank 
lin  represented  the  province  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  the  governor  and  lieutenant- 
governor  were  acquitted.  Mr.  Wed- 
derburne,  who  defended  the  accused 
royal  servants,  in  the  course  of  his 
pleadings,  inveighed  against  Dr.  Frank 
lin,  in  the  severest  language,  as  the 
fomenter  of  the  disputes  between  the 
two  countries.  It  was  no  protection 
to  this  venerable  sage,  that  being  the 
agent  of  Massachusetts,  he  conceived  it 
his  duty  to  inform  his  constituents  of 
letters,  written  on  public  affairs,  calcu 
lated  to  overturn  their  chartered  con 
stitution.  The  age,  respectability,  and 
high  literary  character  of  the  subject  of 
Mr.  Wedderburne's  philippic,  turned 
the  attention  of  the  public  on  the  trans 
action.  The  insult  offered  to  one  of 
their  public  agents,  and  especially  to 
one  who  was  both  the  idol  and  orna 
ment  of  his  native  country,  sunk  deep 
in  the  minds  of  the  Americans.  That 
a  faithful  servant,  whom  they  loved  and 
almost  adored,  should  be  insulted  for 
discharging  his  official  duty,  rankled  in 
their  hearts.  Dr.  Franklin  was  also  im 
mediately  dismissed  from  the  office  of 
postmaster-general,  which  he  held  under 
the  crown.  It  was  not  only  by  his  trans- 


240 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


mission  of  those  letters,  that  he  had 
given  offence  to  the  British  ministry, 
but  by  his  popular  writings  in  favor  of 
America.  Two  pieces  of  his,  in  particu 
lar,  had  lately  attracted  a  large  share  of 
public  attention,  and  had  an  extensive 
influence  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
The  one  purported  to  be  an  edict  from 
the  King  of  Prussia,  for  taxing  the  in 
habitants  of  Great  Britain,  as  descend 
ants  of  emigrants  from  his  dominions. 
The  other  was  entitled,  "  Rules  for  re 
ducing  a  great  empire  to  a  small  one." 
In  both  of  which  he  had  exposed  the 
claims  of  the  mother  country,  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  British  ministry, 
with  the  severity  of  poignant  satire. 

The  system  of  committees  of  corre 
spondence,  invented  by  Samuel  Adams, 
had  hitherto  been  confined  to  the  towns 
of  Massachusetts.  To  Virginia,  the 
credit  is  due  of  having  extended  it  to 
all  the  colonies.  The  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  after  being  repeatedly  prorogued 
by  proclamations  of  the  governor,  Lord 
Dunmore,  met  on  the  4th  of  March, 
ITT 3.  On  the  twelfth  of  the  same 
month,  the  Assembly  unanimously 
adopted  a  series  of  resolutions,  moved 
by  Dabney  Carr,*  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  the 
legislature  to  correspond  with  the  legis 
latures  of  the  other  colonies,  and  recom 
mending  the  same  measure  to  be  adopt 
ed  by  them,  "  thereby  establishing  chan 
nels  of  intelligence  and  a  bond  of  union, 
which  proved  of  the  utmost  importance 

0  Alexander  H.  Everett,  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  in 
Sparks'  American  Biography,  2d  series,  vol.  i.  p.  280. 


to  the  general  cause.  Washington  was 
present,  and  gave  his  hearty  support  to 
these  resolves."f  They  were  also  sup 
ported  with  great  eloquence  by  Pat 
rick  Henry  and  Richard  Henry  Lee. 
Among  the  names  of  the  Virginia  com 
mittee  of  correspondence  then  appoint 
ed,  are  those  of  Bland,  Lee,  Henry, 
Carr,  and  Jefferson. £ 

This  measure,  which  produced  an  im 
portant  effect  in  animating  the  resolu 
tion  and  harmonizing  the  proceedings 
of  the  Americans,  was  so  grateful  in 
particular  to  the  citizens  of  Boston, 
that,  in  a  letter  of  instructions  which 
they  addressed  shortly  after  to  their 
representatives  in  the  Assembly,  they 
desired  them  seriously  to  consider  if 
the  salvation  of  American  liberty  and 
the  restoration  of  friendship  between 
America  and  Britain  did  not  demand 
an  immediate  concurrence  with  the  wise 
and  salutary  proposal  of  our  noble  pa 
triotic  sister  colony  of  Virginia. 

The  recommendation  of  the  citizens 
of  Boston  was  favorably  received  by 
the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  which 
instantly  appointed  a  committee  of  cor 
respondence  with  the  other  colonies. 
In  a  circular  letter  published  shortly 
after  by  this  committee,  the  prospect  of 
a  quarrel  between  England  and  Spain 
was  remarked  in  these  terms  :  "Should 
a  war  take  place,  which  by  many  is 
thought  to  be  probable,  America  will 
be  viewed  by  the  administration  as  im 
portant  to  Great  Britain.  Her  aid  will 

f  Sparks,  Life  of  Washington,  p.  113. 
'    J  Bancroft.  History  of  the  United  Stales,  vol.  vi.  p.  453. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


POLITICAL  UNION  OF  THE  COLONIES. 


241 


be  deemed  necessary ;  her  friendship 
will  be  courted.  Would  it  not,  then, 
be  wise  in  the  several  American  gov 
ernments  to  withhold  all  kind  of  aid  in 
a  general  war,  till  their  rights  and  lib 
erties  are  permanently -restored  and  se 
cured?"  "With  regard  to  the  extent 
of  riglits"  they  added,  "  which  the  colo 
nies  oiiglit  to  insist  upon,  it  is  a  subject 
which  requires  the  greatest  attention 
and  deliberation.  This  is  a  strong  rea 
son  why  it  should  claim  the  earliest  con 
sideration  of  every  committee  ;  that  we 
may  be  prepared,  when  time  and  cir 
cumstances  shall  give  to  our  claim  the 
surest  prospect  of  success.  And  when 
we  consider  how  one  great  event  has 
hurried  on  after  another,  sucli  a  time 
may  come  sooner  than  ice  suppose? 

VOL.  I.— 31 


Hutchiuson,  about  this  time,  with  a 
rash  confidence  in  his  own  talents  and 
an  eager  hope  of  recommending  himself 
to  the  British  court,  undertook  in  his 
speeches  to  the  Assembly  of  Massachu 
setts  to  support  by  argument  the  legis 
lative  supremacy  of  parliament, — a  doc 
trine  which  we  have  seen  that  his  own 
original  opinions  outstripped  those  of 
his  countrymen  in  opposing.  This  mis 
placed  exertion  of  zeal  was  generally 
disapproved,  even  in  England,  where  it 
was  remarked  with  displeasure  that 
principles  solemnly  established  by  the 
crown  and  parliament  were  at  once  un 
hinged  and  degraded  by  the  presump 
tuous  argumentative  patronage  of  a  pro 
vincial  governor. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER   VIII. 


[A.] 

GOVERNOR  HUTCHINSON. 

THOMAS  HUTCIIIXSON,  LL.  D.,  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  Avhilc  a  province  of  England, 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1727.  He  first 
applied  himself  to  mercantile  business,  but  soon 
commenced  studying  the  common  law  of  Eng 
land,  and  the  principles  of  the  British  constitu 
tion,  with  reference  to  his  employment  in  public 
life.  For  ten  years  he  was  a  representative  from 
"Boston  in  the  General  Court,  and  was  three 
times  chosen  speaker.  In  1752  he  was  appointed 
judge  of  probate;  was  a  member  of  the  council 
from  1749  to  1766;  lieutenant-governor  from 
1758  to  1771 ;  and  in  1760  was  appointed  chief- 
justice.  At  one  time  he  held  the  offices  of 
councillor,  judge  of  probate,  chief-justice,  and 
lieutenant-governor.  He  sided  with  the  mother 
country  in  her  attempts  to  raise  a  revenue  from 
the  colonies,  and  of  course  became  extremely 
obnoxious  to  the  people.  A  brother-in-law  of 
Mr.  Ilutchinson  being  appointed  distributor  of 
stamps,  the  people,  or  rather  the  mob,  after 
compelling  him  to  resign  his  office,  paid  a  visit 
to  Governor  Ilutchinson's  house,  in  consequence 
of  a  report  that  he  had  written  letters  in  favor 
of  the  act ;  but  the  chief  damage  done  on  this 
occasion  consisted  in  breaking  his  windows.  A 
few  evenings  subsequently  there  was  a  more 
formidable  assault.  The  merchants  being  dis 
pleased  with  the  officers  of  the  customs  and  the 
admiralty,  a  mob  was  collected  in  the  evening 
of  August  26,  1765,  in  King-street,  and  well 
supplied  with  strong  drink.  They  first  plun 
dered  the  cellar  of  the  comptroller  of  customs 
of  the  wine  and  spirits,  and  then  proceeded  with 
intoxicated  rage  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Ilutchin 
son,  where,  splitting  the  doors  to  pieces  with 


broad-axes,  they  destroyed  or  cast  into  the 
street  every  thing  which  was  in  the  house,  re 
taining  possession  until  daylight.  The  damage 
was  estimated  at  two  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds,  besides  the  loss  of  a  great  collection  of 
public  and  private  papers.  He  received  a  com 
pensation  for  his  losses.  The  governor  was  that 
night  at  the  castle.  The  citizens  the  next  day 
passed  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  rioters,  but  no 
person  was  punished ;  even  six  or  eight  persons, 
who  were  imprisoned  for  participation  in  the 
disturbance,  were  released  by  another  mob,  who 
by  threats  obtained  the  keys  of  the  prison  from 
the  prison-keeper.  In  1768,  the  arrival  of  the 
troops  at  Boston  increased  the  popular  excite 
ment  against  the  lieutenant-governor.  When 

o  o 

Governor  Bernard  left  the  province  in  1769,  the 
administration  devolved  on  the  lieutenant-gov- 

O 

ernor,  and  in  the  next  year,  the  Boston  mas 
sacre,  as  it  was  called,  occurred,  inflaming  the 
public  mind.  He  had  a  long  controversy  with 
the  General  Court,  caused  by  his  prorogation  of 
it  to  Cambridge  by  order  of  the  king.  At  this 
period,  in  meditating  on  the  future,  he  con 
cluded  that  it  would  be  prudent  for  him  to  re 
main  in  the  office  of  chief-justice — and  pass  his 
days  in  peace.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
March,  1771,  his  commission  as  governor  was 
received.  Unfortunately  for  himself  he  accepted 
the  appointment;  for,  from  this  time  till  his  de 
parture  for  England  in  1774,  he  was  in  constant 
dispute  with  the  Assembly  and  Council.  The 
discovery  of  his  confidential  letters  to  the  Brit 
ish  government,  giving  details  of  the  position  of 
affairs  in  the  colony,  accompanied  by  advice  as 
to  the  measures  to  be  pursued  for  coercion, 
caused  him  not  a  little  trouble  and  uneasiness. 
Tlie  last  public  difficulty  was  the  affair  of  the  tea, 
a  part  of  which  had  been  consigned  to  two  of  his 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


243 


sons.  At  this  time  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  as  they 
were  called,  had  nullified  all  the  powers  of  gov 
ernment.  Xo  officer  dared  to  issue  or  serve  a 
precept.  February  24th,  1774,  the  governor 
informed  the  legislature  by  message,  that  he  had 
obtained  his  majesty's  leave  to  return  to  Eng 
land,  and  that  he  would  soon  avail  himself  of  it ; 
accordingly  he  sailed  for  England  June  1st. 
After  the  publication  of  the  letters  in  1773,  the 
Council  and  the  House  voted  an  address  asking 
for  the  removal  of  the  governor.  A  hearing 
was  had  before  the  privy  council  relative  to  the 
subject  of  their  petition,  who  gave  a  decision  in 
favor  of  "the  honor,  integrity,  and  conduct  of 
the  governor,"  which  endorsement  of  his  official 
acts  was  approved  by  the  king.  He  was  de 
prived  of  all  his  offices  in  America,  but  received 
in  lieu  therefor  a  pension  from  the  British  gov 
ernment.  He  died  in  1780,  aged  G9.  He 
published  —  "A  Brief  State  of  the  Claim  of 
the  Colonies,  1704;"  "The  History  of  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  from  the  first  set 
tlement  thereof  in  1628,  until  the  year  1750," 
in  2  vols.  8vo.,  the  first  issued  in  1700,  and  the 
second  in  1707;  "A  Collection  of  Original 
Papers  relative  to  the  History  of  the  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,"  8vo.,  1769.  These  works  are 
highly  esteemed  by  those  who  are  engaged  in 
investigating  the  history  of  America.  A  third 
volume  of  the  "  History  of  Massachusetts  from 
1749  to  1774,"  was  published  from  his  manu 
scripts  by  his  grandson.  London,  Svo.,  1828. 


[B.] 

GOVERNOR  GAGE. 

Thomas  Gage,  the  last  governor  of  Massa 
chusetts  appointed  by  the  king,  was  a  native  of 
England,  and  an  active  officer  during  the  Seven 
Years'  War.  He  was  appointed  governor  of 


Montreal  in  1700,  and  in  1763,  at  the  departure 
of  Amherst  from  America,  was  commissioned 
commander-in-chief  of  the  British  forces  in  that 
country.  In  1774  he  superseded  Hutchinson  as 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  arrived  at  Bos 
ton,  May  13th.  Several  regiments  soon  followed 
him,  and  he  began  to  repair  the  fortifications  on 
Boston  Neck.  As  precautionary  measures,  he 
caused  the  powder  in  the  arsenal  at  Charlestown 
to  be  seized,  and  sent  detachments  of  troops  to 
take  possession  of  the  military  stores  deposited 
in  Salem  or  its  vicinity,  and  others  were  directed 
to  proceed  to  Concord.  The  detachment  sent 
to  Concord  encountered  the  Americans  at  Lex 
ington  early  in  the  morning  of  April  19th,  1775, 
when  hostilities  commenced,  which  were  re 
newed  at  Concord,  and  continued  till  the  British 
troops  reached  their  encampment  at  Charlestown, 
towards  evening.  In  May,  the  Provincial  Con 
gress  declared  Gage  to  be  an  inveterate  enemy 
of  the  country,  disqualified  to  serve  the  colony 
as  governor,  and  unworthy  of  obedience.  It 
was  his  misfortune  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
his  office  at  a  time  when  it  became  necessary  for 
him,  as  a  faithful  servant  of  his  king,  to  execute 
laws  framed  expressly  for  the  infliction  of  chas 
tisement  upon  the  people  of  the  colony  over 
which  he  was  placed.  He  possessed  a  naturally 
amiable  disposition,  and  his  benevolence  often 
outweighed  his  justice  in  the  scale  of  duty. 
Under  other  circumstances,  his  name  might 
have  been  sweet  in  the  recollection  of  the  Amer 
icans  ;  now  it  is  identified  with  oppression  and 
hatred  of  freedom.  In  June,  he  issued  a  procla 
mation,  offering  pardon  to  all  the  rebels,  except 
ing  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock,  and  es 
tablishing  martial  law.  An  answer  to  this  proc 
lamation  was  prepared  by  Congress;  but  be 
fore  its  publication  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  put 
an  end  to  the  paper  war.  In  October,  1775,  he 
went  to  England,  where  he  died  in  April,  1787. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

1773,  1774, 


WASHINGTON 


POLITICIAN. 


The  conduct  of  the  Bostonians  in  destroying  the  tea  gave  a  new  aspect  to  the  controversy,  and  brought  affairs  to  a 
crisis. — Retrospective  review  of  the  question. — The  right  to  tax  the  colonies  asserted  in  the  duty  on  tea,  and  the 
duty  resisted  on  that  ground. — Interference  of  the  East  India  Company. — Their  proposition  opposed  by  English 
merchants. — Alarm  in  the  colonies. — The  Philadelphia  resolutions. — Means  adopted  to  prevent  the  landing  01 
the  tea  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York. — In  Boston,  Hutchinson  defeats  the  project  for  sending  the  ships  back. — 
The  ships  arrive. — A  committee  of  the  people  endeavors  to  get  the  tea  sent  back. — Town-meeting. — Speech  of 
Josiah  Quincy,  junior. — The  tea  thrown  into  the  harbor. — Information  of  the  proceeding  sent  to  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  and  to  England.— Consequent  proceedings  in  parliament. — Message  of  the  king. — Speech  of  Lord 
North. — Vote  of  thanks  to  the  king. — Boston  Port  Bill  passed.— Bill  for  subverting  the  Charter  of  Massachusetts. 
— Bill  for  transporting  accused  persons  to  England  for  trial. — Opinions  of  Burke,  Pownall,  Chatham,  and  others. 
— Views  of  Lord  North  and  the  court  party. — Quebec  bill. — Its  object. — General  Gage  appointed  to  supersede 
Governor  Hutchinson. — His  reception  in  Boston.— Town-meeting. — Spirited  resolutions. — Session  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses  of  Virginia.— Order  a  fast. — Dissolved  by  Lord  Dunmore,  the  governor. — Assemble  at  the  Raleigh 
Tavern. — Propose  a  general  congress. — Washington  takes  an  active  part  in  these  proceedings. — His  views. — News 
from  Boston. — Washington  and  others  recommend  a  meeting  at  Williamsburg. — Difference  of  opinion  about  stop 
ping  exports. — Washington  insists  on  the  payment  of  just  private  debts  to  English  merchants. — His  letter  to 
Bryan  Fairfax. — His  views  of  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  non-importation  agreements. — Washington  pre 
sides  at  a  political  meeting  in  Fairfax  county. — His  views  on  the  general  question  in  a  letter  to  Fairfax. — Lord 
Chatham's  eloquent  expression  of  the  same  views  at  a  later  period. — Washington  at  the  meeting  at  Williams- 
burg,  where  he  presents  the  Fairfax  county  Resolves. — He  speaks  in  support  of  them. — New  association 
formed. — Washington  chosen  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia  in  Sep 
tember,  1774. — The  example  of  Virginia  followed  by  other  colonies. — Boston  Resolutions  of  May  13th. — Pro 
ceedings  in  Charlestown. — Rapid  consolidation. — -Proceedings  in  Boston. — Effect  of  shutting  up  the  port.— Dis 
tress  relieved  by  contributions  from  other  colonies. — Magnanimity  of  the  Salem  people. — General  Court  in 
session. — Delegates  to  Congress  chosen. — Solemn  league  and  covenant. — Gage's  proclamation. — New  council 
lors  and  judges. — Gage  fortifies  Roxbury  Neck. — Seizes  powder. — Popular  excitement.- — Oliver  compelled  to 
resign. — The  country  people  march  to  the  defence  of  Boston.— Civil  officers  of  the  crown  driven  into  Boston. — • 
Suffolk  Resolutions. — Doubts  of  support  from  the  Congress. 


WE  have  now  arrived  at  a  period 
when  the  spirited  resistance  of  the  Bos- 
tonians  to  the  introduction  of  tea  into 
the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  gave  an 
entirely  new  aspect  to  the  American 
controversy,  and  rapidly  brought  affairs 
to  the  crisis  which  they  had  foreseen, 
and  for  which  they  were  prepared.  To 
understand  this  in  its  origin,  it  is  neces 


sary  to  recur  to  the  perio^l  when  the 
solitary  duty  on  tea  was  excepted  from 
the  partial  repeal  of  the  revenue-act  of 
1767.  When  the  duties  which  had 
been  laid  on  glass,  paper,  and  painters' 
colors  were  taken  off,  a  respectable  mi 
nority  in  parliament  contended  that 
the  duty  on  tea  should  also  be  removed. 
To  this  it  was  replied,  "That  as  the 


ClIAP.    IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


245 


Americans  denied  the  legality  of  taxing 
them,  a  total  repeal  would  be  a  virtual 
acquiescence  in  their  claims  ;  and  that 
in  order  to  preserve  the  rights  of  the 
mother  country,  it  was  necessary  to  re 
tain  the  preamble  and  at  least  one  of 
the  taxed  articles."  It  was  answered, 
that  a  partial  repeal  would  be  a  source 
of  endless  discontent, — that  the  tax  on 
tea  would  not  defray  the  expenses  of 
collecting  it.  The  motion  in  favor  of  a 
total  repeal  was  thrown  out  by  a  great 
majority. 

As  the  parliament  thought  fit  to  re 
tain  the  tax  on  tea  for  an  evidence  of 
their  risrht  of  taxation,  the  Americans, 

O  ' 

in  like  manner,  to  be  consistent  with 
themselves  in  denying  that  right,  dis 
continued  the  importation  of  that  com 
modity.  While  there  was  no  attempt 
to  introduce  tea  into  the  colonies  against 
this  declared  sense  of  the  inhabitants, 
these  opposing  claims  were  in  no  dan 
ger  of  collision.  In  that  case  the  mother 
country  might  have  solaced  herself  with 
her  ideal  rights,  and  the  colonies,  with 

O  /  / 

their  favorite  opinion  of  a  total  exemp 
tion  from  parliamentary  taxes,  without 
disturbing  the  public  peace.  This  mode 
of  compromising  the  dispute,  which 
seemed  at  first  designed  as  a  salvo  for 
the  honor  and  consistency  of  both  par 
ties,  was,  by  the  interference  of  the 
East  India  Company,  in  combination 
with  the  British  ministry,  completely 
overset. 

The  expected  revenue  from  tea  failed 
in  consequence  of  the  American  associa 
tion  to  import  none  on  which  a  duty 


was  charged.  This,  though  partially 
violated  in  some  of  the  colonies,  was 
well  observed  in  others,  and  particularly 
in  Pennsylvania,  where  the  duty  was 
never  paid  on  more  than  one  chest  of 
that  commodity.  This  proceeded  as 
much  from  the  spirit  of  gain  as  of  pa 
triotism.  The  merchants  found  means 
of  supplying  their  countrymen  with  tea, 
smuggled  from  countries  to  which  the 
power  of  Britain  did  not  extend.  They 
doubtless  conceived  themselves  to  be 
supporting  the  rights  of  their  country, 
by  refusing  to  purchase  tea  from  Brit 
ain,  but  they  also  reflected  that  if  they 
could  bring  the  same  commodity  to 
market  free  of  duty,  their  profits  would 
be  proportion  ably  greater. 

The  love  of  gain  was  not  peculiar  to 
the  American  merchants.  From  the 
diminished  exportation  to  the  colonies, 
the  warehouses  of  the  British  East  India 
Company  had  in  them  about  seventeen 
millions  of  pounds  of  tea,  for  which  a 
market  could  not  readily  be  procured. 
The  ministry  and  the  East  India  Com 
pany,  unwilling  to  lose,  the  one  the  ex 
pected  revenue  from  the  sale  of  tea  in 
America,  the  other  their  usual  com 
mercial  profits,  agreed  on  a  measure  by 
which  they  supposed  both  would  be  se 
cured. 

The  East  India  Company  were  by 
law  authorized  to  export  their  tea  free 
of  duties  to  all  places  whatsoever.  By 
this  regulation,  tea,  though  loaded  with 
an  exceptionable  duty,  would  come 
cheaper  to  the  colonies  than  before  it 
had  been  made  a  source  of  revenue: 


240 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


for  the  duty  when  taken  off  it,  when 
exported  from  Great  Britain,  was  greater 
than  what  was  to  be  paid  on  its  impor 
tation  into  the  colonies.  Confident  of 
success  in  finding  a  market  for  their  tea, 
thus  reduced  in  its  price,  and  also  of 
collecting  a  duty  on  its  importation  and 
sale  in  the  colonies,  the  East  India  Com 
pany  freighted  several  ships  with  teas 
for  the  different  colonies,  and  appointed 
agents  for  the  disposal  thereof.  This 
measure  united  several  interests  in  op 
position  to  its  execution.  The  patriot 
ism  of  the  Americans  wras  corroborated 
by  several  auxiliary  aids,  no  ways  con 
nected  with  the  cause  of  liberty. 

The    merchants    in     England    were 

O 

alarmed  at  the  losses  that  must  accrue 
to  themselves,  from  the  exportations  of 
the  East  India  Company,  and  from  the 
sales  going  through  the  hands  of  con 
signees.  Letters  were  written  from  that 
country  to  colonial  patriots,  urging  that 
opposition  to  which  they  of  themselves 
were  prone. 

The  smugglers,  who  were  both  nu 
merous  and  powerful,  could  not  relish  a 
scheme  which  by  underselling  them, 
and  taking  a  profitable  branch  of  busi 
ness  out  of  their  hands,  threatened  a 
diminution  of  their  gains.  The  colonists 
were  too  suspicious  of  the  designs  of 
Great  Britain  to  be  imposed  upon. 

The  cry  of  endangered  liberty  once 
more  excited  an  alarm  from  New  Hamp 
shire  to  Georgia.  The  first  opposition 
to  the  execution  of  the  scheme  adopted 
by  the  East  India  Company,  began 
with  the  American  merchants.  They 


saw  a  profitable  branch  of  their  trade 
likely  to  be  lost,  and  the  benefits  of  it 
to  be  transferred  to  people  in  Great 
Britain.  They  felt  for  the  wound  that 
would  be  inflicted  on  their  country's 
claim  of  exemption  from  parliamentary 
taxation,  but  they  felt  with  equal  sen 
sibility  for  the  losses  they  would  sus 
tain  by  the  diversion  of  the  streams  of 
commerce  into  unusual  channels.  The 
great  body  of  the  people,  from  princi 
ples  of  the  purest  patriotism,  were 
brought  over  to  second  their  wishes. 
They  considered  the  whole  scheme  as 
calculated  to  seduce  them  into  an  ac 
quiescence  with  the  views  of  parliament, 
for  raising  an  American  revenue.  Much 
pains  were  taken  to  enlighten  the  colo 
nists  on  this  subject,  and  to  convince 
them  of  the  imminent  hazard  to  which 
their  liberties  were  exposed. 

The  provincial  patriots  insisted  largely 
on  the  persevering  determination  of  the 
parent  state  to  establish  her  claim  of 
taxation,  by  compelling  the  sale  of  tea 
in  the  colonies  against  the  solemn  reso 
lutions  and  declared  sense  of  the  inhab 
itants,  and  that  at  a  time  when  the  com 
mercial  intercourse  of  the  two  countries 
was  renewed,  and  their  ancient  harmony 
fast  returning.  The  proposed  venders 
of  the  tea  were  represented  as  revenue 
officers,  employed  in  the  collection  of  an 
unconstitutional  tax,  imposed  by  Great 
Britain.  The  colonists  reasoned  with 
themselves,  that  as  the  duty  and  the 
price  of  the  commodity  were  inseparably 
blended,  if  the  tea  was  sold,  every  pur 
chaser  would  pay  a  tax  imposed  by  the 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


247 


British,  parliament,  as  part  of  the  pur 
chase  money.  To  obviate  this  evil,  and 
to  prevent  the  liberties  of  a  great  coun 
try  from  being  sacrificed  by  inconsider 
ate  purchasers,  sundry  town-meetings 
were  held  in  the  capitals  of  the  different 
provinces,  and  combinations  were  formed 
to  obstruct  the  sales  of  the  tea  sent  by 
the  East  India  Company. 

The  resolutions  entered  into  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  on  October 
the  18th,  17T3,  afford  a  good  specimen 
of  the  whole — these  were  as  follows : 

"  1.  That  the  disposal  of  their  own 
property  is  the  inherent  right  of  free 
men  ;  that  there  can  be  no  property  in 
that  which  another  can,  of  right,  take 
from  us  without  our  consent ;  that  the 
claim  of  parliament  to  tax  America,  is, 
in  other  words,  a  claim  of  right  to  levy 
contributions  on  us  at  pleasure. 

2.  That  the  duty  imposed  by  parlia 
ment  upon  tea  landed  in  America,  is  a 
tax  on  the  Americans,  or  levying  con 
tributions  on  them  without  their  con 
sent. 

3.  That  the  express  purpose  for  which 
the  tax  is  levied  on  the  Americans,— 
namely,  for  the  support  of  government, 
administration  of  justice,  and  defence  of 
his  majesty's  dominions  in  America,  has 
a  direct  tendency  to  render  Assemblies 
useless,  and  to  introduce  arbitrary  gov 
ernment  and  slavery. 

4.  That  a  virtuous  and  steady  oppo 
sition  to  this  ministerial  plan  of  govern 
ing  America,  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
preserve  even  the  shadow  of  liberty, 
and  is  a  duty  which  every  freeman  in 


America  owes  to  his  country,  to  himself, 
and  to  his  posterity. 

5.  That  the  resolution  lately  entered 
into  by  the  East   India  Company,  to 
send  out  their  tea  to  America,  subject 
to  the  payment  of  duties  on  its  being 
landed  here,  is  an  open  attempt  to  en 
force  this  ministerial  plan,  and  a  violent 
attack  upon  the  liberties  of  America. 

6.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Amer 
ican  to  oppose  this  attempt. 

Y.  That  whoever  shall  directly  or  in 
directly  countenance  this  attempt,  or  in 
any  wise  aid  or  abet  in  unloading,  re 
ceiving,  or  vending  the  tea  sent,  or  to 
be  sent  out  by  the  East  India  Com 
pany,  while  it  remains  subject  to  the 
payment  of  a  duty  here,  is  an  enemy  to 
his  country. 

8.  That  a  committee  be  immediately 
chosen  to  wait  on  those  gentlemen,  who, 
it  is  reported,  are  appointed  by  the 
East  India  Company  to  receive  and 
sell  said  tea,  and  request  them,  from  a 
regard  to  their  own  character  and  the 
peace  and  good  order  of  the  city  and 
province,  immediately  to  resign  their 
appointment." 

As  the  time  approached  when  the 
arrival  of  the  tea  ships  might  be  soon 
expected,  such  measures  were  adopted 
as  seemed  most  likely  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  their  cargoes.  The  tea  con 
signees  appointed  by  the  East  India 
Company  were,  in  several  places,  com 
pelled  to  relinquish  their  appointments, 
and  no  others  could  be  found  hardy 
enough  to  act  in  their  stead.  The  pilots 
in  the  river  Delaware  were  warned  not 


248 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


to  conduct  any  of  the  tea  ships  into 
their  harbor.  In  New  York,  popular 
vengeance  was  denounced  against  all 

O  *— ' 

who  would  contribute,  in  any  measure, 
to  forward  the  views  of  the  East  India 
Company.  The  captains  of  the  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  ships,  being  ap 
prised  of  the  resolution  of  the  people, 
and  fearing  the  consequences  of  landing 
a  commodity,  charged  with  an  odious 
duty,  in  violation  of  their  declared  pub 
lic  sentiments,  concluded  to  return  di 
rectly  to  Great  Britain,  without  making 
any  entry  at  the  custom-house. 

It  was  otherwise  in  Massachusetts. 
The  tea  ships  designed  for  the  supply 
of  Boston  were  consigned  to  the  sons, 
cousins,  and  particular  friends  of  Gov 
ernor  Hutchiuson.  When  they  were 
called  upon  to  resign,  they  answered 
"  that  it  was  out  of  their  power."  The 
collector  refused  to  give  a  clearance, 
unless  the  vessels  were  discharged  of 
dutiable  articles.  The  governor  refused 
to  give  a  pass  for  the  vessels,  unless 
properly  qualified  from  the  custom 
house.  The  governor  also  requested 
Admiral  Montagu  to  guard  the  passages 
out  of  the  harbor,  and  gave  orders  to 
suffer  no  vessels,  coasters  excepted,  to 
pass  the  fortress  from  the  town  without 
a  pass  signed  by  himself.  From  a  com 
bination  of  these  circumstances,  the  re 
turn  of  the  tea  vessels  from  Boston  was 
rendered  impossible.  The  inhabitants, 
then,  had  no  option  but  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  the  tea  or  to  suffer  it  to  be 
landed,  and  depend  on  the  unanimity  of 
the  people  not  to  purchase  it,  or  to  de 


stroy  the  tea,  or  to  suffer  a  deep-laid 
scheme  against  their  sacred  liberties  to 
take  effect.  The  first  would  have  re 
quired  incessant  watching  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day  for  a  period  of  time,  the 
duration  of  which  no  one  could  com 
pute.  The  second  would  have  been 
visionary  to  childishness,  by  suspending 
the  liberties  of  a  growing  country  on 
the  self-denial  and  discretion  of  every 
tea-drinker  in  the  province.  They 
viewed  the  tea  as  the  vehicle  of  an  un 
constitutional  tax,  and  as  inseparably 
associated  with  it.  To  avoid  the  one, 
they  resolved  to  destroy  the  other. 

This  decision  was  not  arrived  at  with 
out  considerable  delay  and  preparation 
on  the  part  of  the  people.  Much  time 
had  already  been  consumed  in  town- 
meetings,  and  conferences  of  the  com 
mittee  of  correspondence  in  Boston  with 
those  of  the  neighboring  towns.  The 

a  o 

first  of  the  tea  ships,  the  Dartmouth, 
owned  by  Rotch,  a  Quaker  merchant, 
had  arrived  on  the  28th  of  November. 

On  the  first  of  December,  says  a  his 
torian  of  Boston,*  Captain  James  Bruce, 
in  the  ship  Eleanor,  arrived  with  another 
portion  of  the  tea.  On  the  3d,  he  was 
ordered  to  attend  the  next  day  on  a 
committee  of  the  people  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
where  he  was  commanded  by  Samuel 
Adams  and  Jonathan  Williams,  assem 
bled  with  John  Howe,  John  Hancock, 
William  Phillips,  and  John  Pitts,  Esqrs., 
and  a  great  number  of  others,  not  to 
land  any  of  the  said  tea,  but  to  proceed 

°  Snow,  History  of  Boston. 


ClIAP.    IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


to  Griffin's  wharf  and  there  discharge 
the  rest  of  his  cargo.  Captain  Coffin 
arrived  in  the  brig  Beaver  near  the 
same  time,  and  was  ordered  to  pursue 
the  same  course. 

It  being  perceived  that  Mr.  Rotch 
rather  lingered  in  his  preparations  to 
return  the  Dartmouth  to  London,  and 
the  twenty  days  being  nearly  expired, 
after  which  the  collector  might  seize 
the  ship  and  cargo,  Mr.  Kotch  was  sum 
moned  before  the  committee,  when  he 
stated  to  them  that  it  would  prove  his 
entire  ruin  if  he  should  comply  with  the 
resolutions  of  the  29th  and  30th  of  No 
vember,  and  therefore  he  could  not  do 
it.  A  meeting  of  the  people  was  assem 
bled  at  the  Old  South  on  Tuesday, 
December  14th,  when  Mr.  Rotch  ap 
peared,  and  was  enjoined  forthwith  to 
demand  a  clearance.  It  was  ascertained 
that  one  could  not  be  obtained  till  the 
next  day,  and  therefore  the  meeting 
was  adjourned  to  Thursday,  at  the  same 
place. 

On  Thursday,  December  16th,  1773, 
the  meeting  was  immense.  In  addition 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  two  thou 
sand  men  at  least  were  present  from 
the  country.  Samuel  Phillips  Savage, 
Esq.,  of  Western,  was  appointed  mod 
erator.  Mr.  Rotch  reported  that  the 
collector  would  not  give  him  a  clear 
ance.  He  was  then  ordered  upon  his 
peril  to  get  his  ship  ready  for  sea 
this  day,  enter  a  protest  immediately 
against  the  custom-house,  and  proceed 
directly  to  the  governor  (then  at  Mil 
ton,  seven  miles  distant),  and  demand  a 

VOL.  I.— 32 


pass  for  his  ship  to  go  by  the  castle. 
An  adjournment  to  three  p.  M.  then  took 
place.  At  three,  having  met,  they 
waited  very  patiently  till  five  o'clock, 
when,  finding  that  Mr.  Rotch  did  not 
return,  they  began  to  be  very  uneasy, 
called  for  a  dissolution  of  the  meeting, 

O ' 

and  finally  obtained  a  vote  for  it.  But 
the  more  judicious,  fearing  what  would 
be  the  consequences,  begged  for  a  re 
consideration  of  that  vote,  for  this 
reason,  "that  they  ought  to  do  every 
thing  in  their  power  to  send  the  tea 
back,  according  to  their  re-solves"  This 
touched  the  pride  of  the  assembly,  and 
they  agreed  to  remain  together  one  hour. 
This  interval  was  improved  by  Josiah 
Quincy,  jr.,*  to  apprise  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  importance  of  the  crisis, 
and  direct  their  attention  to  the  prob 
able  results  of  this  controversy.  "  It  is 
not,  Mr.  Moderator,"  he  said,  "  the  spirit 
that  vapors  within  these  walls  that  must 
stand  us  in  stead.  The  exertions  of  this 
day  will  call  forth  events  which  will 
make  a  very  different  spirit  necessary 
for  our  salvation.  "Whoever  supposes 
that  shouts  and  hosannas  will  terminate 
the  trials  of  this  day  entertains  a  child 
ish  fancy.  He  must  be  grossly  ignorant 
of  the  importance  and  value  of  the 
prize  for  which  we  contend ;  we  must 
be  equally  ignorant  of  the  power  of 
those  who  have  combined  against  us ; 
we  must  be  blind  to  that  malice,  in 
veteracy,  and  insatiable  revenge  which 
actuate  our  enemies,  public  and  pri- 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


i>f>0 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


vate,  abroad  and  in  our  bosoms,  to 
hope  that  we  shall  end  this  contro 
versy  without  the  sharpest  conflicts — to 
flatter  ourselves  that  popular  resolves, 
popular  harangues,  popular  acclama 
tions,  and  popular  vapor  will  vanquish 
our  foes.  Let  us  consider  the  issue. 
Let  us  look  to  the  end.  Let  us  weigh 
and  consider  before  we  advance  to  those 
measures  which  must  bring  on  the  most 
trying  and  terrible  struggle  this  coun 
try  ever  saw."  He  succeeded  in  hold 
ing  them  in  attentive  silence  till  Mr. 
Rotch's  return,  at  three-quarters  past 
five  o'clock.  The  answer  which  he 
brought  from  the  governor  was,  "  that 
for  the  honor  of  the  laws,  and  from 
duty  towards  the  king,  he  could  not 
grant  the  permit  until  the  vessel  was 
regularly  cleared."  A  violent  commo 
tion  immediately  ensued.  A  person 
who  was  in  the  gallery,  disguised  after 
the  manner  of  the  Indians,  shouted  at 
this  juncture  the  cry  of  war ;  it  was 
answered  by  about  thirty  persons  dis 
guised  in  like  manner,  at  the  door. 
The  meeting  was  dissolved  in  the  twink 
ling  of  an  eye.  The  multitude  rushed 
to  Griffin's  wharf.  The  disguised  In 
dians  went  on  board  the  ships  laden 
with  the  tea.  In  less  than  two  hours 
two  hundred  and  forty  chests  and  one 
hundred  half  chests  were  staved  and 
emptied  into  the  dock.  The  affair  was 
concluded  without  any  tumult  ;  no 
damage  was  done  to  the  vessels  or  to 
any  other  effects  whatever. 

This  was  executed  in  the  presence  of 
several  ships-of-war  lying  in  the  harbor, 


and  almost  under  the  guns  of  the  castle, 
where  there  was  a  large  body  of  troops 
at  the  command  of  the  commissioners. 
We  are  left  to  conjecture  for  the  reasons 
why  no  opposition  was  made  to  this 
bold  adventure. 

The  promptness  of  the  Bostonians  in 
destroying  the  tea  as  soon  as  the  meet 
ing  adjourned,  was  fortunate  for  the 
cause  of  liberty.  If  they  had  delayed 
acting  till  the  next  day,  the  tea  would 
have  been  placed  under  the  protection 
of  the  admiral  at  the  castle.  After  the 
work  of  destruction  was  completed  the 
town  became  perfectly  quiet,  and  the 
men  from  the  country  carried  the  news 
to  their  homes ;  and  on  the  following 
day  the  committee  of  correspondence 
sent  off  an  express,  with  their  own  ac 
count  of  what  had  been  done,  to  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  The  news  was 
also  speedily  conveyed  to  England,  and 
we  now  proceed  to  notice  its  effects  in 
that  country. 

The  British  ministry  appear  to  have 
been  highly  gratified  that  the  town  of 
Boston,  which  they  ever  regarded  as  the 
focus  of  sedition  in  America,  had  ren 
dered  itself,  by  the  violent  destruction 
of  the  property  of  the  East  India  Com 
pany,  obnoxious  to  their  severest  ven 
geance.  On  the  7th  of  March,  Lord 
North  presented  a  message  from  the 
king  to  both  houses  of  parliament,  in 
which  it  was  stated,  that  "  in  conse 
quence  of  the  unwarrantable  practices 
carried  on  in  North  America,  and  par 
ticularly  of  the  violent  and  outrageous 
proceedings  at  the  town  and  port  of 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


251 


Boston,  with  a  view  of  obstructing  the 
commerce  of  this  kingdom,  and  upon 
grounds  and  pretences  immediately  sub 
versive  of  its  constitution,  it  was  thought 
fit  to  lay  the  whole  matter  before  par 
liament,  recommending  it  to  their  se 
rious  consideration  what  further  regula 
tions  or  permanent  provisions  might  be 
necessary  to  be  established." 

On  presenting  the  papers,  Lord  North 
represented  the  conduct  of  Boston  in 
the  darkest  colors.  He  said,  "  that  the 
utmost  lenity  on  the  part  of  the  gov 
ernor,  perhaps  too  much,  had  been  al 
ready  shown ;  and  that  this  town,  by 
its  late  proceedings,  had  left  govern 
ment  perfectly  at  liberty  to  adopt  any 
measures  they  should  think  convenient, 
not  only  for  redressing  the  wrong  sus 
tained  by  the  East  India  Company,  but 
for  inflicting  such  punishment  as  their 
factious  and  criminal  conduct  merited  ; 
and  that  the  aid  of  parliament  w^ould 
be  resorted  to  for  this  purpose,  and  for 
vindicating  the  honor  of  the  crown,  so 
daringly  and  wantonly  attacked  and 
contemned."  In  reply  to  the  royal 
message,  the  House  voted  "  that  an  ad- 

o     t 

dress  of  thanks  should  be  presented  to 
the  king,  assuring  his  majesty  that  they 
w^ould  not  fail  to  exert  every  means  in 
their  power  of  effectually  providing  for 
the  due  execution  of  the  laws,  and  se 
curing  the  dependence  of  the  colonies 
upon  the  crown  and  parliament  of  Great 
Britain."  In  a  few  days,  a  bill  was  in 
troduced  "for  the  immediate  removal 
of  the  officers  concerned  in  the  collec 
tion  of  customs  from  Boston,  and  to  dis 


continue  the  landing  and  discharging, 
lading  and  shipping  of  goods,  wares, 
and  merchandise  at  Boston,  or  within 
the  harbor  thereof."  The  bill  also 
levied  a  fine  upon  the  town,  as  a  com 
pensation  to  the  East  India  Company 
for  the  destruction  of  their  teas,  and 
was  to  continue  in  force  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  king.  The  opposition 
to  this  measure  was  very  slight,  and  it 
was  finally  carried  in  both  houses  with 
out  a  division. 

This,  however,  was  only  a  part  of 
Lord  North's  scheme  of  coercion.  He 
proposed  two  other  bills  which  were  in 
tended  to  strike  terror  into  the  province 
of  Massachusetts,  and  to  deter  the  other 
colonies  from  following  her  example. 
By  one  of  these,  the  constitution  and 
charter  of  the  province  were  completely 
subverted,  all  power  taken  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  people  and  placed  in  those 
of  the  servants  of  the  crown.  The  third 
scheme  of  Lord  North  was  the  introduc 
tion  of  "  a  bill  for  the  impartial  adminis 
tration  of  justice  in  Massachusetts."  By 
this  act,  persons  informed  against  or  in 
dicted  for  any  act  done  in  opposition 
to  the  laws  of  the  revenue,  or  for  the 
suppression  of  riots  in  Massachusetts, 
might,  by  the  governor,  with  the  ad 
vice  of  the  council,  be  sent  for  trial  to 
any  other  colony,  or  to  Great  Britain ; 
an  enactment  which,  in  effect,  conferred 
impunity  on  the  officers  of  the  crown, 
however  odious  might  be  their  viola 
tions  of  the  law. 

Some    distinguished    statesmen    op 
posed  these  plans  of  the  administration 


252 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


with  great  eloquence  and  zeal.  The 
celebrated  Burke  declared  that  "  it  was 
only  oppressive  and  unjust  laws  which 
the  people  had  opposed ;  that  it  was 
most  unreasonable  to  condemn  them 
without  a  hearing ;  and  that  constitu 
tional  principles  were  not  to  be  settled 
by  the  military  arm."  Pownall  ob 
served,  that  "  it  wras  no  longer  a  matter 

O 

of  opinion  with  the  citizens  of  Massa 
chusetts  ;  that  things  had  come  to  ac 
tion  ;  that  the  Americans  would  resist 
all  attempts  to  coerce  them,  and  wrere 
prepared  to  do  it ;  and  that  if  there 
should  be  a  rebellion  in  the  province, 
the  question  would  be,  wrho  caused  it  ?" 
The  Duke  of  Richmond,  the  Marquis 
of  Rockingham,  and  other  peers  insisted 
that  the  charter  was  a  solemn  contract, 
which  neither  the  king  nor  parliament 
could  justly  annul  or  alter  without  the 
consent  of  the  subjects  in  Massachusetts, 
unless  they  had  forfeited  their  rights 
by  an  infraction  of  its  provisions.  Lord 
Chatham  also  opposed  these  plans  of 
the  administration  with  all  his  former 
energy  and  spirit ;  although  at  this 
time  he  was  in  such  a  debilitated  state 
that  he  seldom  took  part  in  the  debates 
of  parliament.  He  declared  himself 
most  decidedly  in  favor  of  conciliatory 
measures ;  for  he  was  of  opinion  that 
the  province  had  been  oppressed,  and 
the  liberties  of  the  subject  therein  most 
flagrantly  violated.  He  believed  that 
just  measures  on  the  part  of  ministers 
would  quiet  the  colonies  and  restore 
harmony  between  them  and  the  parent 
state.  He  denounced  the  proposed  sys 


tem  as  unconstitutional  and  tyrannical, 
and  predicted  that  the  people  of  Massa 
chusetts  would  never  submit  to  such 
palpable  and  repeated  violations  of 
their  political  rights. 

Colonel  Barre  also  addressed  the  min 
istry  on  the  last  bill  in  the  following 
bold  and  energetic  language :  "  You 
have  changed  your  ground.  You  are 
become  the  aggressors,  and  offering  the 
last  of  human  outrages  to  the  people  of 
America,  by  subjecting  them  to  military 
execution.  Instead  of  sending  them  the 
olive-branch,  you  have  sent  the  naked 
sword.  By  the  olive-branch  I  mean  a 
repeal  of  all  the  late  laws,  fruitless  to 
you  and  oppressive  to  them.  Ask  their 
aid  in  a  constitutional  manner,  and  they 
will  give  it  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability. 
They  never  yet  refused  it  when  prop 
erly  required.  Your  journals  bear  the 
recorded  acknowledgments  of  the  zeal 
with  wrhich  they  have  contributed  to 
the  general  necessities  of  the  state. 
What  madness  is  it  that  prompts  you 
to  attempt  obtaining  that  by  force 
which  you  may  more  certainly  procure 
by  requisition  ?  They  may  be  nattered 
into  any  thing,  but  they  are  too  much 
like  yourselves  to  be  driven.  Have 
some  indulgence  for  your  own  likeness  ; 
respect  their  sturdy  English  virtue  ;  re 
tract  your  odious  exertions  of  authority ; 
and  remember,  that  the  first  step  to 
wards  making  them,  contribute  to  your 
wants  is  to  reconcile  them  to  your  gov 
ernment." 

These  measures  of  the  British  minis 
try  originated  partly  in  mistaken  views 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


253 


of  the  opinions  and  temper  x>f  the  peo 
ple.  Great  misrepresentation  had  been 
made  for  several  years  to  the  adminis 
tration  in  England  respecting  the  state 
of  the  colonies.  It  was  declared  by  the 
officers  of  the  crown  and  some  other  in 
dividuals,  that  it  was  only  a  few  am 
bitious  persons  who  objected  to  the 
policy  of  the  parent  state,  while  the 
friends  and  agents  of  the  people  were 
not  permitted  to  be  heard  in  their  at 
tempts  to  show  the  general  dissatisfac 
tion. 

It  is  also  true  that  Lord  North  and 
several  other  members  of  the  British 
cabinet  at  this  period,  possessed  high 
notions  of  the  supremacy  of  parliament 
and  of  the  sovereign  power  of  the  king ; 
the  more  correct  and  just  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  recognized  in  1G89,  and 
still  received  by  many  eminent  states 
men  in  England,  were  not  in  fashion 

O  i 

with  the  court  party. 

Assuming  the  doctrine  of  the  supreme 
and  unlimited  authority  of  parliament 
over  all  parts  of  the  empire  (which,  in 
a  certain  sens-e,  restricted  and  qualified, 
however,  by  great  constitutional  princi 
ples,  had  been  generally  admitted  in 
the  colonies),  ministers  insisted  that  the 
power  of  the  parent  government  was 
entirely  without  control ;  and  contended 
for  the  legitimacy  of  measures  which 
the  patriots  in  both  countries  considered 
most  arbitrary,  and  wholly  destructive 
of  the  liberties  of  the  subject. 

With  these  views  of  government,  they 
maintained  that  any  measures  were  jus 
tifiable  for  supporting  the  authority  of 


the  king  and  parliament ;  and  they  cal 
culated  upon  bringing  the  refractory 
and  disaffected  to  ready  submission  by 
severity  and  force.  It  will  soon  be  ap 
parent,  however,  that  it  was  not  a  faction 
in  Boston  by  which  opposition  was  kept 
alive  in  America ;  and  that  throughout 
this  and  the  other  provinces  but  one 
sentiment  prevailed  as  to  the  oppressive 
and  arbitrary  conduct  of  the  parent 
government,  and  one  determination  to 
oppose  and  prevent  the  continuance  of 
such  a  system  of  policy. 

Notwithstanding  these  successive  mea 
sures,  from  which  such  important  results 
were  professedly  expected,  it  is  evident 
that  the  government  entertained  serious 
apprehensions  that  an  appeal  to  arms 
was  by  no  means  improbable.  The 
English  cabinet  sought,  therefore,  to 
ingratiate  themselves  with  the  newly- 
acquired  provinces  of  Canada,  and  the 
proceedings  they  adopted  with  this 
view,  appear  to  have  been  the  only 
measures  which  w^ere  characterized  by 
the  slightest  indications  of  wisdom. 

O 

The  Canadian  noblesse  had  enjoyed 
great  authority  under  the  dominion  of 
their  native  country,  and  they  had  re 
cently  been  complaining  of  the  abridg 
ment  of  their  privileges,  while  the  in 
habitants,  who  were  chiefly  Catholic, 
had  been  viewing  with  jealousy  the  su 
perior  privileges  of  the  Protestants; 
Lord  North,  therefore,  did  not  suffer 
the  session  to  close  without  introducing 
a  bill  calculated  to  insure  the  affections 
of  the  Canadians.  It  erected  a  legisla 
tive  council,  nominated  by  the  crown, 


254 


LIFE  AND  TLMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


on  whom  very  extensive  powers  were 
conferred,  which  was  very  gratifying  to 
the  Canadian  nobility ;  the  Catholic 
clergy  were  established  in  their  privi 
leges,  and  a  perfect  equality  between 
their  religion  and  that  of  the  Protes 
tants  was  established ;  the  French  laws 
were  confirmed,  and  trial  without  jury 
permitted  in  all  except  criminal  cases. 
To  afford  a  wider  field  for  ministerial 
manoeuvres,  the  limits  of  the  province 
of  Quebec  were  extended  to  the  river 
Ohio. 

To  these  prudent  concessions  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  Canadians,  may  be 
attributed,  in  a  great  measure,  the  singu 
lar  fact  of  their  remaining  attached  to 
the  British  government  during  the  revo 
lutionary  contest,  when  it  might  not  un 
reasonably  have  been  anticipated  that 
they  would  have  been  the  first  to  throw 
off  a  foreign  yoke,  and  declare  their  in 
dependence. 

As  a  measure  indicative  of  a  deter 
mination  to  conduct  the  proceedings 
against  the  refractory  colonists  with  the 
utmost  vigor,  General  Gage  was  ap 
pointed,  with  powers  of  the  most  un 
limited  extent,  to  supersede  Governor 
Hutchinson.  The  offices  of  governor  of 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  and  com 
mander  of  his  majesty's  forces  in  Amer 
ica,  were  united  in  his  person.  The  in 
telligence  of  the  passing  of  the  Boston 
port-bill  had  preceded  General  Gage  a 
few  days.  The  new  governor,  though 
it  appeared  that  he  entertained  serious 
apprehensions  of  some  disorderly  or  dis 
respectful  conduct  on  the  part  of  the 


1171. 


people,  was  received  by  them  with  every 
mark  of  civility.  He  had  soon  occasion 
to  perceive,  however,  that  their  polite 
ness  to  him  did  not  proceed  from  any 
fear  of  his  authority,  or  from  any  relaxa 
tion  in  their  purposes  of  resistance.  On 
the  day  after  his  arrival,  the  General 
Court  having  been  dissolved  by  the  late 
governor,  a  town-meeting  was  convened 
and  very  numerously  attended. 
They  declared  and  resolved, 
"that  the  impolicy,  injustice,  inhu 
manity,  and  cruelty  of  the  act,  exceed 
all  their  powers  of  expression ;  and. 
therefore,"  they  said,  "  we  leave  it  to  the 
censure  of  others,  and  appeal  to  God 
and  the  world." 

They  also  declared  it  as  their  opinion 
that  "  if  the  other  colonies  come  into  a 
joint  resolution  to  stop  all  importations 
from,  and  exportations  to,  Great  Britain 
and  every  part  of  the  West  Indies,  till 
the  act  be  repealed,  the  same  would 
prove  the  salvation  of  North  America, 
and  her  liberties." 

The  idea  was  probably  entertained 
by  the  British  ministry,  that  the  other 
colonies  would  be  inclined  rather  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  commercial  ad 
vantages  which  the  closing  of  one  of  the 
chief  seaports  would  open  to  them,  than 
to  make  common  cause  with  Boston,  at 
the  hazard  of  incurring  a  similar  penalty. 
In  this  instance,  as  in  most  others,  the 
government  made  a  great  miscalculation 
of  the  American  character.  The  several 
colonies  lost  no  time  in  expressing  the 
deepest  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  in  con 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


255 


tributing  to  their  pecuniary  necessities, 
as  well  as  in  affording  them  moral  coun 
tenance. 

The  House  of  Burgesses,  in  Virginia, 
was  in  session  when  the  bill  for  closing 
the  port  of  Boston  arrived.  On  May 
24th,  1774,  they  passed  the  following 
order :  "  This  House  being  deeply  im 
pressed  with  apprehension  of  the  great 
dangers  to  be  derived  to  British  Amer 
ica,  from  the  hostile  invasion  of  the  city 
of  Boston,  in  our  sister  colony  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  whose  commerce  and  har 
bor  are,  on  the  first  day  of  June  next, 
to  be  stopped  by  an  armed  force,  deem 
it  highly  necessary  that  the  said  first 
day  of  June  next  be  set  apart  by  the 
members  of  this  House  as  a  day  of  fast 
ing,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  devoutly  to 
implore  the  Divine  interposition  for 
averting  the  heavy  calamity  which 
threatens  destruction  to  our  civil  rights, 
and  the  evils  of  civil  war ;  to  give  us 
one  heart  and  one  mind  firmly  to  op 
pose,  by  all  just  and  proper  means, 
every  injury  to  American  rights;  and 
that  the  minds  of  his  majesty  and  his 
parliament  may  be  inspired  from  above 
with  wisdom,  moderation,  and  justice, 
to  remove  from  the  loyal  people  of 
America  all  cause  of  danger,  from  a 
continued  pursuit  of  measures  pregnant 
with  their  ruin.  Ordered,  therefore, 
that  the  members  of  this  House  do  at 
tend  in  their  places,  at  the  hour  of  ten 
in  the  forenoon,  on  the  said  first  day  of 
June  next,  in  order  to  proceed  with  the 
speaker  and  the  mace  to  the  church  in 
this  city,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid; 


and  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Price  be  ap 
pointed  to  read  prayers,  and  to  preach 
a  sermon  suitable  to  the  occasion." 

The  next  day  the  House,  for  this  in 
dependent  conduct,  was  dissolved  by 
the  governor,  Lord  Dunrnore.  There 
upon  the  members,  eighty-nine  in  num 
ber,  immediately  repaired  to  the  Raleigh 
Tavern,  and,  forming  themselves  into  a 
vigilance  committee,  adopted  a  spirited 
declaration  of  their  views,  in  which 
they  strongly  urged  a  general  congress. 
Washington,  at  his  post  as  a  member  of 
the  House,  took  a  full  share  in  its  patri 
otic  proceedings,  and  proved  himself  no 
idle  spectator  of  this  important  progress 
of  events.  His  whole  soul  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  momentous  questions 
at  issue  ;  and,  although  on  intimate 
terms  with  Lord  Dunmore,  he  was  pre 
pared  to  join  his  countrymen  with  all 
his  energies  in  resisting  the  tyrannous 
course  of  parliament.*  In  one  of  his 
letters  he  says :  "  For  my  own  part,  I 
shall  not  undertake  to  say  where  the 
line  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies  should  be  drawn,  but  I  am 
clearly  of  opinion  that  one  ought  to  be 
drawn,  and  our  rights  clearly  ascertained. 
I  could  wish,  I  own,  that  the  dispute 
had  been  left  for  posterity  to  determine, 
but  the  crisis  is  arrived  when  we  must 
assert  our  rights,  or  submit  to  every  im 
position  that  can  be  heaped  upon  us, 
till  custom  shall  make  us  tame  and  ab 
ject  slaves."f 

Before  all  the  members  of  the  House 

o  Spencer,  History  of  the  United  Slates. 
f  letter  to  Bryan  Fairfax. 


256 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  in. 


of  Burgesses  left  Williamsburg,  news 
came  from  Boston  of  a  town-meeting  in 
that  place,  in  which  it  was  resolved  to 
invite  the  people  of  all  the  colonies  to 
unite  in  an  agreement  to  hold  no  fur 
ther  commercial  intercourse  with  Great 
Britain,  either  by  imports  or  exports. 
Washington  was  one  of  the  twenty-five 
delegates  still  at  the  seat  of  government. 
As  there  was  some  difference  of  opinion 
among  them  as  to  the  proper  course  to 
be  pursued,  they  went  no  further  than 
to  issue  a  circular  letter,  recommending 
a  meeting  of  delegates  at  Williams- 

o  o 

burg  on  the  first  of  August,  to  delib 
erate  on  the  subject.  This  circular 
was  printed  and  distributed  through 
out  Virginia.* 

The  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
delegates  was  in  relation  to  the  with 
holding  of  exports  to  Great  Britain. 
To  the  non-importation  agreement  they 
were  already  committed,  and  all  were 
willing  to  adhere  strictly  to  it.  But  the 
withholding  of  exports  would  involve 
the  practical  repudiation  of  large  debts 
to  merchants  in  England,  which  could 
only  be  paid  by  sending  out  the  pro 
ductions  of  the  country,  particularly  the 
staple  of  Virginia,  tobacco. 

On  this  head,  Washington,  in  strict 
consistency  with  his  uniform  character 
for  honor  and  integrity,  took  a  decisive 
stand.  Writing  to  his  friend  Bryan 
Fairfax,  he  says:  "With  you  I 
think  it  folly  to  attempt  more 
than  we  can  execute,  as  that  will  not 

°  Sparks,  Lift  of  Washington,  p.  115. 


1774. 


only  bring  disgrace  upon  us  but  weaken 
our  cause ;  yet  1  think  we  may  do  more 
than  is  generally  believed,  in  respect  to 
the  non-importation  scheme.  As  to  the 
withholding  of  our  remittances,  that  is 
another  point,  in  which  I  own  I  have 
my  doubts  on  several  accounts,  but 
principally  on  that  of  justice;  for  I 
think,  whilst  we  are  accusing  others  of 
injustice,  we  should  be  just  ourselves; 
and  how  this  can  be,  whilst  we  owe  a 
considerable  debt,  and  refuse  payment 
of  it,  to  Great  Britain,  is  to  me  incon 
ceivable.  Nothing  but  the  last  ex 
tremity,  I  think,  can  justify  it.  Whether 
this  is  now  come  is  the  question." 

Speaking  of  the  non-importation  agree 
ment,  in  another  letter  to  the  same  gen 
tleman,  he  says:  "I  am  convinced,  as 
much  as  I  am  of  my  existence,  that  there 
is  no  relief  for  us  but  in  their  distress ; 
and  I  think,  at  least  I  hope,  that  there 
is  public  virtue  enough  left  among  us  to 
deny  ourselves  every  thing  but  the  bare 
necessaries  of  life,  to  accomplish  this 
end.  This  we  have  a  right  to  do,  and 
no  power  upon  earth  can  compel  us  to 
do  otherwise,  till  it  has  first  reduced  us 
to  the  most  abject  state  of  slavery.  The 
stopping  of  our  exports  would,  no  doubt, 
be  a  shorter  method  than  the  other  to 
effect  this  purpose ;  but,  if  we  owe 
money  to  Great  Britain,  nothing  but  the 
last  necessity  can  justify  the  non-pay 
ment  of  it ;  and,  therefore,  I  have  great 
doubts  upon  this  head,  and  wish  to 
see  the  other  method  first  tried,  which 
is  legal,  and  will  facilitate  these  pay 
ments." 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


2.r>7 


On  reception  of  the  circular  letter, 
county  meetings  were  held  throughout 
Virginia,  and  delegates  chosen  to  form 

O  I  O 

the  convention  at  Williamsburg  on  the 
first  of  August.  Washington  presided 
at  the  Fairfax  county  meeting,  and  as 
sisted  as  a  member  of  the  committee  by 
whom  were  reported  those  famous  re 
solves  drafted  by  George  Mason,  which 
so  ably  set  forth  the  points  of  contro 
versy  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies.*  "They  are  of  special  inter 
est,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,  "  as  containing  the 
opinions  of  Washington  at  a  critical 
time,  when  he  was  soon  to  be  raised 
by  his  countrymen  to  a  station  of  the 
highest  trust  and  responsibility." 

His  views  at  this  period  are  expressed 
very  fully  and  frankly  by  himself  in 
the  letter  to  Bryan  Fairfax  of  July  20, 
1774: 

"  That  I  differ  very  widely  from  you," 
said  he,  "  in  respect  to  the  mode  of  ob 
taining  a  repeal  of  the  acts  so  much  and 
so  justly  complained  of,  I  shall  not  hesi 
tate  to  acknowledge ;  and  that  this  dif 
ference  in  opinion  probably  proceeds 
from  the  different  constructions  we  put 
upon  the  conduct  and  intentions  of  the 
ministry  may  also  be  true  ;  but,  as  I  see 
nothing,  on  the  one  hand,  to  induce  a 
belief  that  the  parliament  would  em 
brace  a  favorable  opportunity  for  re 
pealing  acts  which  they  go  on  with 
great  rapidity  to  pass,  in  order  to  en 
force  their  tyrannical  system ;  and,  on 
the  other,  I  observe,  or  think  I  observe, 


°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— 33 


that  government  is  pursuing  a  regular 
plan  at  the  expense  of  law  and  justice 
to  overthrow  our  constitutional  rights 
and  liberties,  how  can  I  expect  any  re 
dress  from  a  measure  which  has  been 
ineffectually  tried  already  ?  For,  sir, 
what  is  it  we  are  contending  against  ? 
Is  it  against  paying  the  duty  of  three 
pence  per  pound  on  tea  because  bur 
densome  ?  No,  it  is  the  right  only,  that 
we  have  all  along  disputed  ;  and  to  this 
end  we  have  already  petitioned  his  maj 
esty  in  as  humble  and  dutiful  a  manner 
as  subjects  could  do.  "N'lv,  more,  we 
applied  to  the  House  oi  Lords  and 
House  of  Commons  in  their  different 
legislative  capacities,  setting  forth,  that, 
as  Englishmen,  we  could  not  be  de 
prived  of  this  essential  and  valuable 
part  of  our  constitution.  If,  then,  as 
the  fact  really  is,  it  is  against  the  right 
of  taxation  that  we  now  do,  and,  as  I 
before  said,  all  along  have  contended, 
why  should  they  suppose  an  exertion  of 
this  power  would  be  less  obnoxious  now 
than  formerly  ?  And  what  reason  have 
we  to  believe,  that  they  would  make  a 
second  attempt,  whilst  the  same  senti 
ments  fill  the  breast  of  every  American, 
if  they  did  not  intend  to  enforce  it  if 
possible  ? 

In  short,  what  further  proofs  are 
wanting  to  satisfy  any  one  of  the  de 
signs  of  the  ministry,  than  their  own 
acts,  which  are  uniform  and  plainly 
tending  to  the  same  point,  nay,  if  I 
mistake  not,  avowedly  to  fix  the  right 
of  taxation  ?  What  hope  have  we, 
then,  from  petitioning,  when  they  tell 


258 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


us,  that  now  or  never  is  the  time  to  fix 
the  matter  ?  Shall  we,  after  this,  whine 
and  cry  for  relief,  when  we  have  already 
tried  it  in  vain  ?  Or  shall  we  supinely 
sit  and  see  one  province  after  another 
fall  a  sacrifice  to  despotism  ? 

If  I  were  in  any  doubt  as  to  the  right 
which  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain 
had  to  tax  us  without  our  consent,  I 
should  most  heartily  coincide  with  you 
in  opinion,  that  to  petition,  and  petition 
only,  is  the  proper  method  to  apply  for 
relief;  because  we  should  then  be  ask 
ing  a  favor,  and  not  claiming  a  right, 
which,  by  the  law  of  nature  and  by  our 
constitution,  we  are,  in  my  opinion,  in 
dubitably  entitled  to.  I  should  even 
think  it  criminal  to  go  further  than  this 
under  such  an  idea ;  but  I  have  none 
such.  I  think  the  parliament  of  Great 
Britain  have  no  more  right  to  put  their 
hands  into  my  pocket  without  my  con 
sent,  than  I  have  to  put  my  hands  into 
yours ;  and,  this  being  already  urged 
to  them  in  a  firm,  but  decent  man 
ner,  by  all  the  colonies,  what  reason 
is  there  to  expect  any  thing  from  their 
justice  ?" 

Lord  Chatham,  in  his  celebrated 
speech  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1775,  on  the  motion 
for  removing  the  troops  from  Boston, 
uttered  the  following  sentiments,  which 
seem  like  an  echo  of  those  expressed 
by  Washington  in  the  letter  above 
quoted : 

"  This  glorious  spirit  of  whiggism  ani 
mates  three  millions  in  America ;  who 
prefer  poverty  with  liberty  to  gilded 


chains  and  sordid  affluence  ;  and  who 
will  die  in  defence  of  their  rights  as 
men,  as  freemen.  What  shall  oppose 
this  spirit,  aided  by  the  congenial  flame 
glowing  in  the  breast  of  every  whig 
in  England,  to  the  amount,  I  hope,  of 
double  the  American  numbers  ?  Ire 
land  they  have  to  a  man.  In  that 
country,  joined  as  it  is  with  the  cause 
of  colonies,  and  placed  at  their  head, 
the  distinct  ion  I  contend  for  is  and 
must  be  observed.  This  country  super 
intends  and  controls  their  trade  and 
navigation ;  but  they  tax  themselves. 
And  this  distinction  between  external 
and  internal  control  is  sacred  and  insur 
mountable  ;  it  is  involved  in  the  ab 
stract  nature  of  things.  Property  is 
private,  individual,  absolute.  Trade  is 
an  extended  and  complicated  considera 
tion  ;  it  reaches  as  far  as  ships  can  sail, 
or  winds  can  blow,  it  is  a  great  and  va 
rious  machine.  To  regulate  the  num 
berless  movements  of  its  several  parts, 
and  combine  them  into  effect,  for  the 
good  of  the  whole,  requires  the  superin 
tending  wisdom  and  energy  of  the  su 
preme  power  in  the  empire.  But  this 
supreme  power  has  no  effect  towards  in 
ternal  taxation  ;  for  it  does  not  exist  in 
that  relation ;  there  is  no  such  thing,  no 
such  idea  in  this  constitution,  as  a  su 
preme  power  operating  upon  property. 
Let  this  distinction  then  remain  forever 
ascertained  ;  taxation  is  theirs,  commer 
cial  regulation  is  ours.  As  an  Ameri 
can,  I  would  recognize  to  England  her 
supreme  right  of  regulating  commerce 
and  navigation ;  as  an  Englishman  1:  y 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


259 


1>irtli  and  principle,  I  recognize  to  the 
Americans  their  supreme  inalienable 
right  in  their  property ;  a  right  which 
they  are  justified  in  the  defence  of  to 
the  last  extremity.  To  maintain  this 
principle  is  the  common  cause  of  the 
whigs  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  on  this.  "Tis  liberty  to  liberty 
engaged,'  that  they  will  defend  them 
selves,  their  families,  and  their  country. 
In  this  great  cause  they  are  immovably 
allied  ;  it  is  the  alliance  of  God  and  na 
ture, — immutable,  eternal,  fixed  as  the 
firmament  of  heaven. 

To  such  united  force,  what  force  shall 
be  opposed  ?  What,  my  lords !  A 
few  regiments  in  America,  and  seven 
teen  or  eighteen  thousand  men  at  home  ! 
The  idea  is  too  ridiculous  to  take  up  a 
moment  of  your  lordships'  time.  Nor 
can  such  a  national  and  principled  union 
be  resisted  by  the  tricks  of  office,  or 
ministerial  manoeuvre.  Laying  of  papers 
on  your  table,  or  counting  numbers  on 
a  division,  will  not  avert  or  postpone 
the  hour  of  danger.  It  must  arrive,  my 
lords,  unless  these  fatal  acts  are  done 
away ;  it  must  arrive  in  all  its  horrors, 
and  then  these  boastful  ministers,  spite 
of  all  their  confidence,  and  all  their  ma 
noeuvres,  shall  be  forced  to  hide  their 
heads.  They  shall  be  forced  to  a  dis 
graceful  abandonment  of  their  present 
measures  and  principles  which  they 
avow,  but  cannot  defend  ;  measures 
which  they  presume  to  attempt,  but  can 
not  hope  to  effectuate.  They  cannot,  my 
lords,  they  cannot  stir  a  step ;  they  have 
not  a  move  left ;  they  are  checkmated. 


But  it  is  not  repealing  this  act  of  par 
liament,  it  is  not  repealing  a  piece  of 
parchment,  that  can  restore  America  to 
our  bosom.  You  must  repeal  her  fears 
and  her  resentments,  and  you  may  then 
hope  for  her  love  and  gratitude.  But 
now,  insulted  with  an  armed  force 
posted  at  Boston,  irritated  with  a  hos 
tile  array  before  her  eyes,  her  conces 
sions,  if  you  could  force  them,  would  be 
suspicious  and  insecure ;  they  will  be 
irato  aninio  /  they  will  not  be  the  sound, 
honorable  passions  of  freemen ;  they  will 
be  the  dictates  of  fear,  and  extortions  of 
force.  But  it  is  more  than  evident  that 
you  cannot  force  them,  united  as  they 
are,  to  your  unworthy  terms  of  submis 
sion,  it  is  impossible.  And  when  I  hear 
General  Gage  censured  for  inactivity,  I 
must  retort  with  indignation  on  those 
whose  intemperate  measures  and  im 
provident  councils  have  betrayed  him 
into  his  present  situation." 

Washington  was  present  in  the  con 
vention  at  Williamsburg  as  a  member 
from  Fairfax  county,  which  met  on  the 
first  of  August,  and  presented 

,J  11T4. 

the  elaborate  resolutions  pre 
pared  by  Mason.  His  speech,  in  sup 
port  of  them,  was  spoken  of  at  the  time 
as  remarkably  eloquent.  The  impor 
tance  of  the  crisis  no  doubt  awakened 
all  his  powers  of  oratory.  In  the  height 
of  his  enthusiasm  he  even  expressed  a 
willingness  to  raise  a  thousand  men,  and 
march  at  their  head  to  the  relief  of 
Boston.* 


Irving,  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.  p.  392. 


260 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


The  convention  adopted  a  new  asso 
ciation,  in  which  a  middle  course  was 
taken  in  the  matter  of  exports,  which 
had  been  so  much  discussed  in  Virginia, 
certain  times  being  fixed  when  all  in 
tercourse  with  the  mother  country,  both 
by  imports  and  exports,  should  be  sus 
pended  unless  the  obnoxious  acts  of  par 
liament  should  be  previously  repealed. 

The  convention  remained  in  session 
six  days ;  passed  resolutions  breathing 
the  same  spirit  as  that  of  the  Fairfax 
county  resolves ;  and  appointed  and 
gave  instructions  to  the  following  gen 
tlemen  as  delegates  to  the  General 
Congress : — Peyton  Randolph,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick 
Henry,  Richard  Bland,  Benjamin  Har 
rison,  Edward  Pendleton ;  u  men,"  says 
Dr.  Ramsay,  "who  would  have  done 
honor  to  any  age  or  country." 

Virginia  was  not  alone  in  her  sym 
pathy  for  the  inhabitants  of  Boston, 
nor  in  active  measures  for  sustaining  the 
noble  cause  in  which  she  was  engaged. 
The  news  of  the  passage  of  the  Boston 
port-bill  was  received  in  that  town  on 
the  10th  of  May,  and  its  opera 
tion  was  to  commence  on  the 
first  of  the  next  month.  We  have  al 
ready  noticed  the  resolutions  of  the 
Boston  town-meeting  of  May  13th,  and 
its  effect  on  the  House  of  Burgesses  of 
Virginia. 

On  their  reception  in  South  Carolina, 
a  number  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Charleston  unanimously  agreed  to  call 
a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
province. 


That  this  might  be  as  general  as  pos 
sible,  letters  were  sent  to  every  parish 
and  district,  and  the  people  were  in 
vited  to  attend,  either  personally  or  by 
their  representatives,  at  a  general  meet 
ing.  A  large  number  assembled,  in 
which  were  some  from  almost  every 
part  of  the  province.  The  proceedings 
of  parliament  against  Massachusetts, 
were  distinctly  related  to  this  conven 
tion. 

Without  one  dissenting  voice,  they 
passed  sundry  resolutions  expressive  of 
their  rights,  and  of  their  sympathy  with 
the  people  of  Boston.  They  also  chose 
five  delegates  to  represent  them  in  a 
continental  congress,  and  invested  them 
"  with  full  powers  and  authority,  in  be 
half  of  them  and  their  constituents,  to 
concert,  agree  to,  and  effectually  to 
prosecute  such  legal  measures  as  in  their 
opinion,  and  the  opinion  of  the  other 
members,  would  be  most  likely  to  ob 
tain  a  redress  of  American  grievances." 

The  events  of  this  time,  says  Ramsay, 
may  be  transmitted  to  posterity,  but 
the  agitation  of  the  public  mind  can 
never  be  fully  comprehended,  but  by 
those  who  were  witnesses  of  it. 

In  the  counties  and  towns  of  the  seve 
ral  provinces,  as  well  as  in  the  cities,  the 
people  assembled  and  passed  resolutions 
expressive  of  their  rights,  and  of  their 
detestation  of  the  late  American  acts  of 
parliament.  These  had  an  instantaneous 
effect  on  the  minds  of  thousands.  Not 
only  the  young  and  impetuous,  but  the 
aged  and  temperate,  joined  in  pronounc 
ing  them  to  be  unconstitutional  and  op- 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


261 


pressive.  They  viewed  them  as  deadly 
weapons  aimed  at  the  vitals  of  that 
liberty  which  they  adored ;  as  render 
ing  abortive  the  generous  pains  taken 
by  their  forefathers  to  procure  for  them, 
in  a  new  world,  the  quiet  enjoyment 
of  their  rights.  They  were  the  subjects 
of  their  meditation  when  alone,  and  of 
their  conversation  when  in  company. 

Within  little  more  than  a  month, 
after  the  news  of  the  Boston  port-bill 
reached  America,  it  was  communicated 
from  state  to  state,  and  a  flame  was 
kindled  in  almost  every  breast  through 
the  widely  extended  provinces.  The 
committees  of  correspondence  were  at 
work  in  every  part  of  the  country. 
Every  political  act  of  one  province  be 
came  speedily  known  to  every  other. 

In  the  first  three  months  which  fol 
lowed  the  shutting  up  of  the  port  of 
Boston,  the  inhabitants  of  the  colonies, 
in  hundreds  of  small  circles,  as  well  as 
in  their  provincial  assemblies  and  con 
gresses,  expressed  their  abhorrence  of 
the  late  proceedings  of  the  British  par 
liament  against  Massachusetts  —  their 
concurrence  in  the  proposed  measure  of 
appointing  deputies  for  a  general  con 
gress,  and  their  willingness  to  do  and 
suffer  whatever  should  be  judged  con 
ducive  to  the  establishment  of  their 
liberties. 

A  patriotic  flame,  created  and  dif 
fused  by  the  contagion  of  sympathy, 
was  communicated  to  so  many  breasts, 
and  reflected  from  such  a  variety  of  ob 
jects,  as  to  become  too  intense  to  be 
resisted. 


While  the  combination  of  the  other 
colonies  to  support  Boston  was  gaining 
strength,  new  matter  of  dissension  daily 
took  place  in  Massachusetts.  The  reso 
lution  for  shutting  the  port  of  Boston 
was  no  sooner  taken,  than  it  was  deter 
mined  to  order  a  military  force  to  that 
town.  General  Gage  had  arrived  in 
Boston  on  the  third  day  after  the  in 
habitants  received  the  first  intelligence 
of  the  Boston  port-bill.  Though  the 
people  were  irritated  by  that  measure, 
and  though  their  republican  jealousy 
was  hurt  by  the  combination  of  the  civil 
and  military  character  in  one  person, 
yet  the  general,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
received  with  all  the  honors  which  had 
been  usually  paid  to  his  predecessors. 
Soon  after  his  arrival,  two  regiments  of 
foot,  with  a  detachment  of  artillery  and 
some  cannon,  were  landed  in  Boston. 
These  troops  were  by  degrees  reinforced 
with  others  from  Ireland,  New  York, 
Halifax,  and  Quebec. 

The  governor  announced  that  he  had 
the  king's  particular  command  for  hold 
ing  the  General  Court  at  Salem,  after 
the  first  of  June.  When  that  eventful 
day  arrived,  the  act  for  shutting  up  the 
port  of  Boston  commenced  its  operation. 

It  was  devoutly  kept  at  Williams- 
burg  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  humilia 
tion.*  In  Philadelphia  it  was  solem 
nized  with  every  manifestation  of  pub 
lic  calamity  and  grief.  The  inhabitants 
shut  up  their  houses.  After  divine  ser 
vice  a  stillness  reigned  over  the  city, 

°  Washington  writes  in  his  diary,  that  he  "went  to 
church  and  fasted  all  day." — Sparks. 


262 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


which  exhibited  an  appearance  of  the 
deepest  distress. 

In  Boston  a  new  scene  opened  on  tne 
inhabitants.  Hitherto,  that  town  had 
been  the  seat  of  commerce  and  of  plenty. 
The  immense  business  carried  on  there 
afforded  a  comfortable  subsistence  to 
many  thousands.  The  necessary,  the 
useful,  and  even  some  of  the  elegant 
arts,  were  cultivated  among  them.  The 
citizens  were  polite  and  hospitable.  In 
this  happy  state  they  were  sentenced, 
on  the  short  notice  of  twenty-one  days, 
to  a  total  deprivation  of  all  means  of 
subsisting.  The  blow  reached  every 
person.  The  rents  of  the  landholders 
either  ceased,  or  were  greatly  dimin 
ished.  The  immense  property  in  stores 
and  wharves  was  rendered  compara 
tively  useless.  Laborers,  artificers,  and 
others,  employed  in  the  numerous  occu 
pations  created  by  an  extensive  trade, 
partook  in  the  general  calamity.  They 
who  depended  on  a  regular  income, 
flowing  from  previous  acquisitions  of 
property,  as  well  as  they  who,  with  the 
sweat  of  their  brow,  earned  their  daily 
subsistence,  were  equally  deprived  of 
the  means  of  support;  and  the  chief 
difference  between  them  was,  that  the 
distresses  of  the  former  were  rendered 
more  intolerable  by  the  recollection  of 
past  enjoyments.  All  these  inconven 
iences  and  hardships  were  borne  with  a 
passive,  but  inflexible  fortitude.  Their 
determination  to  persist  in  the  same  line 
of  conduct,  which  had  been  the  occa 
sion  of  their  suffering,  was  unabated. 

The  authors  and  advisers  of  the  reso 


lution  for  destroying  the  tea,  were  in 
the  town,  and  still  retained  their  popu 
larity  and  influence.  The  execrations 
of  the  inhabitants  fell  not  on  them,  but 
on  the  British  parliament.  Their  coun 
trymen  acquitted  them  of  all  selfish  de 
signs,  and  believed  that  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  the  measures  of  Great  Britain, 
they  were  actuated  by  an  honest  zeal 
for  constitutional  liberty.  The  sufferers 
in  Boston  had  the  consolation  of  sym 
pathy  from  the  other  colonists.  Contri 
butions  were  raised  in  all  quarters  for 
their  relief.  Letters  and  addresses  came 
to  them  from  corporate  bodies,  town- 
meetings,  and  provincial  conventions, 
applauding  their  conduct,  and  exhorting 
them  to  perseverance. 

The  people  of  Marblehead,  Avho,  by 
their  proximity,  were  likely  to  reap  ad 
vantage  from  the  distresses  of  Boston, 
generously  offered  the  merchants  of  that 
place  the  use  of  their  harbor,  wharves, 
warehouses,  and  also  their  personal  at 
tendance  on  the  lading  or  unlading  of 
their  goods,  free  of  all  expense. 

The  inhabitants  of  Salem,  in  an  ad 
dress  to  Governor  Gage,  concluded  with 
these  remarkable  words  :  "  By  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston,  some  imagine 
that  the  course  of  trade  might  be  turned 
hither  and  to  our  benefit ;  but  nature, 
in  the  formation  of  our  harbor,  forbade 
our  becoming  rivals  in  commerce  with 
that  convenient  mart ;  and,  were  it 
otherwise,  we  must  be  dead  to  every 
idea  of  justice,  lost  to  all  feelings  of  hu 
manity,  could  we  indulge  one  thought 
to  seize  on  wealth,  and  raise  our  for 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


263 


tunes  on  the  ruins  of  our  suffering 
neighbors." 

The  Massachusetts  General  Court  met 
at  Salem,  according  to  adjournment,  on 
the  7th  of  June.  Several  of  the  popu 
lar  leaders  took,  in  a  private  way,  the 
sense  of  the  members  on  what  was 
proper  to  be  done.  Finding  they  were 
able  to  carry  such  measures  as  the  pub 
lic  exigencies  required,  they  prepared 
resolves  and  moved  for  their  adoption. 
But  before  they  went  on  the  latter  busi 
ness  their  door  was  shut. 

One  member,  nevertheless,  contrived 
means  of  sending  information  to  Gov 
ernor  Gage  of  wThat  was  doing.  His 
secretary  was  sent  off  to  dissolve  the 
General  Court,  but  was  refused  admis 
sion.  As  he  could  obtain  no  entrance, 
he  read  the  proclamation  at  the  door, 
and  immediately  after  in  council,  and 
thus  dissolved  the  General  Court.  The 
House,  while  sitting  with  their  doors 
shut,  appointed  five  of  the  most  respect 
able  inhabitants  as  delegates  to  the  Gen 
eral  Congress,  which  was  to  meet  on  the 

o          / 

first  of  September  at  Philadelphia, — 
voted  them  seventy-five  pounds  sterling 
each,  and  recommended  to  the  several 
towns  and  districts  to  raise  the  said  sum 
by  equitable  proportions.  By  these 
means  the  designs  of  the  governor  were 
disappointed.  His  situation  in  every 
respect  was  truly  disagreeable.  It  was 
his  duty  to  forward  the  execution  of 
laws  which  were  universally  execrated. 
Zeal  for  his  master's  service  prompted 
him  to  endeavor  that  they  should  be 
carried  into  full  effect,  but  his  progress 


was  retarded  by  obstacles  from  every 
quarter.  He  had  to  transact  his  official 
business  with  a  people  who  possessed  a 
high  sense  of  liberty,  and  were  uncom 
monly  ingenious  in  evading  disagreeable 
acts  of  parliament.  It  was  a  part  of  his 
duty  to  prevent  the  calling  of  the  town- 
meetings  after  the  first  of  August,  1774. 
These  meetings  were  nevertheless  held. 
On  his  proposing  to  exert  authority  for 
the  dispersion  of  the  people,  he  was  told 
j  by  the  selectmen,  that  they  had  not  of 
fended  against  the  act  of  parliament,  for 
that  only  prohibited  the  calling  of  town- 
meetings,  and  that  no  such  call  had 
been  made ;  a  former  constitutional 
meeting  before  the  first  of  August,  hav 
ing  only  adjourned  themselves  from 
time  to  time.  Other  evasions,  equally 
founded  on  the  letter  of  even  the  late 
obnoxious  laws,  were  practised. 

As  the  summer  advanced,  the  peo 
ple  of  Massachusetts  received  stronger 
proofs  of  support  from  the  neighboring 
provinces.  They  were  therefore  encour 
aged  to  further  opposition.  The  inhab 
itants  of  the  colonies,  at  this  time,  with 
regard  to  political  opinions,  might  be 
divided  into  three  classes  :  of  these,  one 
was  for  rushing  precipitately  into  ex 
tremities.  They  were  for  immediately 
stopping  all  trade,  and  could  not  even 
brook  the  delay  of  waiting  till  the 
proposed  Continental  Congress  should 
meet.  Another  party,  equally  respect 
able,  both  as  to  character,  property, 
and  patriotism,  was  more  moderate,  but 
not  less  firm.  These  were  averse  to  the 
adoption  of  any  violent  resolutions  tiL 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


all  others  were  ineffectually  tried.  They 
wished  that  a  clear  statement  of  their 
rights,  claims,  and  grievances  should 
precede  every  other  measure.  A  third 
class  disapproved  of  what  was  generally 
going  on, — a  few  from  principle  and  a 
persuasion  that  they  ought  to  submit  to 
the  mother  country, — some  from  the 
love  of  ease,  others  from  self-interest, 
but  the  bulk  from  fear  of  the  mischiev 
ous  consequences  likely  to  follow :  all 
these  latter  classes,  for  the  most  part, 
lay  still,  while  the  friends  of  liberty 
acted  with  spirit.  If  they,  or  any  of 
them,  ventured  to  oppose  popular  meas 
ures  they  were  not  supported,  and  there 
fore  declined  further  efforts.  The  re 
sentment  of  the  people  was  so  strong 
against  them,  that  they  sought  for  peace 
by  remaining  quiet.  The  same  inde 
cision  that  made  them  willing  to  submit 
to  Great  Britain  made  them  apparently 
acquiesce  in  popular  measures  which 
they  disapproved.  The  spirited  part  of 
the  community  being  on  the  side  of  lib 
erty,  the  patriots  had  the  appearance  of 
unanimity ;  though  many  either  kept 
at  a  distance  from  public  meetings,  or 
voted  against  their  own  opinion,  to  se 
cure  themselves  from  resentment,  and 
promote  their  present  ease  and  interest. 
Under  the  influence  of  those  who 
were  for  the  immediate  adoption  of  effi 
cacious  measures,  an  agreement  by  the 
name  of  tlie  solemn  league  and  covenant 
was  adopted  by  numbers.  The  sub 
scribers  of  this  bound  themselves  to 
suspend  all  commercial  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain  until  the  late  obnoxious 


laws  were  repealed,  and  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  restored  to  its  chartered 
rights. 

General  Gage  published  a  proclama 
tion  in  which  he  styled  this  solemn 

league  and  covenant,  "An  un- 

itf'i. 

lawful,    hostile,    and    traitorous 

combination."  And  all  magistrates  were 
charged  to  apprehend  and  secure  for 
trial,  such  as  should  have  any  agency  in 
publishing  or  subscribing  the  same  or 
any  similar  covenant.  This  proclama 
tion  had  no  other  effect  than  to  exercise 
the  pens  of  the  lawyers  in  showing  that 
the  association  did  not  come  within  the 
description  of  legal  treason,  and  that 
therefore  the  governor's  proclamation 
was  not  warranted  by  the  principles  of 
the  constitution. 

The  late  law  for  regulating  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  province,  arrived  near 
the  beginning  of  August,  and  was  ac 
companied  with  a  list  of  thirty-six  new 
councillors  appointed  by  the  crown,  and 
in  a  mode  variant  from  that  prescribed 
by  the  charter.  Several  of  these  in  the 
first  instance  declined  an  acceptance  of 
the  appointment.  Those  who  accepted 
of  it  were  everywhere  declared  to  be 
enemies  to  their  country.  The  new 
judges  were  rendered  incapable  of  pro 
ceeding  in  their  official  duty.  Upon 
opening  the  courts  the  juries  refused  to 
be  sworn,  or  to  act  in  any  manner,  either 
under  them  or  in  conformity  to  the  late 
regulations.  In  some  places  the  people 
assembled  and  filled  the  court-houses 
and  avenues  to  them  in  such  a  manner, 
that  neither  the  judges  nor  their  officer? 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WASHINGTON  A  POLITICIAN. 


2(35 


1774. 


could  obtain  entrance  ;  and  upon  the 
sheriff's  commanding  them  to  make  way 
for  the  court,  they  answered,  "That 
they  knew  no  court  independent 
of  the  ancient  laws  of  their  coun 
try,  and  to  none  other  would  they  sub 
mit." 

In  imitation  of  his  royal  master,  Gov 
ernor  Gage  issued  a  proclamation  "for 
the  encouragement  of  piety  and  virtue, 
and  for  the  prevention  and  punishing 
vice,  profaneness,  and  immorality."  In 
this  proclamation,  hypocrisy  was  in 
serted  as  one  of  the  immoralities  against 
which  the  people  were  warned.  This 
was  considered  by  the  inhabitants,  who 
had  often  been  ridiculed  for  their  strict 
attention  to  the  forms  of  religion,  to  be 
a  studied  insult,  and  as  such  was  more 
resented  than  an  actual  injury.  It 
greatly  added  to  the  inflammation 
which  had  already  taken  place  in  their 
minds. 

The  proceedings  and  apparent  dispo 
sitions  of  the  people,  together  with  the 
military  preparations  which  were  daily 
made  through  the  province,  induced 
General  Gage  to  fortify  that  neck*  of 
land  which  joins  the  peninsula  of  Rox- 
bury  to  Boston. 

He  also  seized  upon  the  powder  which 
was  lodged  in  the  arsenal  at  Charles- 
town. 

This  excited  a  most  violent  and  uni 
versal  ferment.  Several  thousands  of 
the  people  assembled  at  Cambridge, 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  they  were  re- 


°  Called  Roxbury  Neck. 


strained  from  marching  directly  to  Bos 
ton  to  demand  a  delivery  of  the  pow 
der,  with  a  resolution,  in  case  of  refusal, 
to  attack  the  troops. 

The  people  thus  assembled  proceeded 
to  Lieutenant-governor  Oliver's  house, 
and  to  the  houses  of  several  of  the  new 
councillors,  and  obliged  them  to  resign, 
and  to  declare  that  they  would  no  more 
act  under  the  laws  lately  enacted.  In 
the  confusion  of  these  transactions  a 
rumor  went  abroad,  that  the  royal  fleet 
and  troops  were  firing  upon  the  town 
of  Boston.  This  was  probably  designed 
by  the  popular  leaders  on  purpose  to 
ascertain  what  aid  they  might  expect 
from  the  country  in  case  of  extremities 
The  result  exceeded  their  most  sanguine 
expectations.  In  less  than  twenty-four 
hours  there  were  upwards  of  thirty 
thousand  men  in  arms,  and  marching 
towards  the  capital.  Other  risings  of 
the  people  took  place  in  different  parts 
of  the  colony,  and  their  violence  was 
such,  that  in  a  short  time  the  new  coun 
cillors,  the  commissioners  of  the  cus 
toms,  and  all  who  had  taken  an  active 
part  in  favor  of  Great  Britain,  were 
obliged  to  screen  themselves  in  Boston. 
The  new  seat  of  government  at  Salem 
was  abandoned,  and  all  the  officers  con 
nected  with  the  revenue  were  obliged  to 
consult  their  safety  by  taking  up  their 
residence  in  a  place  which  an  act  of  par 
liament  had  proscribed  from  all  trade. 

About  this  time  delegates  from  every 
town  and  district  in  the  county  of  Suf 
folk,  of  which  Boston  is  the  county 
town,  had  a  meeting,  at  which  they 


VOL.  I.— 34 


266 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


prefaced  a  number  of  spirited  resolu 
tions,  containing  a  detail  of  tlie  particu 
lars  of  their  intended  opposition  to  the 
late  acts  of  parliament,  with  a  general 
declaration,  "That  no  obedience  was 
due  from  the  province  to  either,  or  any 
part  of  the  said  acts,  but  that  they 
should  be  rejected  as  the  attempts  of  a 
wicked  administration  to  enslave  Amer 
ica."  The  resolves  of  this  meeting  were 
sent  on  to  Philadelphia  for  the  informa 
tion  and  opinion  of  the  Congress,  which, 
as  shall  be  hereafter  related,  had  met 
there  about  this  time. 


The  people  of  Massachusetts  rightly 
judged,  that  from  the  decision  of  Con 
gress  on  these  resolutions  they  would 
be  enabled  to  determine  what  support 
they  might  expect.  Notwithstanding 
present  appearances,  they  feared  that 
the  other  colonies,  who  were  no  more 
than  remotely  concerned,  would  not 
hazard  the  consequences  of  making  a 
common  cause  with  them  should  subse 
quent  events  make  it  necessary  to  repel 
force  by  force.  The  decision  of  Con 
gress  exceeded  their  expectations,  as  we 
shall  presently  see. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  IX. 


[A.] 

JOSIAH  QUINCY,  JR. 

JOSIAH  QUINCT,  jr.,  a  distinguished  lawyer, 
orator,  and  patriot  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
was  born  in  that  city  February  23d,  1744.  He 
was  educated  at  Harvard  College,  where  he  was 
remarkably  persevering,  and  graduated  with 
unblemished  reputation  in  1763.  He  early  be 
came  eminent  in  the  practice  of  the  law ;  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  time  turning  his 
thoughts  to  political  topics,  he  took  sides  with 
the  most  eminent  leaders  in  the  cause  of  free 
dom,  against  the  aggressive  policy  of  Britain. 
His  boldness  of  speech  was  remarkable.  As 
early  as  1768,  he  used  this  language:  "Did  the 
blood  of  the  ancient  Britons  swell  our  veins,  did 
the  spirit  of  our  forefathers  inhabit  our  breasts, 
should  we  hesitate  a  moment  in  preferring  death 
to  a  miserable  existence  in  bondage  ?"  Again, 
in  1770,  he  declared:  "I  wish  to  see  my  coun 
trymen  break  off — off  forever  !  all  social  inter 
course  with  those  whose  commerce  contami 
nates,  whose  luxuries  poison,  whose  avarice  is 
insatiable,  and  whose  unnatural  oppressions  are 
not  to  be  borne."  He  was  associated  with 
John  Adams  in  the  defence  of  the  perpetrators 
of  the  "  Boston  Massacre,"  and  did  not  by  that 
defence  alienate  the  good  opinion  of  the  people. 
In  1771  he  was  obliged  to  go  south  on  account 
of  a  pulmonary  complaint.  At  Charleston  he 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  Pinckney,  Rut- 
ledge,  and  other  patriots;  and,  returning  by 
land,  conferred  with  other  leading  whigs  in  the 
several  colonies.  Continued  ill  health,  and  a  de 
sire  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  English 
statesmen,  induced  him  to  make  a  voyage  to 
England  in  1774,  where  he  had  personal  inter 
views  with  most  of  the  leading  men.  Becom 


ing  fully  acquainted  with  the  feelings  and  irten- 
tions  of  the  king  and  his  ministers,  and  hopeless 
of  reconciliation,  Mr.  Quincy  determined  to  re 
turn  and  arouse  his  countrymen  to  action.  He 
embarked  for  Boston  with  declining  health,  in 
March,  and  on  the  26th  of  April,  1775,  when 
the  vessel  was  in  the  harbor  of  Cape  Ann,  in 
sight  of  land,  he  died.  Mr.  Quincy's  eminent 
talents  and  zealous  attachment  to  the  cause  of 
freedom,  as  well  as  his  amiable  and  interesting 
manners,  made  his  early  death  a  subject  of  uni 
versal  lamentation. 


[B.] 

THE  FAIRFAX  COUNTY  RESOLVES. 

"  The  draft  from  which  the  following  resolves 
are  printed,  I  find,"  says  Mr.  Sparks,*  "  among 
Washington's  papers,  hi  the  handwriting  of 
George  Mason,  by  whom  they  were  probably 
drawn  up ;  yet,  as  they  were  adopted  by  the 
committee  of  which  Washington  was  chairman, 
and  reported  by  him  as  moderator  of  the  meet 
ing,  they  may  be  presumed  to  express  his 
opinions,  formed  on  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  and  after  cool  deliberation." 

"At  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and 
inhabitants  of  the  county  of  Fairfax,  on  Mon 
day,  the  18th  day  of  July,  1774,  at  the  Court 
house,  George  Washington,  chairman,  and  Rob 
ert  Harrison,  clerk,  of  the  said  meeting: 

1st. — Resolved,  That  this  colony  and  dominion 
of  Virginia  cannot  be  considered  as  a  conquered 
country;  and  if  it  was,  that  the  present  inhabit 
ants  are  the  descendants,  not  of  the  conquered, 
but  of  the  conquerors.  That  the  same  was  not 

s  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  488. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


settled  at  the  national  expense  of  England,  but 
at  the  private  expense  of  the  adventurers,  our 
ancestors,  by  solemn  compact  with,  and  under 
the  auspices  and  protection  of,  the  British  crown ; 
upon  which  we  are,  in  every  respect,  as  de 
pendent  as  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  in 
the  same  manner  subject  to  all  his  majesty's  just, 
legal,  and  constitutional  prerogatives.  That  our 
ancestors,  when  they  left  their  native  land  and 
settled  in  America,  brought  with  them  (even  if 
the  same  had  not  been  confined  by  charters)  the 
civil  constitution  and  form  of  government  of  the 
country  they  came  from  ;  and  were,  by  the  laws 
of  nature  and  nations,  entitled  to  all  its  privi 
leges,  immunities,  and  advantages,  which  have 
descended  to  us  their  posterity,  and  ought  of 
right  to  be  as  fully  enjoyed  as  if  we  had  still 
continued  within  the  realm  of  England. 

2d. — Resolved,  That  the  most  important  and 
valuable  part  of  the  British  constitution,  upon 
which  its  very  existence  depends,  is  the  funda 
mental  principle  of  the  people's  being  governed 
by  no  laws  to  which  they  have  not  given  their 
consent  by  representatives  freely  chosen  by 
themselves ;  who  are  affected  by  the  laws  they 
enact  equally  with  their  constituents ;  to  whom 
they  are  accountable,  and  whose  burdens  they 
share :  in  which  consists  the  safety  and  happi 
ness  of  the  community ;  for  if  this  part  of  the 
constitution  was  taken  away,  or  materially  al 
tered,  the  government  must  degenerate  either 
into  an  absolute  and  despotic  monarchy,  or  a 
tyrannical  aristocracy,  and  the  freedom  of  the 
people  be  annihilated. 

3d. — Resolved,  Therefore,  as  the  inhabitants  of 
the  American  colonies  are  not,  and,  from  their 
situation,  cannot  be  represented  in  the  British 
parliament,  that  the  legislative  power  here  can 
of  right  be  exercised  only  by  our  own  provincial 
assemblies  or  parliaments,  subject  to  the  assent 
or  negative  of  the  British  crown,  to  be  declared 
within  some  proper  limited  time.  But  as  it  was 
thought  just  and  reasonable,  that  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  should  reap  advantages  from  these 
colonies  adequate  to  the  protection  they  afforded 
them,  the  British  parliament  have  claimed  and 
exercised  the  power  of  regulating  our  trade  and 
commerce,  so  as  to  restrain  our  importing  from 
foreign  countries  such  articles  as  they  could 


furnish  us  with  of  their  own  growth  or  manu 
facture  ;  or  exporting  to  foreign  countries  such 
articles  and  portions  of  our  produce  as  Great 
Britain  stood  in  need  of  for  her  own  consump 
tion  or  manufactures.  Such  a  power,  directed 
with  wisdom  and  moderation,  seems  necessary 
for  the  general  good  of  that  great  body  politic, 
of  which  we  are  a  part;  although  in  some  de 
gree  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  the  constitu 
tion.  Under  this  idea  our  ancestors  submitted 
to  it ;  the  experience  of  more  than  a  century 
during  the  government  of  his  majesty's  royal 
predecessors,  has  proved  its  utility,  and  the  re 
ciprocal  benefits  flowing  from  it  produced  mu 
tual  uninterrupted  harmony  and  good-will  be 
tween  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies,  who,  during  that  long  period,  always 
considered  themselves  as  one  and  the  same  peo 
ple  ;  and  though  such  a  power  is  capable  of 
abuse,  and  in  some  instances  has  been  stretched 
beyond  the  original  design  and  institution,  yet 
to  avoid  strife  and  contention  with  our  fellow- 
subjects,  and  strongly  impressed  with  the  ex 
perience  of  mutual  benefits,  we  always  cheerfully 
acquiesced  in  it,  while  the  entire  regulation  of 
our  internal  policy,  and  giving  and  granting  our 
own  money,  were  preserved  to  our  own  provin 
cial  legislatures. 

4th  — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  these 
colonies  on  all  emergencies  to  contribute,  in 
proportion  to  their  abilities,  situation,  and  cir 
cumstances,  to  the  necessary  charge  of  support 
ing  and  defending  the  British  empire,  of  which 
they  are  a  part ;  that  while  we  are  treated  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  our  fellow-subjects,  the 
motives  of  self-interest  and  preservation  will  be 
a  sufficient  obligation,  as  was  evident  through 
the  course  of  the  last  war ;  and  that  no  argu 
ment  can  be  applied  to  the  British  parliament 
taxing  us,  upon  a  presumption  that  we  should 
refuse  a  just  and  reasonable  contribution,  but 
will  equally  operate  in  justification  of  the  execu 
tive  power  taxing  the  people  of  England  upon 
a  supposition  of  their  representatives  refusing 
to  grant  the  necessary  supplies. 

5th. — Resolved,  That  the  claim  lately  assumed 
and  exercised  by  the  British  parliament,  of  mak 
ing  all  such  laws  as  they  think  fit  to  govern  the 
people  of  these  colonies,  and  to  extort  fronu  us 


CHAP.  IX.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


269 


our  money  without  our  consent,  is  not  only  dia 
metrically  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  the 
constitution  and  the  original  compacts  by  which 
we  are  dependent  upon  the  British  crown  and 
government,  but  is  totally  incompatible  with 
the  privileges  of  a  free  people  and  the  natural 
rights  of  mankind  ;  will  render  our  own  legisla 
ture  merely  nominal  and  nugatory,  and  is  cal 
culated  to  reduce  us  from  a  state  of  freedom 
and  happiness  to  slavery  and  misery. 

6th. — Resolved,  That  taxation  and  representa 
tion  are  in  their  nature  inseparable  ;  that  the 
right  ot' withholding,  or  of  giving  and  granting 
their  own  money,  is  the  only  effectual  security 
to  a  free  people  against  the  encroachments  of 
despotism  and  tyranny ;  and  that  whenever  they 
yield  the  one,  they  must  quickly  fall  a  prey  to 
the  other. 

7th. — Resolved,  That  the  powers  over  the 
people  of  America,  now  claimed  by  the  British 
House  of  Commons,  in  whose  election  we  have 
no  share,  on  whose  determinations  we  can  have 
no  influence,  whose  information  must  be  always 
defective  and  often  false,  who  in  many  instances 
may  have  a  separate,  and  in  some  an  opposite 
interest  to  ours,  and  who  are  removed  from 
those  impressions  of  tenderness  and  compassion 
arising  from  personal  intercourse  and  connec 
tion,  which  soften  the  rigors  of  the  most  des 
potic  governments,  must,  if  continued,  establish 
the  most  grievous  and  intolerable  species  of  tyr 
anny  and  oppression  that  ever  was  inflicted 
upon  mankind. 

8th. — Resolved,  That  it  is  our  greatest  wish 
and  inclination,  as  well  as  interest,  to  continue 
our  connection  with,  and  dependence  upon  the 
British  government ;  but  though  we  are  its  sub 
jects,  we  will  use  every  means  which  Heaven 
hath  given  us  to  prevent  our  becoming  its  slaves. 

9th. — Resolved,  That  there  is  a  premeditated 
design  and  system  formed  and  pursued  by  the 
British  ministry,  to  introduce  an  arbitrary  gov 
ernment  into  his  majesty's  American  dominions  ; 
to  which  end  they  are  artfully  prejudicing  our 
sovereign,  and  inflaming  the  minds  of  our  fel 
low-subjects  in  Great  Britain  by  propagating  the 
most  malevclent  falsehoods,  particularly  that 
there  is  an  intention  in  the  American  colonies  to 
set  up  for  independent  States ;  endeavoring  at 


the  same  time,  by  various  acts  of  violence  and 
oppression,  by  sudden  and  repeated  dissolutions 
of  our  Assemblies  whenever  they  presume  to 
examine  the  illegality  of  ministerial  mandates  or 
deliberate  on  the  violated  rights  of  their  con 
stituents,  and  by  breaking  in  upon  the  American 
charters  to  reduce  us  to  a  state  of  desperation, 
and  dissolve  the  original  compacts  by  which  our 
ancestors  bound  themselves  and  their  posterity 
to  remain  dependent  upon  the  British  crown ; 
which  measures,  unless  effectually  counteracted, 
will  end  in  the  ruin  both  of  Great  Britain  and 
her  colonies. 

10th. — Resolved,  That  the  several  acts  of  par 
liament  for  raising  a  revenue  upon  the  people  of 
America  without  their  consent,  the  creating  new 
and  dangerous  jurisdictions  here,  the  taking 
away  our  trials  by  jury,  the  ordering  persons, 
upon  criminal  accusations,  to  be  tried  in  another 
country  than  that  in  which  the  fact  is  charged 
to  have  been  committed,  the  act  inflicting  min 
isterial  vengeance  upon  the  town  of  Boston,  and 
the  two  bills  lately  brought  into  parliament  for 
abrogating  the  charter  of  the  province  of  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  and  for  the  protection  and  en 
couragement  of  murderers  in  said  province,  are 
part  of  the  above-mentioned  iniquitous  system. 
That  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston  are 
now  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  all  British 
America,  and  are  justly  entitled  to  its  support 
and  assistance  ;  and  therefore  that  a  subscription 
ought  immediately  to  be  opened,  and  proper 
persons  appointed  in  every  county  of  this  colony 
to  purchase  provisions,  and  consign  them  to  some 
gentlemen  of  character  in  Boston,  to  be  distrib 
uted  among  the  poorer  sort  of  people  there. 

llth. — Resolved,  That  we  will  cordially  join 
with  our  friends  and  brethren  of  this  and  the 
other  colonies,  in  such  measures  as  shall  be 
judged  most  effectual  for  procuring  redress  of 
our  grievances,  and  that  upon  obtaining  such 
redress,  if  the  destruction  of  the  tea  at  Boston 
be  regarded  as  an  invasion  of  private  property, 
we  shall  be  willing  to  contribute  towards  paying 
the  East  India  Company  the  value ;  but  as  we 
consider  the  said  company  as  the  tools  and  in 
struments  of  oppression  in  the  hands  of  govern 
ment,  and  the  cause  of  our  present  distress,  it  is 
the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  that  the  people  of 


270 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


these  colonies  should  forbear  all  further  dealings 
with  them  by  refusing  to  purchase  their  mer 
chandise,  until  that  peace,  safety,  and  good  or 
der  which  they  have  disturbed  be  perfectly 
restored.  And  that  all  tea  now  in  this  colony, 
or  which  shall  be  imported  into  it  shipped  be 
fore  the  1st  day  of  September  next,  should  be 
deposited  in  some  storehouse  to  be  appointed 
by  the  respective  committees  of  each  county, 
until  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  be  raised  by  sub 
scription  to  reimburse  the  owners  the  value,  and 
then  to  be  publicly  burned  and  destroyed  ;  and 
if  the  same  is  not  paid  for  and  destroyed  as 
aforesaid,  that  it  remain  in  the  custody  of  the 
said  committees  at  the  risk  of  the  owners,  until 
the  act  of  parliament  imposing  a  duty  upon  tea, 
for  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  be  repealed  ; 
and  immediately  afterwards  be  delivered  unto 
the  several  proprietors  thereof,  their  agents,  or 
attorneys. 

12th. — Resolved,  That  nothing  will  so  much 
contribute  to  defeat  the  pernicious  designs  of 
the  common  enemies  of  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies,  as  a  firm  union  of  the  latter,  who  ought 
to  regard  every  act  of  violence  or  oppression  in 
flicted  upon  any  one  of  them  as  aimed  at  all ; 
and  to  effect  this  desirable  purpose,  that  a  con 
gress  should  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  deputies 
from  all  the  colonies,  to  concert  a  general  and 
uniform  plan  for  the  defence  and  preservation  of 
our  common  rights,  and  continuing  the  connec 
tion  and  dependence  of  the  said  colonies  upon 
Great  Britain,  under  a  just,  lenient,  permanent, 
and  constitutional  form  of  government. 

13th. — Resolved,  That  our  most  sincere  and 
cordial  thanks  be  given  to  the  patrons  and 
friends  of  liberty  in  Great  Britain  for  their  spir 
ited  and  patriotic  conduct  in  support  of  our 
constitutional  rights  and  privileges,  and  their 
generous  efforts  to  prevent  the  present  distress 
and  calamity  of  America. 

14th. — Resolved,  That  every  little  jarring  in 
terest  and  dispute  which  has  ever  happened  be 
tween  these  colonies  should  be  buried  in  eternal 
oblivion  ;  that  all  manner  of  luxury  and  extrav 
agance  ought  immediately  to  be  laid  aside,  as 
totally  inconsistent  with  the  threatening  and 
gloomy  prospect  before  us  ;  that  it  is  the  indis 
pensable  duty  of  all  the  gentlemen  and  mer.  of 


fortune  to  set  examples  of  temperance,  frugality, 
and  industry,  and  give  every  encouragement  in 
their  power,  particularly  by  subscriptions  and 
premiums,  to  the  improvement  of  arts  and  man 
ufactures  in  America ;  that  great  care  and  atten 
tion  should  be  had  to  the  cultivation  of  flax,  cot 
ton,  and  other  materials  for  manufactures  ;  and 
we  recommend  it  to  such  of  the  inhabitants  as 
have  large  stocks  of  sheep,  to  sell  to  their  neigh 
bors  at  a  moderate  price,  as  the  most  certain 
means  of  speedily  increasing  our  breed  of  sheep 
and  quantity  of  wool. 

loth. — Resolved,  That  until  American  griev 
ances  be  redressed,  by  restoration  of  our  just 
rights  and  privileges,  no  goods  or  merchandise 
whatever  ought  to  be  imported  into  this  colony 
which  shall  be  shipped  from  Great  Britain  or 
Ireland  after  the  first  day  of  September  next, 
except  linens  not  exceeding  fifteen  pence  per 
yard,  coarse  woollen  cloth  not  exceeding  two 
shillings  sterling  per  yard,  nails,  wire  and  wire 
cards,  needles  and  pins,  paper,  saltpetre,  and 
medicines,  which  may  be  imported  until  the  first 
day  of  September,  1770;  and  if  any  goods  or 
merchandise  other  than  those  hereby  excepted 
should  be  shipped  from  Great  Britain  after  the 
time  aforesaid  to  this  colony,  that  the  same,  im 
mediately  upon  their  arrival,  should  either  be 
sent  back  again  by  their  owners,  their  agents,  or 
attorneys,  or  stored  and  deposited  in  some  ware 
house  to  be  appointed  by  the  committee  for  each 
respective  county,  and  there  kept  at  the  risk  and 
charge  of  the  owners,  to  be  delivered  to  them 
when  a  free  importation  of  goods  hither  shall 
again  take  place.  And  that  the  merchants  and 
venders  of  goods  and  merchandise  within  this 
colony  ought  not  to  take  advantage  of  our  pres 
ent  distress,  but  continue  to  sell  the  goods  and 
merchandise  which  they  now  have,  or  which  may 
be  shipped  to  them  before  the  first  day  of  Sep 
tember  next,  at  the  same  rates  and  prices  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  do  within  one  year 
last  past ;  and  if  any  person  shall  sell  such  goods 
on  any  terms  than  above  expressed,  that  no  in 
habitant  of  this  colony  should  at  any  time,  for 
ever  and  thereafter,  deal  with  him,  his  factor, 
agent,  or  storekeepers,  for  any  commodity  what 
ever. 

16th. — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 


CHAP.  IX.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


271 


meetii  g,  that  the  merchants  and  venders  of 
goods  and  merchandise  within  this  colony, 
should  take  an  oath  not  to  sell  or  dispose  of  any 
goods  or  merchandise  whatsoever,  which  may 
be  shipped  from  Great  Britain  after  the  first  day 
of  September  next,  as  aforesaid,  except  the  ar 
ticles  before  excepted ;  and  that  they  will,  upon 
receipt  of  such  prohibited  goods,  either  send 
back  the  same  again  by  the  first  opportunity,  or 
deliver  them  to  the  committees  in  the  respective 
counties,  to  be  deposited  in  some  warehouse  at 
the  risk  and  charge  of  the  owners,  until  they, 
their  agents,  or  factors  be  permitted  to  take 
them  away  by  the  said  committees ;  the  names 
of  those  who  refuse  to  take  such  oath  to  be  ad- 
vertispd  by  the  respective  committees  in  the 
counties  wherein  they  reside.  And  to  the  end 
that  the  inhabitants  of  this  colony  may  know 
what  merchants  and  venders  of  goods  and  mer 
chandise  have  taken  such  oath,  that  the  respec 
tive  committees  should  grant  a  certificate  thereof 
to  every  such  person  who  shall  take  the  same. 

1 7th. — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting,  that  during  our  present  difficulties  and 
distress,  no  slaves  ought  to  be  imported  into  any 
of  the  British  colonies  on  this  continent ;  and 
we  take  this  opportunity  of  declaring  our  most 
earnest  Mashes,  to  see  an  entire  stop  forever  put 
to  such  a  wicked,  cruel,  and  unnatural  trade. 

18th. — Resolved,  That  no  kind  of  lumber 
should  be  exported  from  this  colony  to  the 
West  Indies,  until  America  be  restored  to  her 
constitutional  rights  and  liberties,  if  the  other 
colonies  will  accede  to  a  like  resolution;  and 
that  it  be  recommended  to  the  General  Congress 
to  appoint  as  early  a  day  as  possible  for  stopping 
such  export. 

1 9th. — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting,  if  American  grievances  be  not  re 
dressed  before  the  first  day  of  November,  1775, 
that  all  exports  of  produce  from  the  several 
colonies  to  Great  Britain  should  cease ;  and  to 
cany  the  said  resolution  more  effectually  into 
execution,  that  we  will  not  plant  or  cultivate 
any  tobacco  after  the  crop  now  growing ;  pro 
vided  the  same  measure  shall  be  adopted  by  the 
other  colonies  on  this  continent,  as  well  those 
who  have  hitherto  made  tobacco  as  those  who 
have  not.  And  it  is  our  opinion  also,  if  the 


congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  colonies 
shall  adopt  the  measure  of  non-exportation  to 
Great  Britain,  as  the  people  will  be  thereby  dis 
abled  from  paying  their  debts,  that  no  judg 
ments  should  be  rendered  by  the  courts  in  the 
said  colonies  for  any  debt,  after  information  of 
the  said  measures  being  determined  upon. 

20th. — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting  that  a  solemn  covenant  and  association 
should  be  entered  into  by  the  inhabitants  of  all 
the  colonies  upon  oath,  that  they  will  not,  after 
the  times  which  shall  be  respectively  agreed  on 
at  the  General  Congress,  export  any  manner  of 
lumber  to  the  West  Indies,  nor  any  of  their  pro 
duce  to  Great  Britain,  or  sell  or  dispose  of  the 
same  to  any  person  who  shall  not  have  entered 
into  the  said  covenant  and  association  ;  and  also, 
that  they  will  not  import  or  receive  any  goods 
or  merchandise  which  shall  be  shipped  from 
Great  Britain  after  the  first  day  of  September 
next,  other  than  the  before-enumerated  articles, 
nor  buy  or  purchase  any  goods,  except  as  before 
excepted,  of  any  person  whatsoever,  who  shall  not 
have  taken  the  oath  hereinbefore  recommended 
to  be  taken  by  the  merchants  and  venders  of 
goods,  nor  buy  or  purchase  any  slaves  hereafter 
imported  into  any  part  of  this  continent,  until  a 
free  exportation  and  importation  be  again  re 
solved  on  by  a  majority  of  the  representatives 
or  deputies  of  the  colonies.  And  that  the  re 
spective  committees  of  the  counties  in  each 
colony,  so  soon  as  the  covenant  and  association 
becomes  general,  publish  by  advertisements  in 
their  several  counties,  a  list  of  the  names  of 
those  (if  any  such  there  be)  who  will  not  accede 
thereto ;  that  such  traitors  to  their  country  may 
be  publicly  known  and  detested. 

21st. — Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
meeting,  that  this  and  the  other  associating 
colonies  should  break  off  all  trade,  intercourse, 
and  dealings  with  that  colony,  province,  or 
town  Avhich  shall  decline  or  refuse  to  agree  to 
the  plan  which  shall  be  adopted  by  the  General 
Congress. 

22d. — Resolved,  That  should  the  town  of  Bos 
ton  be  forced  to  submit  to  the  late  cruel  and 
oppressive  measures  of  government,  that  we 
should  not  hold  the  same  to  be  binding  upon  us, 
but  will,  notwithstanding,  religiously  maintain 


272 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  m 


and  inviolably  adhere  to  such  measures  as  shall 
be  concerted  by  the  General  Congress,  for  the 
preservation  of  our  lives,  liberties,  and  fortunes. 
23d. — Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to 
the  deputies  of  the  General  Congress  to  draw 
up  and  transmit  an  humble  and  dutiful  petition 
and  remonstrance  to  his  majesty,  asserting  with 
decent  firmness  our  just  and  constitutional  rights 
and  privileges ;  lamenting  the  fatal  necessity  of 
being  compelled  to  enter  into  measures  disgust 
ing  to  his  majesty  and  to  his  parliament,  or  in 
jurious  to  our  fellow-subjects  in  Great  Britain  ; 
declaring,  in  the  strongest  terms,  our  duty  and 
affection  to  his  majesty's  person,  family,  and 
government,  and  our  desire  to  continue  our  de 
pendence  upon  Great  Britain ;  and  most  humbly 
conjuring  and  beseeching  his  majesty  not  to  re 


duce  his  faithful  subjects  of  America  to  a  state 
of  desperation,  and  to  reflect  that  from  our 
sovereign  there  can  be  but  one  appeal.  And  it 
is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  that  after  such 
petition  and  remonstrance  shall  have  been  pre 
sented  to  his  majesty,  the  same  should  be  printed 
in  the  public  papers  in  all  the  principal  towns  in 
Great  Britain. 

24th. — Resolved,  That  George  Washington 
and  Charles  Broadwater,  lately  elected  our  rep 
resentatives  to  serve  in  the  General  Assembly, 
be  appointed  to  attend  the  convention  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  on  the  first  day  of  August  next,  and 
present  these  resolves,  as  the  sense  of  the  people 
of  this  county,  upon  the  measures  proper  to  be 
taken  in  the  present  alarming  and  dangerous 
situation  of  America. 


CHAPTER    X. 

1774, 

WASHINGTON     A     MEMBER      OF      CONGRESS. 

Washington  goes  from  Mount  Vernon  to  Philadelphia  with  Henry  and  Pendleton,  to  take  his  seat  as  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress  of  1774. — Congress  assembles. — Is  organized. — Apportionment  of  the  votes. — Secrecy 
enjoined. — Number  of  lawyers  in  the  Congress. — Their  abilities  and  usefulness. — Solemnity  of  the  meeting. — Its 
importance. — Opening  speech  of  Patrick  Henry. — Speech  of  Richard  Henry  Lee. — Great  orators  not  always  good 
writers. — Incapacity  of  Henry  and  Lee  to  produce  good  state-papers. — Jay  and  Livingston  surpass  them.— First 
prayer  in  Congress. — Washington  kneels. — Declaration  of  rights. — Non-importation  agreement. — Address  to  the 
people  of  Great  Britain. — Petition  to  the  king. — Address  to  the  French  inhabitants  of  Canada. — Congress  ad 
journs  to  May  10th,  1775. — Remarks  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham  on  the  state-papers  produced  by  this  Congress,  and 
on  the  position  which  it  assumed.- — Part  taken  by  Washington  in  the  debates  and  proceedings  of  the  Congress  of 
1774. — Captain  Mackenzie. — His  letter  to  Washington. — Washington's  reply. — This  reply  important,  as  it  ap 
prised  us  that  Washington  still  hoped  for  an  accommodation  with  the  mother  country. — Effect  of  the  proceedings 
and  declarations  of  the  Congress  on  the  people. — New  York  dissents. — Character  of  the  people  of  that  province. 
—Patriotism  of  Pennsylvania. — The  people  generally  sustain  the  Congress. — Washington  returns  to  Mount  Ver 
non. — His  pursuits. — Great  press  of  business  undertaken  for  other  people. 


THE  time  had  now  arrived,  when 
Washington  was  to  take  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  cele 
brated  Continental  Congress  of  1774. 
He  was  accompanied  on  his  journey 
from  Mount  Vernon  by  two  of  his 
colleagues,  Patrick  Henry  and  Ed 
mund  Pendleton.  As  they  pursued 
their  journey,  which  was  performed  on 
horseback,  we  may  imagine  them  to 
have  communed  with  each  other  on 
the  momentous  character  of  the  work 
upon  which  they  were  about  to  enter. 
Whether  aware  of  it  or  not,  they  were 
in  fact  destined  that  very  session  of  Con 
gress  to  lay  securely  the  foundations  of 
the  American  Republic.  It  was  fit  and 
proper  that  Washington  should  take 

VOL.  I.— 35 


1TT4. 


a  leading  part  in  the  deliberations  of 
that  remarkable  assemblage  of  illus 
trious  men.* 

The  day  appointed  for  the  opening 
of  Congress  was  the  fifth  of 
September.  The  place  of  their 
meeting  was  Carpenter's  Hall  in  Car 
penter's  Court,  Chestnut-street,  Philadel 
phia.  Punctual  to  the  hour,  the  depu 
ties  from  eleven  provinces  presented 
themselves,  and  shortly  after,  by  the 
arrival  of  the  delegates  from  North 
Carolina,  there  was  a  complete  repre 
sentation  of  all  the  thirteen  colonies, 
Georgia  alone  excepted.  The  whole 
number  of  delegates  was  fifty-four. 

0  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


•_>74 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


Congress  was  organized  l>y  the  choice 
of  Peyton  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  as 
president,  and  Charles  Thomson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  as  secretary.  The  cre 
dentials  of  the  various  delegates  were 
then  presented. 

In  respect  to  the  number  of  their 
delegates,  the  colonies  were  unequally 
represented  ;  and  as  their  relative  im 
portance  was  not  accurately  known,  it 
was  arranged  that  the  representatives 
of  each  province  should  give  one  single 
vote  upon  every  question  discussed  by 
the  Congress.  It  was  further  deter 
mined  that  the  meetings  of  the  Congress 
should  be  held  with  closed  doors,  and 
that  not  a  syllable  of  its  transactions 
should  be  published  except  by  order  of 
a  majority  of  the  colonies.  This  ju 
dicious  regulation,  among  other  ad  van- 

o  ~ 

tageous  results,  withheld  from  public 
view  every  symptom  of  doubt  or  di 
vided  purpose  and  opinion  among  the 
members  of  the  Congress.  What  we 
know  of  the  details  of  its  proceedings  is 
sufficiently  meagre  and  scanty.  It  has 
been  gathered  from  the  testimony  of 
those  who  were  present,  communicated, 
long  after,  in  conversation  and  in  letters. 
Of  the  whole  number  of  deputies 
which  formed  the  Continental  Congress 
of  1774,  one  half  were  lawyers.  Gen 
tlemen  of  that  profession  had  acquired 
the  confidence  of  the  inhabitants  by 
their  exertions  in  the  common  cause. 
The  previous  measures  in  the  respective 
provinces  had  been  planned  and  carried 
into  effect  more  by  lawyers  than  by 
any  other  order  of  men.  Professionally 


taught  the  rights  of  the  people,  they 
were  among  the  foremost  to  descry 
every  attack  made  on  their  liberties. 
Bred  in  the  habits  of  public  speaking, 
they  made  a  distinguished  figure  in  the 
meetings  of  the  people,  and  were  par 
ticularly  able  to  explain  to  them  the 
tendency  of  the  late  acts  of  parliament. 
Exerting  their  abilities  and  influence  in 
the  cause  of  their  country,  they  were 
rewarded  with  its  confidence. 

The  most  eminent  men  of  the  various 
colonies  were  now,  for  the  first  time, 
brought  together.  They  were  known 
to  each  other  by  fame,  but  they  were 
personally  strangers.  The  meeting  was 
awfully  solemn.  The  object  which  had 
called  them  together  was  of  incalculable 

O 

magnitude.  The  liberties  of  no  less 
than  three  millions  of  people,  with  that 
of  all  their  posterity,  were  staked  on  the 
wisdom  and  energy  of  their  councils. 
No  wonder,  then,  at  the  long  and  deep 
silence  which  is  said  to  have  followed 
upon  their  organization  ;  at  the  anxiety 
with  which  the  members  looked  around 
upon  each  other ;  and  the  reluctance 
which  every  individual  felt  to  open  a 
business  so  fearfully  momentous. 

In  the  midst  of  this  deep  and  death 
like  silence,  and  just  when  it  was  begin 
ning  to  become  painfully  embarrassing, 
Patrick  Henry  arose  slowly,  as  if  borne 
down  with  the  weight  of  the  subject. 
After  faltering,  according  to  his  habit, 
through  a  most  impressive  exordium,  in 
which  he  merely  echoed  back  the  con 
sciousness  of  every  other  heart,  in  de 
ploring  his  inability  to  do  justice  to  the 


C.MAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


275 


occasion,  lie  launched  gradually  into  a 
recital  of  the  colonial  wrongs.  Rising, 
as  he  advanced,  with  the  grandeur  of 
his  subject,  and  glowing  at  length  with 
all  the  majesty  and  expectation  of  the 
occasion,  his  speech  seemed  more  than 
that  of  mortal  man.  Even  those  who 
had  heard  him  in  all  his  glory  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  were 
astonished  at  the  manner  in  which  his 
talents  seemed  to  swell  and  expand 
themselves  to  fill  the  vaster  theatre  in 
which  he  was  now  placed.  There  was 
no  rant, — no  rhapsody, — no  labor  of 
the  understanding, — no  straining  of  the 

o  /  o 

voice, — no  confusion  of  the  utterance. 
His  countenance  was  erect, — his  eye 
steady, — his  action  noble, — his  enuncia 
tion  clear  and  firm,— his  mind  poised 
on  its  centre, — his  views  of  his  subject 
comprehensive  and  great, —  and  his 
imagination  coruscating  with  a  magnifi- 

O  O  O 

cence  and  a  variety  which  struck  even 
that  assembly  with  amazement  and  awe. 
He  sat  down  amidst  murmurs  of  aston 
ishment  and  applause,  and  as  he  had 
been  before  proclaimed  the  greatest 
orator  of  Virginia,  he  was  now,  on 
every  hand,  admitted  to  be  the  first 
orator  of  America. 

He  was  followed  by  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  who  charmed  the  House  with  a 
different  kind  of  eloquence, — chaste,— 
classical, — -beautiful, — his  polished  pe 
riods  rolling  along  without  effort,  filling 
the  ear  with  the  most  bewitching  har 
mony,  and  delighting  the  mind  with 
the  most  exquisite  imagery.  The  cul 
tivated  graces  of  Lee's  rhetoric  received 


and  at  the  same  time  reflected  beauty, 
by  their  contrast  with  the  wild  and 
grand  effusions  of  Henry.  Just  as  those 
noble  monuments  of  art  which  lie  scat 
tered  through  the  celebrated  landscape 
of  Naples,  at  once  adorn,  and  are  in 
their  turn  adorned  by  the  surrounding 
majesty  of  Nature. 

Two  models  of  eloquence,  each  so  per 
fect  in  its  kind,  and  so  finely  contrasted, 
could  not  but  fill  the  house  with  the 
highest  admiration  ;  and  as  Henry  had 
before  been  proclaimed  the  Demos 
thenes,  it  was  conceded,  on  every  hand, 
that  Lee  was  the  Cicero,  of  America, 

It  is  due,  however,  to  historic  truth 
to  record,  that  the  superior  powers  of 
these  great  men  were  manifested  only 
in  debate.  On  the  floor  of  the  house, 
and  during  the  first  days  of  the  session, 
while  general  grievances  were  the  topic, 
they  took  the  undisputed  lead  in  the 
assembly,  and  were  confessedly  priim 
inter  pares.  But  when  called  down 
from  the  heights  of  declamation  to  that 
severer  test  of  intellectual  excellence, 
the  details  of  business,  they  found  them 
selves  in  a  body  of  cool-headed,  reflect 
ing,  and  most  able  men,  by  whom  they 
were,  in  their  turn,  completely  thrown 
into  the  shade. 

A  petition  to  the  king,  an  address 
to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  a 
memorial  to  the  people  of  British  Amer 
ica,  were  agreed  to  be  drawn.  Mr. 
Lee,  Mr.  Henry,  and  others,  were  ap 
pointed  for  the  first;  Mr.  Lee,  Mr. 
Livingston,  and  Mr.  Jay,  for  the  two 
last.  The  splendor  of  their  debut  occa- 


276 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


sioned  Mr.  Henry  to  be  designated  by 
his  committee  to  draw  the  petition  to 
the  king,  with  which  they  were  charged  ; 
and  Mr.  Lee  was  charged  with  the  ad 
dress  to  the  people  of  England.  The 
last  was  first  reported.  On  reading  it, 
great  disappointment  was  expressed  in 
every  countenance,  and  a  dead  silence 
ensued  for  some  minutes.  At  length  it 
was  laid  on  the  table,  for  perusal  and 
consideration  till  the  next  day ;  when 
first  one  member  and  then  another 
arose,  and  paying  some  faint  compliment 
to  the  composition,  observed  that  there 
were  still  certain  considerations,  not  ex 
pressed,  which  should  properly  find  a 
place  in  it.  The  address  was,  therefore, 
committed  for  amendment ;  and  one 
presented  by  Mr.  Jay,  and  offered  by 
Governor  Livingston,  was  reported  and 
adopted,  with  scarcely  an  alteration. 
These  facts  are  stated  by  a  gentleman, 
to  whom  they  were  communicated  by 
Mr.  Pendleton  and  Mr.  Harrison,  of  the 
Virginia  delegation  (except  that  Mr. 
Harrison  erroneously  ascribed  the  draft 
to  Governor  Livingston),  and  to  whom 
they  were  afterwards  confirmed  by  Gov 
ernor  Livingston  himself.  Mr.  Henry's 
draft  of  a  petition  to  the  king  was 
equally  unsuccessful,  and  was  recommit 
ted  for  amendment.  Mr.  John  Dickin 
son  (the  author  of  the  Farmer's  Let 
ters)  was  added  to  the  committee,  and 
a  new  draft  prepared  by  him  was 
adopted. 

In  connecting  these  proceedings  with 
the  opening  speeches  of  Henry  and  Lee, 
we  have  passed  over  a  characteristic  in 


cident  which  took  place  on  the  first  day 
of  the  session. 

"  When  the  Congress  met,"  writes 
John  Adams  to  his  wife,  "  Mr.  Gushing 
made  a  motion  that  it  should  be  opened 
with  prayer.  It  was  opposed  by  Mr. 
Jay  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Ilutledge 
of  South  Carolina,  because  we  were  so 
divided  in  religious  sentiments — some 
Episcopalians,  some  Quakers,  some  Ana 
baptists,  some  Presbyterians,  and  some 
Congreerationalists — that  we  could  not 

~      o 

join  in  the  same  act  of  worship.  Mr. 
Samuel  Adams  arose,  and  said,  '  that  he 
was  no  bigot,  and  could  hear  a  prayer 
from  any  gentleman  of  piety  and  virtue, 
who  was  at  the  same  time  a  friend  to 
his  country.  He  was  a  stranger  in 
Philadelphia,  but  had  heard  that  Mr. 
Duche  (Dushay  they  pronounce  it)  de 
served  that  character,  and  therefore  he 
moved  that  Mr.  Duch£,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman,  might  be  desired  to  read 
prayers  before  the  Congress  to-morrow 
morning.1  The  motion  was  seconded, 
and  passed  in  the  affirmative.  Mr. 
Randolph,  our  president,  waited  on  Mr. 
Duche,  and  received  for  answer  that,  if 
his  health  would  permit,  he  certainly 
would.  Accordingly,  next  morning,  he 
appeared  with  his  clerk,  and  in  pontif 
icals,  and  read  several  prayers  in  the 
established  form,  and  then  read  the 
Psalter  for  the  seventh  day  of  Septem 
ber,  a  part  of  which  was  the  35th  Psalm. 
You  must  remember  this  was  the  next 
morning  after  we  heard  the  rumor  of 
the  horrible  cannonade  of  Boston.  It 
seemed  as  if  Heaven  had  ordained 


CUAP.  X.J 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


277 


that  psalm  to  be  read  on  tliat  mom- 
ing. 

After  this,  Mr.  Duche,  unexpectedly 
to  everybody,  struck  out  into  an  extem 
porary  prayer,  which  filled  the  bosom 
of  every  man  present.  I  must  confess  I 
never  heard  a  better  prayer,  or  one  so 
well  pronounced.  Episcopalian  as  he  is, 
Dr.  Cooper  himself  never  prayed  with 
such  fervor,  such  ardor,  such  correct 
ness,  such  pathos,  and  in  language  so 
elegant  and  sublime,  for  Congress,  for 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  es 
pecially  the  town  of  Boston.  It  had 
an  excellent  effect  upon  everybody  here. 
I  must  beg  you  to  read  that  psalm.  If 
there  is  any  faith  in  the  Sortes  Virgil- 
lianye,  or  Sortes  Homericae,  or  especially 
the  Sortes  Biblicse,  it  would  be  thought 
providential."  Bishop  White,  who  was 
present,  says  that  Washington  was  the 
only  member  who  knelt  on  that  occa 
sion.* 

Congress,  soon  after  their  meeting, 
agreed  upon  a  declaration  of  rights,  by 
which  it  was  among  other  things  de 
clared,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Eng 
lish  colonies  in  North  America,  by  the 
immutable  laws  of  nature,  the  principles 
of  the  English  constitution,  and  the 
several  charters  or  compacts,  were  en 
titled  to  life,  liberty,  and  property ;  and 
that  they  had  never  ceded  to  any  sov 
ereign  power  whatever,  a  right  to  dis 
pose  of  either,  without  their  consent. 
That  their  ancestors,  who  first  settled 
the  colonies,  were  entitled  to  all  the 

°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


rights,  liberties,  and  immunities  of  free 
and  natural  born  subjects  within  the 
realm  of  England,  and  that  by  their 
migrating  to  America  they  by  no  means 
forfeited,  surrendered,  or  lost  any  of 
those  rights ; — that  the  foundation  of 
English  liberty,  and  of  all  free  govern 
ment,  was  a  right  in  the  people  to  par 
ticipate  in  their  legislative  council,  and 
that  as  the  English  colonists  were  not. 
and  could  not  be  properly  represented 
in  the  British  parliament,  they  were  en 
titled  to  a  free  and  exclusive  power  of 
legislation  in  their  several  provincial 
legislatures,  in  all  cases  of  taxation  and 
internal  polity,  subject  only  to  the  nega 
tive  of  their  sovereign.  They  then  run 
the  line  between  the  supremacy  of  par 
liament  and  the  independency  of  the 
colonial  legislatures,  by  provisos  and 
restrictions,  expressed  in  the  following 
words :  "  But  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  and  a  regard  to  the  mutual  interests 
of  both  countries,  we  cheerfully  consent 
to  the  operation  of  such  acts  of  the  Brit 
ish  parliament  as  are  bonafide  restrained 
to  the  regulation  of  our  external  com 
merce,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the 
commercial  advantages  of  the  whole 
empire  to  the  mother  country,  and  the 
commercial  benefits  of  its  respective 
members,  excluding  every  idea  of  taxa 
tion,  internal  and  external,  for  raising  a 
revenue  on  the  subjects  in  America 
without  their  consent." 

This  was  the  very  hinge  of  the  con 
troversy.  The  absolute,  unlimited  su 
premacy  of  the  British  parliament,  both 
in  legislation  and  taxation,  was  con 


2TS 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tended  for  on  one  side ;  while  on  the 
other,  no  further  authority  was  conceded 
than  such  a  limited  legislation,  with  re 
gard  to  external  commerce,  as  would 
combine  the  interests  of  the  whole  em 
pire.  In  government  as  well  as  in  re- 
.igion  there  are  mysteries,  from  the 
close  investigation  of  which  little  ad 
vantage  can  be  expected.  From  the 
unity  of  the  empire,  it  was  necessary 
that  some  acts  should  extend  over  the 
whole.  From  the  local  situation  of  the 
colonies,  it  was  equally  reasonable  that 
their  legislatures  should  at  least,  in  some 
matters,  be  independent.  Where  the 
supremacy  of  the  first  ended  and  the 
independency  of  the  last  began,  was  to 
the  best  informed  a  puzzling  question. 
Congress  also  resolved,  that  the  colo- 

O 

nists  were  entitled  to  the  common  law 
of  England,  and  more  especially  to  the 
privilege  of  being  tried  by  their  peers 
of  the  vicinage, — that  they  were  enti 
tled  to  the  benefit  of  such  of  the  Eng 
lish  statutes  as  existed  at  the  time  of 
their  colonization,  and  which  they  had 
found  to  be  applicable  to  their  local 
circumstances,  and  also  to  the  immuni 
ties  and  privileges  granted  and  con 
firmed  to  them  by  royal  charters  or 
secured  by  provincial  laws, — that  they 
had  a  right  peaceably  to  assemble,  con 
sider  of  their  grievances,  and  petition 
the  king, — that  the  keeping  a  standing 
army  in  the  colonies,  without  the  con 
sent  of  the  legislature  of  the  colony 
where  the  army  was  kept,  was  against 
law.  That  it  was  indispensably  neces 
sary  to  good  government,  and  rendered 


essential  by  the  English  constitution, 
that  the  constituent  branches  of  the 
legislature  be  independent  of  each 
other,  and  that  therefore  the  exercise 
of  legislative  power,  in  several  colonies, 
by  a  council  appointed  during  pleasure 
by  the  crown,  was  unconstitutional,  dan 
gerous,  and  destructive  to  the  freedom 
of  American  legislation.  All  of  these 
liberties,  Congress,  in  behalf  of  them 
selves  and  their  constituents,  claimed, 
demanded,  and  insisted  upon  as  their 
indubitable  rights,  which  could  not  be 
legally  taken  from  them,  altered,  or 
abridged  by  any  power  whatever,  with 
out  their  consent.  Congress  then  re 
solved,  that  sundry  acts,  which  had 
been  passed  in  the  reign  of  George  the 
Third,  were  infringements  and  viola- 

'  t-> 

tions  of  the  rights  of  the  colonists,  and 

O 

that  the  repeal  of  them  was  essentially 
necessary,  in  order  to  restore  harmony 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 
The  acts  complained  of  were  as  follows  : 
the  several  acts  which  imposed  duties 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in 
America, — extended  the  power  of  the 
admiralty-courts  beyond  their  ancient 
limits, — deprived  the  American  subject 
of  trial  by  jury, — authorized  the  judge's 
certificate  to  indemnify  the  prosecutor 
from  damages  that  he  might  otherwise 
be  liable  to,  requiring  oppressive  se 
curity  from  a  claimant  of  ships  and 
goods  seized  before  he  was  allowed  to 
defend  his  property. 

Also,  "An  act  for  the  better  seem 
ing  his  majesty's  dockyards,  magazines, 
ships,  ammunition,  and  stores,"  which 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


279 


declares  a  new  offence  in  America,  and 
deprives  the  American  subject  of  a  con 
stitutional  trial  by  jury  of  the  vicinage, 
by  authorizing  the  trial  of  any  person 
charged  with  the  committing  any  of 
fence  described  in  the  said  act  out  of 
the  realm,  to  be  indicted  and  tried  for 
the  same  in  any  shire  or  county  within 
the  realm. 

Also  the  three  acts  passed  in  the  last 
session  of  parliament  for  stopping  the 
port  and  blocking  up  the  harbor  of 
Boston  ;  for  altering  the  charter  and 
government  of  Massachusetts  Bay  ;  and 
that  which  is  entitled,  "An  act  for  the 
better  administration  of  justice,"  &c. 

Also  the  act  passed  in  the  same  ses 
sion,  for  establishing  the  Roman  Catho 
lic  religion  in  the  province  of  Quebec, 
abolishing  the  equitable  system  of  Eng 
lish  laws,  and  erecting  a  tyranny  there 
to  the  great  danger  (from  so  total  a 
dissimilarity  of  religion,  law,  and  gov 
ernment)  of  the  neighboring  British 
colonies,  by  the  assistance  of  whose 
blood  and  treasure  the  said  country 
had  been  conquered  from  France. 

Also  the  act  passed  in  the  same  ses 
sion,  for  the  better  providing  suitable 
quarters  for  officers  and  soldiers  in  his 
majesty's  service  in  North  America. 

Also,  that  the  keeping  a  standing 
army  in  several  of  these  colonies  in  time 
of  peace,  without  the  consent  of  the 
legislature  of  that  colony  in  which  such 
army  was  kept,  was  against  law. 

Congress  declared,  that  they  could 
not  submit  to  these  grievous  acts  and 
measures.  In  hopes  that  their  fellow- 


171*. 


subjects  in  Great  Britain  would  restore 
the  colonies  to  that  state  in  which  both 
countries  found  happiness  and  pros 
perity,  they  resolved  for  the 
present  only  to  pursue  the  fol 
lowing  peaceable  measures  :  1st.  To  en 
ter  into  a  non-importation,  non-consump 
tion,  and  non-exportation  agreement  or 
association  ;  2d.  To  prepare  an  address 
to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  a 
memorial  to  the  inhabitants  of  British 
America ;  and  3dly.  To  prepare  a  loyal 
address  to  his  majesty. 

By  the  association  they  bound  them 
selves  and  their  constituents,  u  from  and 
after  the  first  day  of  December  next, 
not  to  import  into  British  America, 
from  Great  Britain  or  Ireland,  any 
goods,  wares,  or  merchandise  whatso 
ever  ; — not  to  purchase  any  slave  im 
ported  after  the  said  first  day  of  De 
cember  ; — not  to  purchase  or  use  any 
tea  imported  on  account  of  the  East 
India  Company,  or  any  on  which  a  duty 
hath  been  or  shall  be  paid ;  and  from 
and  after  the  first  day  of  the  next  ensu 
ing  March,  neither  to  purchase  or  use 
any  East  India  tea  whatever.  That 
they  would  not,  after  the  tenth  day  of 
the  next  September,  if  their  grievances 
were  not  previously  redressed,  export 
any  commodity  whatsoever  to  Great 
Britain,  Ireland,  or  the  West  Indies, 
except  rice  to  Europe.  That  the  mer 
chants  should,  as  soon  as  possible,  write 
to  their  correspondents  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  not  to  ship  any  goods  to 
them  on  any  pretence  whatever;  and 
if  any  merchant  there .  should  ship  any 


280 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


goods  for  America  in  order  to  contra 
vene  the  non-importation  agreement, 
they  would  not  afterwards  have  any 
commercial  connection  with  such  mer 
chant  ;  that  such  as  were  owners  of  ves 
sels  should  give  positive  orders  to  their 
captains  and  masters,  not  to  receive  on 
board  their  vessels  any  goods  prohib 
ited  by  the  said  non-importation  agree 
ment  ;  that  they  would  nse  their  en 
deavors  to  improve  the  breed  of  sheep 
and  increase  their  numbers  to  the  great 
est  extent ;  that  they  would  encourage 
frugality,  economy,  and  industry,  and 
promote  agriculture,  arts,  and  Ameri 
can  manufactures ;  that  they  would  dis 
countenance  and  discourage  every  spe 
cies  of  extravagance  and  dissipation, 
and  that  on  the  death  of  relations  or 
friends,  they  would  wear  no  other 
mourning  than  a  small  piece  of  black 
crape  or  ribbon ;  that  such  as  were 
venders  of  goods  should  not  take  any 
advantage  of  the  scarcity  so  as  to  raise 
their  prices  ;  that  if  any  person  should 
import  goods  after  the  first  day  of  De 
cember,  and  before  the  first  day  of  Feb 
ruary  then  next  ensuing,  the  same  ought 
to  be  immediately  reshipped  or  deliv 
ered  up  to  a  committee  to  be  stored 
or  sold :  in  the  last  case,  all  the  clear 
profits  to  be  applied  towards  the  relief 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  ;  and  that 
if  any  goods  should  be  imported  after 
the  first  day  of  February  then  next  en 
suing,  they  should  be  sent  back  without 
breaking  any  of  the  packages ;  that 
committees  be  chosen  in  every  county, 
city,  and  town  to  observe  the  conduct 


of  all  persons  touching  the  Association, 
and  to  publish  in  gazettes  the  names  of 
the  violators  of  it,  as  foes  to  the  rights 
of  British  America ;  that  the  commit 
tees  of  correspondence  in  the  respective 
colonies  frequently  inspect  the  entries 
of  their  custom-houses,  and  inform  each 
other  from  time  to  time  of  the  true  state 
thereof ;  that  all  manufactures  of  Amer 
ica  should  be  sold  at  reasonable  prices, 
and  no  advantages  be  taken  of  a  future 
scarcity  of  goods  ;  and  lastly,  that  they 
would  have  no  dealings  or  intercourse 
whatever  with  any  province  or  colony 
of  North  America,  which  should  not 
accede  to  or  should  violate  the  afore 
said  Associations."  These  several  reso 
lutions  they  bound  themselves  and  their 
constituents,  by  the  sacred  ties  of  vir 
tue,  honor,  and  love  of  their  country, 
to  observe  till  their  grievances  were  re 
dressed. 

In  their  address*  to  the  people  of 
Great  Britain,  they  complimented  them 
for  having  at  every  hazard  maintained 
their  independence,  and  transmitted  the 
rights  of  man  and  the  blessings  of  lib- 

o  o 

erty  to  their  posterity,  and  requested 
them  not  to  be  surprised,  that  they  who 
were  descended  from  the  same  common 
ancestors,  should  refuse  to  sur 
render  their  rights,  liberties,  and 
constitution.  They  proceeded  to  state 
their  rights  and  grievances,  and  to  vin 
dicate  themselves  from  the  charges  of 
being  seditious,  impatient  of  govern 
ment,  and  desirous  of  independency. 

0  This  address  was  written  by  John  Jay. 


17T4. 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


281 


They  summed  up  their  wishes  in  the 
following  words  :  "  Place  us  in  the  same 
situation  that  we  were  at  the  close  of 
the  last  war,  and  our  former  harmony 
will  be  restored." 

In  the  memorial*  of  Congress  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  British  colonies,  they 
recapitulated  the  proceedings  of  Great 
Britain  against  them  since  the  year 
1763,  in  order  to  impress  them  with  a 
belief,  that  a  deliberate  system  was 
formed  for  abridging  their  liberties. 
They  then  proceeded  to  state  the  meas 
ures  they  had  adopted  to  counteract 
this  system,  and  gave  the  reasons  which 
induced  them  to  adopt  the  same.  They 
encouraged  them  to  submit  to  the  in 
conveniences  of  non-importation  and 
non-exportation,  by  desiring  them  "to 
weigh  in  the  opposite  balance  the  end 
less  miseries  they  and  their  descendants 
must  endure  from  an  established  arbi 
trary  power."  They  concluded  with  in 
forming  them,  "that  the  schemes  agi 
tated  against  the  colonies  had  been  so 
conducted  as  to  render  it  prudent  to 
extend  their  views  to  mournful  events, 
and  to  be  in  all  respects  prepared  for 
every  contingency." 

In  the  petition  of  Congress  to  the 
king,  they  begged  leave  to  lay  their 
grievances  before  the  throne. 
After  a  particular  enumeration 
of  these,  they  observed  that  they  wholly 
arose  from  a  destructive  system  of  colo 
nial  administration,  adopted  since  the 
conclusion  of  the  last  war.  They  as- 

0  This  paper  was  the  composition  of  Richard  Henry 
Lee. 

VOL.  I.— 36 


sured  his  majesty  that  they  had  made 
such  provision  for  defraying  the  charges 
of  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the 
support  of  civil  government,  as  had 
been  judged  just  and  suitable  to  their 
respective  circumstances ;  and  that  for 
the  defence,  protection,  and  security  of 
the  colonies,  their  militia  would  be  fully 
sufficient  in  time  of  peace,  and  in  case 
of  war  they  were  ready  and  willing, 
when  constitutionally  required,  to  exert 
their  most  strenuous  efforts  in  granting 
supplies  and  raising  forces.  They  said, 
"We  ask  but  for  peace,  liberty,  and 
safety.  We  wish  not  a  diminution  of 
the  prerogative,  nor  do  we  solicit  the 
grant  of  any  new  right  in  our  favor. 
Your  royal  authority  over  us,  and  our 
connection  with  Great  Britain,  we  shall 
always  carefully  and  zealously  endeavor 
to  support  and  maintain."  They  then 
solicited  for  a  redress  of  their  griev 
ances,  which  they  had  enumerated,  and 
appealing  to  that  Being  who  searches 
thoroughly  the  hearts  of  his  creatures, 
they  solemnly  professed  "that  their 
councils  had  been  influenced  by  no 
other  motives  than  a  dread  of  impend 
ing  destruction."  They  concluded  with 
imploring  his  majesty,  "for  the  honor 
of  Almighty  God,  for  his  own  glory,  for 
the  interests  of  his  family,  for  the  safety 
of  his  kingdom  and  dominions,  that  as 
the  loving  father  of  his  whole  people, 
connected  by  the  same  bonds  of  law, 
loyalty,  faith,  and  blood,  though  dwell 
ing,  in  various  countries,  he  would  not 
suffer  the  transcendent  relation  formed 
by  these  ties  to  be  further  violated  by 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


1774. 


uncertain  expectation  of  effects,  that  if 
attained  never  could  compensate  for  the 
calamities  through  which  they  must  be 
gained." 

The    Congress    also    addressed    the 

O 

French  inhabitants  of  Canada.  In  this 
they  stated  the  right  they  had,  on  be 
coming  English  subjects,  to  the  benefits 
of  the  English  constitution.  They  ex 
plained  what  these  rights  were,  and 
pointed  out  the  difference  between  the 
constitution  imposed  on  them  by  act  of 
parliament,  and  that  to  which  as  British 
subjects  they  were  entitled.  They  in 
troduced  their  countryman,  Mon 
tesquieu,  as  reprobating  their  par 
liamentary  constitution,  and  exhorting 
them  to  join  their  fellow-colonists  in 
support  of  their  common  rights.  They 
earnestly  invited  them  to  join  with 
the  other  colonies  in  one  social  com 
pact,  formed  on  the  generous  princi 
ples  of  equal  liberty,  and  to  this  end 
recommended  that  they  would  choose 
delegates  to  represent  them  in  Con 
gress. 

All  these  addresses  were  written  with 
uncommon  ability.  Coming  from  the 
heart,  they  were  calculated  to  move  it. 
Inspired  by  a  love  of  liberty,  and  roused 
by  a  sense  of  common  danger,  the  pa 
triots  of  that  day  spoke,  wrote,  and 
acted  with  an  animation  unknown  in 
times  of  public  tranquillity ;  but  it  was 
not  so  much  on  the  probable  effect  of 
these  addresses,  that  Congress  founded 
their  hopes  of  obtaining  a  redress  of 
their  grievances,  as  on  the  consequences 
which  they  expected  from  the  opera 


tion  of  their  non-importation  and  non- 
exportation  agreement.  The  success 
that  had  followed  the  adoption  of  a 
measure  similar  to  the  former,  in  two 
preceding  instances,  had  encouraged  the 
colonists  to  expect  much  from  a  repeti 
tion  of  it.  They  indulged  in  extrava 
gant  opinions  of  the  importance  of  their 
trade  to  Great  Britain.  The  measure 
of  a  non-exportation  of  their  commodi 
ties  was  a  new  expedient,  and  from  that 
even  more  was  expected  than  from  the 
non-importation  agreement.  They  sup 
posed  that  it  would  produce  such  ex 
tensive  distress  among  the  merchants 
and  manufacturers  of  Great  Britain,  and 
especially  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
British  West  India  islands,  as  would  in 
duce  their  general  co-operation  in  pro 
curing  a  redress  of  American  grievances. 
Events  proved  that  young  nations,  like 
young  people,  are  prone  to  overrate 
their  own  importance. 

Congress  having  finished  all  this  im 
portant  business  in  fifty-one  days,  dis 
solved  themselves,  after  giving  their 
opinion,  "  that  another  Congress  should 
be  held  on  the  tenth  of  May  next  ensu 
ing  at  Philadelphia,  unless  the  redress 
of  their  grievances  should  be  previously 
obtained,"  and  recommending  to  all  the 
colonies  to  choose  deputies  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  be  ready  to  attend  at  that 
time  and  place,  should  events  make 
their  meeting  necessary. 

In  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House  of 
Lords  in  the  ensuing  January,  the  great 
Earl  of  Chatham  thus  speaks  of  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1*7*74,  and  thus 


ClJAP     X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


283 


defends  the  position  which  it  had  as 
sumed  : 

u  When  your  lordships  look  at  the 
papers  transmitted  us  from  America; 
when  you  consider  their  decency,  firm 
ness,  and  wisdom,  you  cannot  but  respect 
their  cause  and  wish  to  make  it  your 
(  vn.  For  myself,  I  must  declare  and 
avow,  that  in  all  my  reading  and  obser 
vation, — and  it  has  been  my  favorite 
study— I  have  read  Thncydides,  and 
have  studied  and  admired  the  master 
states  of  the  world, — that  for  solidity  of 
reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom 
of  conclusion,  under  such  a  complication 
of  difficult  circumstances,  no  nation,  or 
body  of  men,  can  stand  in  preference  to 
the  General  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 
I  trust  it  is  obvious  to  your  lordships, 
that  all  attempts  to  impose  servitude  on 
such  men,  to  establish  despotism  over 
such  a  mighty  continental  nation,  must 
be  vain,  must  be  fatal.  We  shall  be 
forced,  ultimately,  to  retract ;  let  us  re 
tract  while  we  can,  not  when  we  must. 

I  say,  we  must  necessarily  undo  these 
violent,  oppressive  acts ;  they  must  be 
repealed  —  you  will  repeal  them  ;  I 
pledge  myself  for  it,  that  you  will  in  the 
end  repeal  them ;  1  stake  my  reputation 
on  it— I  will  consent  to  be  taken  for  an 
idiot,  if  they  are  not  finally  repealed. 
Avoid,  then,  this  humiliating,  disgrace 
ful  necessity.  With  a  dignity  becoming 
your  exalted  situation,  make  the  first 
advances  to  concord,  to  peace,  and  hap 
piness  ;  for  that  is  your  true  dignity,  to 
act  with  prudence  and  justice.  That 
you  should  first  concede,  is  obvious,  from 


sound  and  rational  policy.  Concession 
conies  with  better  grace  and  more  salu 
tary  effect  from  superior  power.  It  rec 
onciles  superiority  of  power  with  the 
feelings  of  men,  and  establishes  solid 
confidence  on  the  foundations  of  affec 
tion  and  gratitude. 

So  thought  a  wise  poet,  and  a  wise 
man  in  political  sagacity ;  the  friend  of 
Mecsenas,  and  the  eulogist  of  Augustus. 
To  him  the  adopted  son  and  successor 
of  the  first  Caesar ;  to  him,  the  master 
of  the  world,  he  wisely  urged  this  con 
duct  of  prudence  and  dignity :  '  Tuque 
prior,  tu  parce  /  projice  tela  manuS 

Every  motive,  therefore,  of  justice  and 
of  policy,  of  dignity  and  of  prudence, 
urges  you  to  allay  the  ferment  in  Amer 
ica  by  a  removal  of  your  troops  from 
Boston,  by  a  repeal  of  your  acts  of  par 
liament,  and  by  demonstrations  of  ami 
cable  dispositions  towards  your  colonies. 
On  the  other  hand,  every  danger  and 
every  hazard  impend,  to  deter  you  from 
perseverance  in  your  present  ruinous 
measure.  Foreign  war  hanging  over 
your  heads  by  a  slight  and  brittle 
thread.  France  and  Spain  watching 
your  conduct,  and  waiting  for  the  ma 
turity  of  your  errors,  with  a  vigilant 
eye  to  America,  and  the  temper  of  your 
colonies,  more  than  to  their  own  con 
cerns,  be  they  what  they  may. 

To  conclude,  my  lords,  if  the  minis 
ters  thus  persevere  in  misadvising  and 
misleading  the  king,  I  will  not  say  that 
they  can  alienate  the  affections  of  his 
subjects  from  his  crown,  but  I  will  af 
firm,  that  tliey  will  make  the  crown  not 


L>84 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


worth  his  wearing.  I  will  not  say  that 
the  king  is  betrayed ;  but  I  will  pro 
nounce  that  the  kingdom  is-  undone.'11 

Of  the  speeches  of  Washington  in  the 
Congress  of  1774,  we  have  no  reports, 
in  consequence  of  the  sessions  being 
held  with  closed  doors,  and  an  injunc 
tion  of  secrecy  being  laid  on  the  mem 
bers;  but  of  the  active  and  decided 
part  which  he  took  in  its  proceedings, 
the  following  anecdote  from  the  life  of 
Patrick  Henry  affords  the  most  decisive 
evidence. 

Congress  arose  in  October,  and  Mr. 
Henry  returned  to  his  native  county. 
Here,  as  was  natural,  he  was  surrounded 
by  his  neighbors,  who  were  eager  to 
hear  not  only  what  had  been  done,  but 
what  kind  of  men  had  composed  that 
illustrious  body.  He  answered  their  in 
quiries  with  all  his  wonted  kindness  and 
candor ;  and  having  been  asked  by  one 
of  them,  "  whom  he  thought  the  greatest 
man  in  Congress  ?"  he  replied :  "  If  you 
speak  of  eloquence,  Mr.  Rutledge  of 
South  Carolina  is  by  far  the  greatest 
orator ;  but  if  you  speak  of  solid  infor 
mation  and  sound  judgment,  Colonel 
Washington  was  unquestionably  the 
greatest  man  on  that  floor." 

"  This  opinion,"  says  Mr.  Sparks, 
"  was  verified  by  every  act  of  his  life. 
His  knowledge  on  the  subjects  to  which 
he  gave  his  attention  was  most  thorough 
and  exact ;  and  all  the  world  has  agreed 
that  no  other  man  has  given  such  proofs 
of  the  soundness  of  his  judgment." 

Washington  had  a  personal  friend, 
Captain  Robert  Mackenzie,  who  had 


served  under  him  in  the  French  war ; 
and  during  the  session  of  Congress  was 
holding  a  commission  in  the  regular 
army  of  Great  Britain,  and  engaged  in 
actual  service  under  General  Gage  at 
Boston.  From  this  place  he  wrote  to 
Washington,  expressing  very  decided 
tory  sentiments,  accusing  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  of  aiming  at  independ 
ence,  and  condemning  their  proceed 
ings  in  detail,  while  he  expressed  the 
conviction  that  Gage  would  speedily 
subdue  them. 

The  following  reply  to  Mackenzie's 
letter  shows  that  Washington,  at  that 
time,  sincerely  held  the  opinions,  and 
felt  the  desire  expressed  by  Congress, 
for  a  reconciliation  to  the  mother  coun 
try  on  just  and  honorable  terms. 

"  Permit  me,"  he  writes,  "  the  freedom 
of  a  friend  (for  you  know  I  always 
esteemed  you)  to  express  my  sorrow, 
that  fortune  should  place  you  in  a  ser 
vice  that  must  fix  curses  to  the  latest 
posterity  upon  the  contrivers,  and,  if 
success  (which,  by  the  by,  is  impossible) 
accompanies  it,  execrations  upon  ah 
those  who  have  been  instrumental  in 
the  execution.  I  do  not  mean  by  this 
to  insinuate  that  an  officer  is  not  to  dis 
charge  his  duty,  even  when  chance,  not 
choice,  has  placed  him  in  a  disagreeable 
situation ;  but  I  conceive,  when  you 
condemn  the  conduct  of  the  Massachu 
setts  people,  you  reason  from  effects,  not 
causes ;  otherwise  you  would  not  won 
der  at,  a  people  who  are  every  day  re 
ceiving  fresh  proofs  of  a  systematic  as 
sertion  of  an  arbitrary  power  deeply 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


286 


planned  to  overturn  the  law  and  consti 
tution  of  their  country,  and  to  violate 
the  most  essential  and  valuable  rights 
of  mankind,  being  irritated,  and  with 
difficulty  restrained,  from  acts  of  the 
greatest  violence  and  intemperance. 
For  my  own  part,  I  confess  to  you  can 
didly,  that  I  view  things  in  a  very  dif 
ferent  point  of  light  from  the  one  in 
which  you  seem  to  consider  them ;  and 
though  you  are  led  to  believe  by  venal 
men — for  such  I  must  take  the  liberty 
of  calling  these  new-fangled  counsellors 
who  fly  to  and  surround  you,  and  all 
others,  who,  for  honors  and  pecuniary 
gratifications,  will  lend  their  aid  to  over 
turn  the  constitution,  and  introduce  a 
system  of  arbitrary  government  —  al 
though  you  are  taught,  I  say,  by  dis 
coursing  with  such  men,  to  believe  that 

O  ' 

the  people  of  Massachusetts  are  rebel 
lious,  setting  up  for  independency,  and 
what  not,  give  me  leave,  my  good  friend, 
to  tell  you  that  you  are  abused,  grossly 
abused.  This  I  advance  with  a  degree 
of  confidence  and  boldness,  which  may 
claim  your  belief,  having  better  oppor 
tunities  of  knowing  the  real  sentiments 
of  the  people  you  are  among,  from  the 
leaders  of  them,  in  opposition  to  the 
present  measures  of  the  administration, 
than  you  have  from  those  whose  busi 
ness  it  is  not  to  disclose  truths,  but  to 
misinterpret  facts,  in  order  to  justify  as 
much  as  possible  to  the  world  their  own 
conduct.  Give  me  leave  to  add,  and  I 
think  I  can  announce  it  as  a  fact,  that  it 
is  not  the  wish  or  interest  of  that  gov 
ernment,  or  any  other  upon  this  conti 


nent,  separately  or  collectively,  to  set 
up  for  independence ;  but  this  you  may 
at  the  same  time  rely  on,  that  none  of 
them  will  ever  submit  to  the  loss  of 
those  valuable  rights  and  privileges 
which  are  essential  to  the  happiness  of 
every  free  state,  and  without  which, 
life,  liberty,  and  property  are  rendered 
totally  insecure. 

These,  sir,  being  certain  consequences, 
which  must  naturally  result  from  the 
late  acts  of  parliament  relative  to  Amer 
ica  in  general,  and  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  particular,  is  it 
to  be  wondered  at,  I  repeat,  that  men 
who  wish  to  avert  the  impending  blow 
should  attempt  to  oppose  it  in  its  prog 
ress,  or  prepare  for  their  defence  if  it 
cannot  be  averted  ?  Surely  I  may  be 
allowed  to  answer  in  the  negative  ;  and 
again  give  me  leave  to  add  as  my  opin 
ion,  that  more  blood  will  be  spilled  on 
this  occasion,  if  the  ministry  are  deter 
mined  to  push  matters  to  extremity, 
than  history  has  ever  yet  furnished  in 
stances  of  in  the  annals  of  North  Amer 
ica,  and  such  a  vital  wound  will  be  given 
to  the  peace  of  this  great  country,  as 
time  itself  cannot  cure  or  eradicate  the 
remembrance  of. 

But  I  have  done.  I  was  involunta 
rily  led  into  a  short  discussion  of  this 
subject  by  your  remarks  on  the  conduct 
of  the  Boston  people,  and  your  opinion 
of  their  wishes  to  set  up  for  independ 
ency.  I  am  well  satisfied,  that  no  such 
thing  is  desired  by  any  thinking  man 
in  all  North  America  ;  on  the  contrary, 
that  it  is  the  ardent  wish  of  the  warm- 


286 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


est  advocates  for  liberty,  that  peace 
and  tranquillity,  upon  constitutional 
grounds,  may  be  restored,  and  the  hor- 
rors  of  civil  discord  prevented." 

This  letter  of  Washington  to  Captain 
Mackenzie  is  very  significant.  It  shows 
that  the  determination  to  push  matters 
to  extremes  and  bring  about  a  declara 
tion  of  independence,  was  not  his  aim 
or  expectation  at  that  time ;  and  it 
leaves  us  no  room  to  doubt  that  the 
Congress  itself  was  sincere,  in  its  ex 
pressions  of  loyalty,  throughout  those 
able  state  papers  so  warmly  commended 
by  Chatham.  It  is  true  that  Samuel 
Adams,*  John  Adams,  and  others  were 
secretly  aiming  at  national  independ 
ence  even  at  an  earlier  period ;  but  it 
is  equally  true  that  they  clearly  per 
ceived  by  the  movements  of  the  leaders 
in  Congress  that  the  time  had  not  yet 
arrived  for  them  to  speak  out. 

On  the  publication  of  the  proceedings 
of  Congress,  the  people  obtained  that 
information  which  they  desired.  Zeal 
ous  to  do  something  for  their  country, 
they  patiently  waited  for  the  decision 
of  that  body,  to  whose  direction  they 
had  resigned  themselves.  Their  de 
terminations  were  no  sooner  known, 
than  they  were  cheerfully  obeyed. 
Though  their  power  was  only  ad visory, 
yet  their  recommendations  were  more 
generally  and  more  effectually  carried 
into  execution,  than  the  laws  of  the  best 
regulated  states.  Every  individual  felt 
his  liberties  endangered,  and  was  im- 


0  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


pressed  with  an  idea  that  his  safety  con 
sisted  in  union.  A  common  interest  in 
warding  off  a  common  danger,  proved 
a  powerful  incentive  to  the  most  im 
plicit  submission.  Provincial  congresses 
and  subordinate  committees  were  every 
where  instituted.  The  resolutions  of  the 
Continental  Congress  were  sanctioned 
with  the  universal  approbation  of  these 
new  representative  bodies,  and  institu 
tions  were  formed  under  their  direction 
to  carry  them  into  effect. 

The  regular  constitutional  Assemblies 
also  gave  their  assent  to  the  measures 
recommended.  The  Assembly  of  New 
York  was  the  only  legislature  which 
withheld  its  approbation.  Their  me 
tropolis  had  long  been  the  head-quar 
ters  of  the  British  army  in  the  colonies, 
and  many  of  their  best  families  were 
connected  with  people  of  influence  in 
Great  Britain.  The  unequal  distribu 
tion  of  their  land  fostered  an  aristo 
cratic  spirit.  From  the  operation  of 
these  and  other  causes,  the  party  for 
royal  government  was  both  more  nu 
merous  and  respectable  in  New  York 
than  in  any  of  the  other  colonies. 

The  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  though 
composed  of  a  majority  of  Quakers,  or 
of  those  who  were  friendly  to  their  in 
terest,  was  the  first  legal  body  of  repre 
sentatives  that  ratified  unanimously  the 
acts  of  the  General  Congress.  They 
not  only  voted  their  approbation  of 
what  that  body  had  done,  but  ap 
pointed  members  to  represent  them  in 
the  new  Congress,  proposed  to  be  held 
on  the  10th  day  of  May  next  ensuing, 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONGRESS. 


287 


and  took  sundry  steps  to  put  the  prov 
ince  in  a  posture  of  defence. 

To  relieve  the  distresses  of  the  people 
of  Boston,  liberal  collections  were  made 
throughout  the  colonies,  and  forwarded 

O  ' 

for  the  supply  of  their  immediate  neces 
sities.  Domestic  manufactures  were  en 
couraged,  that  the  wants  of  the  inhab 
itants  from  the  non-importation  agree 
ment  might  be  diminished ;  and  the 
greatest  zeal  was  discovered  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  people,  to  comply  with 
the  determinations  of  these  new-made 
representative  bodies.  In  this  manner, 
while  the  forms  of  the  old  government 
subsisted,  a  new  and  independent  au 
thority  was  virtually  established.  It 
was  so  universally  the  sense  of  the  peo 
ple,  that  the  public  good  required  a 
compliance  with  the  recommendations 
of  Congress,  that  any  man  who  discov 
ered  any  anxiety  about  the  continuance 
of  trade  and  business,  was  considered  as 
a  selfish  individual,  preferring  private 
interest  to  the  good  of  his  country. 
Under  the  influence  of  these  principles, 
the  intemperate  zeal  of  the  populace 
transported  them  frequently  so  far  be 
yond  the  limits  of  moderation,  as  to  ap 
ply  singular  punishments  to  particular 
persons  who  contravened  the  general 
sense  of  the  community. 

On  the  termination  of  the  session 
of  Congress,  Washington  returned  to 
Mount  Vernon  to  resume  again  his  agri 
cultural  pursuits,  and  to  confer  with 


George  Mason  and  his  other  patriotic 
neighbors  on  the  portentous  aspect  of 
public  affairs.  He  was  still,  as  was  his 
wont,  much  occupied  with  various  pri 
vate  trusts  and  duties  which  his  disin- 
teres^ed  kindness  of  heart  had  imposed 
on  him.  In  writing  to  a  neighbor,  who 
had  wished  to  appoint  him  in  his  will 
to  the  guardianship  of  his  son,  he  says : 
"  I  can  solemnly  declare  to  you,  that  for 
a  year  or  two  past  there  has  been  scarce 
a  moment  that  I  could  properly  call  my 
own.  What  with  my  own  business,  my 
present  ward's,  my  mother's,  which  is 
wholly  in  my  hands,  Colonel  Colvill's, 
Mrs.  Savage's,  Colonel  Fairfax's,  Colo 
nel  Mercer's,  and  the  little  assistance  I 
have  undertaken  to  give  in  the  manage 
ment  of  my  brother  Augustine's  con 
cerns  (for  I  have  absolutely  refused  to 
qualify  as  an  executor),  together  with 
the  share  I  take  in  public  affairs,  I  have 
been  kept  constantly  engaged  in  writ 
ing  letters,  settling  accounts,  and  nego 
tiating  one  piece  of  business  or  another ; 
by  which  means  I  have  reaii^  been  de 
prived  of  every  kind  of  enjoyment,  and 
had  almost  fully  resolved  to  engage 
in  no  fresh  matter  till  I  had  entirely 
wound  up  the  old." 

In  addition  to  the  amount  of  business 
demanding  his  attention  at  this  time, 
there  was  a  demand  for  his  aid  in  the 
military  affairs  of  Virginia,  to  which  we 
shall  presently  call  the  reader's  atten 
tion. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  X. 


[A.] 

INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  THE  DEPUTIES  APPOINTED 
TO  MEET  IN  GENERAL  CONGRESS,  ON  THE 
PART  OF  THE  COLONY  OF  VIRGINIA  (1774). 

"TiiE  unhappy  disputes  between  Great  Britain 
and  her  American  colonies,  which  began  about 
the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  his  present  majesty, 
and  since  continually  increasing,  have  proceeded 
to  lengths  so  dangerous  and  alarming,  as  to  ex 
cite  just  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of  his  maj 
esty's  faithful  subjects  of  the  colony,  that  they 
are  in  danger  of  being  deprived  of  their  natural, 
ancient,  constitutional,  and  chartered  rights, 
have  compelled  them  to  take  the  same  into  their 
most  serious  consideration ;  and  being  deprived 
of  their  usual  and  accustomed  mode  of  making 
known  their  grievances,  have  appointed  us  their 
representatives,  to  consider  what  is  proper  to  be 
done  in  this  dangerous  crisis  of  American  affairs. 
It  being  our  opinion  that  the  united  wisdom  of 
North  America  «hould  be  collected  in  a  general 
congress  o.  ail  the  colonies,  we  have  appointed 
the  Hon.  Peyton  Randolph,  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry, 
Richard  Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Ed 
mund  Pendleton,  Esqrs.,  deputies  to  represent 
this  colony  in  the  said  congress,  to  be  held  at 
Philadelphia  on  the  first  Monday  in  September 
next.  And  that  they  may  be  the  better  in 
formed  of  our  sentiments  touching  the  conduct 
we  wish  them  to  observe  on  this  important  oc 
casion,  we  desire  that  they  will  express,  in  the 
first  place,  our  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  his 
majesty,  King  George  the  Third,  our  lawful  and 
rightful  sovereign  ;  and  that  we  are  determined, 
with  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  support  him  in 
the  legal  exercise  of  all  his  just  rights  and  pre 
rogatives.  And,  however  misrepresented,  we 


sincerely  approve  of  a  constitutional  connection 
with  Great  Britain,  and  wish  most  ardently  a 
return  of  affection  and  commercial  connection 
that  formerly  united  both  countries ;  which  can 
only  be  effected  by  a  removal  of  those  causes 
of  discontent  which  have  of  late  unhappily  di 
vided  us. 

"  It  cannot  admit  of  a  doubt,  but  that  British 
subjects  in  America  are  entitled  to  the  same 
rights  and  privileges  as  their  fellow-subjects  pos 
sess  in  Britain  ;  and,  therefore,  that  the  power 
assumed  by  the  British  parliament  to  bind 
America  by  their  statutes,  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever,  is  unconstitutional,  and  the  source  of  these 
unhappy  differences. 

"  The  end  of  government  would  be  defeated 
by  the  British  parliament  exercising  a  power 
over  the  lives,  the  property,  and  the  liberty  of 
American  subjects,  who  are  not,  and  from  their 
local  circumstances  cannot,  be  there  represented. 
Of  this  nature  we  consider  the  several  acts  of 
parliament  for  raising  a  revenue  in  America,  for 
extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  ad 
miralty,  for  seizing  American  subjects  and  trans 
porting  them  to  Britain  to  be  tried  for  crimes 
committed  in  America,  and  the  several  late  op 
pressive  acts  concerning  the  town  of  Boston  and 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

"The  original  Constitution  of  the  American 
colonies,  possessing  their  Assemblies  with  the 
sole  right  of  directing  their  internal  polity,  it  is 
absolutely  destructive  of  the  end  of  their  insti 
tution,  that  their  legislatures  should  be  sus 
pended,  or  prevented,  by  hasty  dissolutions,  from 
exercising  their  legislative  powers. 

"  Wanting  the  protection  of  Britain,  we  have 
long  acquiesced  in  their  acts  of  navigation,  re 
strictive  of  our  commerce,  which  we  consider  as 
an  ample  recompense  for  such  protection ;  but 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


289 


as  those  acts  derive  their  efficacy  from  that 
foundation  alone,  we  have  reason  to  expect  they 
will  be  restrained,  so  as  to  produce  the  reason 
able  purposes  of  Britain,  and  not  be  injurious 
to  us. 

"To  obtain  redress  of  these  grievances,  with 
out  which  the  people  of  America  can  neither  be 
safe,  free,  nor  happy,  they  are  willing  to  undergo 
the  great  inconvenience  that  will  be  derived  to 
them  from  stopping  all  imports  whatsoever  from 
Great  Britain,  after  the  first  day  of  November 
next,  and  also  to  cease  exporting  any  commodity 
whatsoever  to  the  same  place,  after  the  tenth 
day  of  August,  1775.  The  earnest  desire  we 
have  to  make  as  quick  and  full  payment  as  pos 
sible  of  our  debts  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  avoid 
the  heavy  injury  that  would  arise  to  this  coun 
try  from  an  earlier  adoption  of  the  non-exporta 
tion  plan,  after  the  people  have  already  applied 
so  much  of  their  labor  to  the  perfecting  of  their 
present  crop,  by  which  means  they  have  been 
prevented  from  pursuing  other  methods  of  cloth 
ing  and  supporting  their  families,  have  rendered 
it  necessary  to  restrain  you  in  this  article  of  non- 
exportation  ;  but  it  is  our  desire  that  you  cor 
dially  co-operate  with  our  sister  colonies  in  gen 
eral  congress,  in  such  other  just  and  proper 
methods  as  they,  or  the  majority,  shall  deem 
necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  these  valu 
able  ends. 

"  The  proclamation  issued  by  General  Gage, 
in  the  government  of  the  province  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay,  declaring  it  treason  for  the  inhabit 
ants  of  that  province  to  assemble  themselves  to 
consider  of  their  grievances,  and  form  associa 
tions  for  their  common  conduct  on  the  occasion, 
and  requiring  the  civil  magistrates  and  officers 
to  apprehend  all  such  persons  to  be  tried  for 
their  supposed  offences,  is  the  most  alarming 
process  that  ever  appeared  in  a  British  govern 
ment  ;  the  said  General  Gage  has  thereby  as 
sumed,  and  taken  upon  himself  powers  denied 
by  the  constitution  to  our  legal  sovereign ;  he 
not  having  condescended  to  disclose  by  what 
authority  he  exercises  such  extensive  and  un 
heard-of  powers,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  determine 
whether  he  intends  to  justify  himself  as  the  rep 
resentative  of  the  king,  or  as  the  commander- 
iu-chief  of  his  majesty's  forces  in  America.  If 

VOL.  I.— 37 


he  considers  himself  as  acting  in  the  character 
of  his  majesty's  representative,  we  would  remind 
him  that  the  statute  25,  Edward  III.,  has  ex 
pressed  and  defined  all  treasonable  offences,  and 
that  the  legislature  of  Great  Britain  hath  de 
clared  that  no  offence  shall  be  construed  to  be 
treason  but  such  as  is  pointed  out  by  that  statute ; 
and  that  this  was  done  to  take  out  of  the  hands 
of  tyrannical  kings,  and  of  weak  and  Aviekcd 
ministers,  that  deadly  weapon  which  construc 
tive  treason  hath  furnished  them  with,  and 
which  had  drawn  the  blood  of  the  best  and 
honestest  men  in  the  kingdom ;  and  that  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  hath  no  right  by  his 
proclamation  to  subject  his  people  to  imprison 
ment,  pains,  and  penalties. 

"That  if  the  said  General  Gao;e  conceives  he 

O 

is  empowered  to  act  in  this  manner,  as  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  his  majesty's  forces  in  Amer 
ica,  this  odious  and  illegal  proclamation  must  be 
considered  as  a  full  and  plain  declaration  that 
this  despotic  viceroy  will  be  bound  by  no  law, 
nor  regard  the  constitutional  rights  of  his  ma 
jesty's  subjects,  whenever  they  interfere  with 
the  plan  he  has  formed  for  oppressing  the  good 
people  of  Massachusetts  Bay;  and,  therefore, 
that  the  executing,  or  attempting  to  execute, 
such  proclamation,  will  justify  resistance  and 
re 


[R] 

DR.  DUCIIE, 

Mr.  Duche,  at  the  time  of  the  first  Congress, 
was  an  ardent  whig,  but  afterwards  left  the  patri 
otic  cause.  When  the  British  took  possession  of 
Philadelphia,  Mr.  Duche,  alarmed,  forsook  the 
American  cause,  and  wrote  an  ardent  letter  to 
Washington,  endeavoring  to  persuade  him.  to 
do  the  same.  Washington  immediately  trans 
mitted  this  letter  to  Congress,  and  Duche 
was  obliged  to  leave  America.  He  became  a 
preacher  at  the  Lambeth  Asylum,  and  was 
greatly  respected  there.  In  171JO  he  returned 
to  America,  and  in  1794  died  in  Philadelphia, 
when  about  sixty  years  of  age.  His  wife  was  a 
sister  of  Francis  Hopkinson,  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was 
buried  at  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Third-street, 


200 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  III. 


Philadelphia,  and  a  tablet  to  his  memory  may 
still  be  seen  userted  in  the  Avail  of  the  building. 


EC.] 

SAMUEL  ADAMS. 

Of  the  leaders  in  the  early  scenes  of  the  Rev 
olution  tlu's  great  patriot  was  decidedly  one  of 
the  most  prominent ;  his  influence  was  immense, 
and  it  was  the  influence  of  a  strong  will  and  a 
decided  character.  His  efforts  were  untiring 
and  his  courage  unconquerable.  He  was  born 
in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  on  the  22d  of  Septem 
ber,  1722.  His  ancestors  were  among  the  first 
settlers  in  New  England.  His  parents  were 
highly  respectable.  His  father  was,  for  many 
years,  a  representative  for  the  town  of  Boston, 
in  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Assembly,  in 
which  he  was  annually  elected  till  his  death. 

Samuel  Adams  received  the  rudiments  of  a 
liberal  education  at  the  grammar-school  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Lovell,  where  he  was  remark 
ably  attentive  to  his  studies.  His  conduct  was 
similar  while  he  was  at  college,  and  during  the 
Avhole  term  he  had  to  pay  but  one  fine,  and  this 
was  for  not  attending  morning  prayers,  in  con 
sequence  of  having  overslept  himself.  By  a 
close  and  steady  application,  he  made  consider 
able  proficiency  in  classical  learning,  logic,  and 
natural  philosophy  ;  but  as  he  was  designed  for 
the  ministry,  a  profession  to  which  he  seems  to 
have  been  much  inclined,  his  studies  were  par 
ticularly  directed  to  systematic  divinity.  Why 
Mr.  Adams  did  not  assume  the  clerical  charac 
ter,  so  congenial  to  his  views  and  habits,  does 
not  appear.  In  1740  and  1743,  the  respective 
degrees  of  Bachelor  and  Master  of  Arts  were 
conferred  upon  him.  On  the  latter  occasion,  he 
proposed  the  following  question  for  discussion  : 
"Whether  it  be  lawful  to  resist  the  supreme 
magistrate,  if  the  commonwealth  cannot  other 
wise  be  preserved  ?"  He  maintained  the  affirm 
ative  of  this  proposition,  and  thus  evinced,  at 
this  period  of  his  life,  his  attachment  to  the  lib 
erties  of  the  people.  While  he  was  a  student, 
his  father  allowed  him  a  regular  stipend.  Of 
this  he  saved  a  sufficient  sum,  to  publish,  at  his 


own  expense,  a  pamphlet,  called  "Englishmen's 
Rights." 

He  was  apprenticed  to  the  lute  Thomas  Gush 
ing,  an  eminent  merchant.  For  this  profession 
he  was  ill-adapted,  and  it  received  but  a  small 
share  of  his  attention.  The  study  of  politics 
was  his  chief  delight.  At  this  time  he  formed  a 
club,  each  member  of  which  agreed  to  furnish  a 
political  essay  for  a  newspaper  called  the  Inde 
pendent  Advertiser.  These  essays  brought  the 
writers  into  notice,  who  were  called,  in  derision, 
"The  Whipping-post  Club." 

His  limited  knowledge  of  commerce  rendered 
him  incompetent  to  support  himself  by  that  pur 
suit.  His  father,  however,  gave  him  a  consider 
able  capital,  with  which  he  commenced  business. 
He  had  not  been  long  in  trade,  when  he  credited 
one  of  his  countrymen  with  a  sum  of  money. 
This  person,  soon  after,  met  with  heavy  calami 
ties,  which  he  represented  to  Mr.  Adams,  who 
never  demanded  the  amount,  although  it  was 
nearly  half  the  value  of  his  original  stock.  This, 
and  other  losses,  soon  consumed  all  he  had. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five,  his  father  died,  and, 
as  he  was  the  oldest  son,  the  care  of  the  family 
and  management  of  the  estate  devolved  upon 
him. 

Early  distinguished  by  talents  as  a  writer,  his 
first  attempts  were  proofs  of  his  filial  piety.  By 
his  efforts  he  preserved  the  estate  of  his  father, 
which  had  been  attached  on  account  of  an  en 
gagement  in  the  land-bank  bubble.  He  became 
a  political  Avriter  during  the  administration  ot 
Shirley,  to  which  he  was  opposed,  as  he  thought 
the  union  of  so  much  civil  and  military  power 
in  one  man  was  dangerous.  His  ingenuity,  wit, 
and  profound  argument  are  spoken  of  Avith  the 
highest  respect  by  those  who  were  contempo 
rary  with  him.  At  this  early  period  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  public  confidence  and  esteem. 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention  that  his  first 
office  in  the  town  was  that  of  tax-gatherer, 
which  the  opposite  party  in  politics  often  al 
luded  to,  and  in  their  controversies  Avould  style 
him  Samuel  the  Publican.  While  the  British 
regiments  were  in  town,  the  tories  enjoyed  a 
kind  of  triumph,  and  invented  every  mode  of 
burlesquing  the  popular  leaders ;  but,  where  the 
people  tax  themselves,  the  office  of  collector  is 


V£ 


i: 


olc 


DOCUMENTS. 


293 


which  persons  could  be  sent  to  England  for  trial 
of  treason,  or  misprision  of  treason,  at  the  dis 
cretion  of  a  governor  of  a  province ;  but  by 
changing  his  political  course,  lie  would  not  only 
receive  great  personal  advantages,  but  would 
thereby  make  his  peace  with  the  king.  Mr. 
Adams  listened  with  apparent  interest  to  this 
recital.  He  asked  Colonel  Fenton  if  he  would 
truly  deliver  his  reply  as  it  should  be  given. 
After  some  hesitation  he  assented.  Mr.  Adams 
required  his  word  of  honor,  which  he  pledged. 

Then  rising  from  his  chair,  and  assuming  a 
determined  manner,  he  replied  :  "  I  trust  I  have 
long  since  made  MY  PEACE  WITH  THE  KING  OF 
KINGS.  No  personal  consideration  shall  induce 
me  to  abandon  the  righteous  cause  of  my  coun 
try.  Tell  Governor  Gage,  IT  is  THE  ADVICE  OF 
SAMUEL  ADAMS  TO  HIM,  no  longer  to  insult  the 
feelings  of  an  exasperated  people." 

With  a  full  sense  of  his  own  perilous  situation, 
marked  out  an  object  of  ministerial  vengeance, 
laboring  under  severe  pecuniary  embarrassment, 
but  fearless  of  consequences,  he  steadily  pursued 
the  great  object  of  his  soul,  the  liberty  of  the 
people. 

The  time  required  bold  and  inflexible  meas 
ures.  Common  distress  required  common  coun 
sel.  The  aspect  was  appalling  to  some  of  the 
most  decided  patriots  of  the  day.  The  severity 
of  punishment  which  was  inflicted  on  the  people 
of  Boston  by  the  power  of  England,  produced  a 
melancholy  sadness  on  the  friends  of  American 
freedom.  The  Massachusetts-  House  of  Assem 
bly  was  then  in  session  at  Salern.  A  committee 
of  that  body  was  chosen  to  consider  and  report 
the  state  of  the  province.  Mr.  Adams,  it  is  said, 
observed  that  some  of  the  committee  were  for 
mild  measures,  which  he  judged  no  way  suited 
to  the  present  emergency.  lie  conferred  with 
Mr.  Warren,  of  Plymouth,  upon  the  necessity 
of  spirited  measures,  and  then  said,  "Do  you 
keep  the  committee  in  play,  and  I  will  go  and 
make  a  caucus  by  the  time  the  evening  arrives, 
and  do  you  meet  me."  Mr.  Adams  secured  a 
meeting  of  about  five  principal  members  of  the 
House  at  the  time  specified,  and  repeated  his  en 
deavors  for  the  second  and  third  nights,  when 
the  number  amounted  to  more  than  thirty. 
The  friends  of  the  administration  knew  nothing 


of  the  matter.  The  popular  leaders  took  the 
sense  of  the  members  in  a  private  way,  and 
found  that  they  would  be  able  to  carry  their 
scheme  by  a  sufficient  majority.  They  had 
their  whole  plan  completed,  prepared  their  reso 
lutions,  and  then  determined  to  bring  the  busi 
ness  forward ;  but,  before  they  commenced,  the 
doorkeeper  was  ordered  to  let  no  person  in,  or 
suffer  any  one  to  depart.  The  subjects  for  dis 
cussion  were  then  introduced  by  Mr.  Adams, 
with  his  usual  eloquence  on  such  great  occa 
sions.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  and 
reported  the  resolutions  for  the  appointment  oi 
delegates  to  a  general  congress  to  be  convened 

o  o  o 

at  Philadelphia,  to  consult  on  the  general  safety 
of  America.  This  report  was  received  with 
surprise  and  astonishment  by  the  administration 
party.  Such  was  the  apprehension  of  some  that 
they  were  apparently  desirous  to  desert  the 
question.  The  doorkeeper  seemed  uneasy  at 
his  charge,  and  wavering  with  regard  to  the 
performance  of  the  duty  assigned  to  him.  At 
this  critical  juncture,  Mr.  Adams  relieved  him, 
by  taking  the  key  and  keeping  it  himself.  Tlie 
resolutions  were  passed  ;  five  delegates,  consist 
ing  of  Samuel  Adams,  Thomas  Gushing.  Robert 

O  '  O* 

Treat  Paine,  John  Adams,  and  James  Bowdoin, 
were  appointed  ;  the  expense  Avas  estimated,  and 
funds  were  voted  for  the  payment.  Before  the 
business  was  finally  closed,  a  member  made  a 
plea  of  indisposition,  and  was  allowed  to  leave 
the  house.  This  person  went  directly  to  the 
governor,  and  informed  him  of  their  high-handed 
proceedings.  The  governor  immediately  sent 
his  secretary  to  dissolve  the  Assembly,  who 
found  the  door  locked.  He  demanded  entrance, 
but  was  answered  that  his  desire  could  not  be 
complied  with  until  some  important  business, 
then  before  the  House,  was  concluded.  Find 
ing  every  method  to  gain  admission  ineffectual, 
he  read  the  order  on  the  stairs  for  an  immediate 
dissolution  of  the  Assembly.  The  order,  how 
ever,  was  disregarded  by  the  House.  They 
continued  their  deliberations,  passed  all  their  in 
tended  measures,  and  then  obeyed  the  mandate 
for  dissolution. 

The  battle  of  Lexington,  which  took  place  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1775,  now  announced  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 


204 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


Adams  and  Hancock  were  in  Lexington  the 
very  night  the  British  troops  left  Boston.  To 
gain  possession  of  the  mpers  of  Messrs.  Adams 
and  Hancock,  who  lodged  together  in  the  vil 
lage,  was  one  of  the  motives,  it  is  said,  of  the 
expedition  which  led  to  that  memorable  conflict. 
The  design,  though  covered  with  great  secrecy, 
was  anticipated,  and  the  victims  escaped  upon 
the  entrance  of  their  habitation  by  the  British 
troops.  General  Joseph  Warren,  who  was  the 
first  victim  of  rank  who  fell  in  the  revolutionary 
contest  with  Great  Britain,  dispatched  an  ex 
press  at  ten  o'clock  at  night  to  Adams  and  Han 
cock,  to  warn  them  of  their  danger.  A  friend 
of  Mr.  Adams  spread  a  report  that  he  spoke 
with  pleasure  on  the  occurrences  of  the  19th  of 
April.  "It  is  a  fine  day,"  said  he,  walking  in 
the  field  after  the  day  dawned.  "  Very  pleas 
ant,"  answered  one  of  his  companions,  suppos 
ing  him  to  be  contemplating  the  beauties  of  the 
sky.  "  I  mean,"  he  replied,  "  THIS  DAY  is  A 
GLORIOUS  DAY  FOR  AiiKRiCA :"  so  fearless  was 
he  of  consequences,  so  intrepid  was  he  in  the 
midst  of  danger,  so  eager  to  look  forward  to  the 
lustre  of  events  that  would  succeed  the  gloom 
which  then  involved  the  minds  of  the  people. 
Mr.  Adams  had  been  a  membar  of  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  the  preceding  year.  In  this 
situation  he  rendered  the  most  important  ser 
vices  to  his  country.  His  eloquence  was  well 
adapted  to  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  The 
energy  of  his  language  corresponded  with  the 
firmness  and  vigor  of  his  mind.  His  heart 
glowed  with  the  feelings  of  a  patriot,  and  his 
eloquence  was  simple,  majestic,  and  persuasive. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  members  of 
Congress.  He  possessed  keen  penetration,  un 
shaken  fortitude,  and  permanent  decision. 

After  many  unavailing  efforts,  both  by  threats 
and  promises,  to  allure  this  inflexible  patriot 
from  his  devotion  to  the  sacred  cause  of  inde 
pendence,  Governor  Gage,  at  length,  on  the 
12th  of  June,  issued  that  memorable  proclama 
tion,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract:  "In 
this  exigency  of  complicated  calamities,  I  avail 
myself  of  the  last  effort  within  the  bounds  of  my 
duty,  to  spare  the  further  effusion  of  blood,  to 
offer,  and  I  do  hereby  in  his  majesty's  name, 
offer  and  promise,  his  most  gracious  pardon  to 


all  persons  who  shall  forthwith  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  return  to  the  duties  of  peaceable  sub 
jects,  excepting  only  from  the  benefit  of  such 
pardon,  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Jfuncock, 
whose  offences  are  of  too  flagitious  a  nature  to 
admit  of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of 
condign  punishment."  This  was  a  diploma, 
conferring  greater  honors  on  the  individuals, 
than  any  other  which  was  within  the  power  of 
his  Britannic  majesty  to  bestow. 

In  a  letter  dated  April,  1770,  at  Philadelphia, 
while  he  was  in  Congress,  to  Major  Hawley,  of 
Massachusetts,  he  said,  "  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 
of  the  necessity  of  a  public  and  explicit  declara 
tion  of  independence.  I  cannot  conceive  what 
good  reason  can  be  assigned  against  it.  Will 
it  widen  the  breach  ?  This  would  be  a  strange 
question,  after  we  have  raised  armies  and  fought 
battles  with  the  British  troops  ;  set  up  an  Amer 
ican  navy,  permitted  the  inhabitants  of  these 
colonies  to  fit  out  armed  vessels  to  capture  the 
ships,  &c.,  belonging  to  any  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Great  Britain ;  declaring  them  the  enemies 
of  the  United  Colonies,  and  torn  into  shivers 
their  acts  of  trade,  by  allowing  commerce,  sub 
ject  to  regulations  to  be  made  by  ourselves,  with 
the  people  of  all  countries,  except  such  as  are 
subject  to  the  British  king.  It  cannot,  surely, 
after  all  this,  be  imagined  that  we  consider  our 
selves,  or  mean  to  be  considered  by  others,  in 
any  other  state  than  that  of  independence." 

In  another  letter  to  James  Warren,  Esq., 
dated  Baltimore,  December  31,  1770,  he  said : 
"  I  assure  you  business  has  been  done  since  we 
came  to  this  place  more  to  my  satisfaction  than 
any  or  every  thing  done  before,  excepting  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  which  should  have 
been  made  immediately  after  the  19th  of  April, 
1775." 

The  character  of  Mr.  Adams  had  become  cele 
brated  in  foreign  countries.  In  1773,  he  had 
been  chosen  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Bill 
of  Rights  in  London  ;  and  in  1774,  John  Adams 
and  Doctor  Joseph  Warren  were  elected  on  his 
nomination. 

Mr.  Adams  Avas  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  made.  He  was  a  warm  and  ardent  friend 
of  that  measure,  and  supported  it  with  great  zeal. 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


205 


In  the  year  1777,  our  patriots  encountered 
many  difficulties.  It  was  at  this  critical  junc 
ture,  after  Congress  had  resolved  to  adjourn 
from  Philadelphia  to  Lancaster,  that  some  of  the 
leading  members  accidentally  met  in  company 
with  each  other.  A  conversation  in  mutual 
confidence  ensued.  Mr.  Adams,  who  was  one 
of  the  number,  was  cheerful  and  undismayed  at 
the  aspect  of  affairs,  Avhile  the  countenances  of 
his  friends  were  strongly  marked  with  the  de 
sponding  feelings  of  their  hearts.  The  conver 
sation  naturally  turned  upon  the  subject  which 
most  engaged  their  feelings.  Each  took  occa 
sion  to  express  his  opinions  on  the  situation  of 
the  public  cause.  Mr.  Adams  listened  in  silence 
till  they  had  finished.  lie  then  said,  "Gentle 
men,  your  spirits  appear  to  be  heavily  oppressed 
with  our  public  calamities.  I  hope  you  do  not 
despair  of  our  final  success?"  It  was  answered, 
"that  the  chance  was  desperate."  Mr.  Adams 
replied,  "  If  this  be  our  language,  it  is  so  indeed. 
If  WE  wear  long  faces,  they  will  become  fashion 
able.  Let  us  banish  such  feelings,  and  show  a 
spirit  that  will  keep  alive  the  confidence  of  the 
people.  Better  tidings  will  soon  arrive.  Our 
cause  is  just  and  righteous,  and  we  shall  never 
be  abandoned  by  Heaven  while  we  show  our 
selves  worthy  of  its  aid  and  protection." 

At  this  time  there  were  but  twenty-eight  of 
the  members  of  Congress  present  at  Phila 
delphia.  Mr.  Adams  said  "that  this  was 
the  smallest,  but  the  truest  Congress  they  ever 
had." 

But  a  few  days  had  elapsed  when  the  news 
arrived  of  the  glorious  success  at  Saratoga, 
which  gave  a  new  complexion  to  our  affairs,  and 
confidence  to  our  hopes. 

Soon  after  this,  Lord  Howe,  the  Earl  of  Car 
lisle,  and  Mr.  Eden  arrived  as  commissioners  to 
treat  for  peace,  under  Lord  North's  conciliatory 
proposition.  Mr.  Adams  was  one  of  the  com 
mittee  chosen  by  Congress  to  draft  an  answer 
to  their  letter.  In  this,  it  is  related,  "That 
Congress  will  readily  attend  to  such  terms  of 
peace  as  may  consist  with  the  honor  of  an  inde 
pendent  nation." 

In  1779,  Samuel  Adams  was  placed,  by  the 
State  Convention,  on  a  committee,  to  prepare 
and  report  a  form  of  government  for  Massachu 


setts.  By  this  committee  he  and  John  Adams 
were  appointed  a  sub-committee,  to  furnish  a 
draft  of  the  constitution.  The  draft  produced 
by  them  was  reported  to  the  Convention,  and, 
after  some  amendments,  accepted.  The  address 
of  the  Convention  to  the  people  was  jointly  writ 
ten  by  them. 

In  1787,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Convention  for  the  ratification  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  lie  had  some 
objections  to  it  in  its  reported  form ;  the  prin 
cipal  of  which  was  to  that  article  which  rendered 
the  several  States  amenable  to  the  courts  of  the 
nation.  He  thought  that  this  would  reduce 
them  to  mere  corporations.  There  was  a  very 
powerful  opposition  to  it,  and  some  of  its  most 
zealous  friends  and  supporters  were  fearful  that 
it  would  not  be  accepted. 

Mr.  Adams  had  not  then  given  his  sentiments 
upon  it  in  the  Convention,  but  regularly  attended 
the  debates.  Some  of  the  leading  advocates 
waited  upon  Mr.  Adams  to  ascertain  his  opinions 
and  wishes,  in  a  private  manner.  Mr.  Adams 
stated  his  objections,  and  stated  that  he  should 
not  give  it  his  support,  unless  certain  amend 
ments  were  recommended  to  be  adopted.  These 
he  enumerated.  Mr.  Adams  prepared  his  amend 
ments,  which  were  brought  before  the  Conven 
tion,  and  referred  to  a  committee,  who  made 
some  inconsiderable  alterations,  with  which  the 
constitution  was  accepted.  Some  of  these  were 
afterwards  agreed  to  as  amendments,  and  form, 
at  present,  a  part  of  that  instrument. 

In  1789,  he  was  elected  lieutenant-governor 
of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  continued  to 
fill  that  office  till  1794,  when  he  was  chosen 
governor  of  that  State.  He  was  annually  re- 
elected  till  1797,  when,  oppressed  with  years 
and  bodily  infirmities,  lie  declined  being  again  a 
candidate,  and  retired  to  private  life. 

After  many  years  of  incessant  exertion,  em 
ployed  in  the  establishment  of  the  independence 
of  America,  he  died  on  the  3d  of  October,  1803, 
in  the  82d  year  of  his  age,  in  straitened  circum 
stances. 

Though  poor,  he  possessed  a  lofty  and  incor 
ruptible  spirit,  and  looked  with  disregard  upon 
riches,  if  not  with  contempt ;  while  at  the  same 
time  he  did  not  attempt  to  disguise  that  reputa- 


296 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


tion  and  popular  influence  were  the  great  objects 
of  liis  ambition. 

His  private  morals  were  pure,  his  manners 
grave  and  austere,  and  his  conversation,  which 
generally  turned  on  public  characters  and  events, 
bold,  decided,  and  sometimes  coarse.  Besides 
the  occurrences  of  the  passing  day,  he  is  said  to 
have  had  three  topics  of  conversation  on  which 
he  delighted  to  expatiate,  and  to  have  always 
d\velt  upon  Avith  great  earnestness :  British  op 
pression,  the  manners,  laws,  and  customs  of  New 
England,  and  the  importance  to  every  republi 
can  government  of  public  schools  for  the  instruc 
tion  of  the  whole  population  of  the  State. 

The  person  of  Samuel  Adams  was  of  the  mid 
dle  size.  His  countenance  was  a  true  index  of 
his  mind,  and  possessed  those  lofty  and  elevated 
characteristics  which  are  always  found  to  accom 
pany  true  greatness. 

He  was  a  steady  professor  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  uniformly  attended  public  worship. 
His  family  devotions  were  regularly  performed, 
and  his  morality  was  never  impeached. 

In  his  manners  and  deportment,  he  was  sin 
cere  and  unaffected  ;  in  conversation,  pleasing 
and  instructive ;  and  in  his  friendships,  steadfast 
and  affectionate. 

His  revolutionary  labors  were  not  surpassed 
by  those  of  any  individual.  From  the  com 
mencement  of  the  dispute  with  Great  Britain, 
he  was  incessantly  employed  in  public  service ; 
opposing  at  one  time  the  supremacy  of  "  parlia 
ment  in  all  cases;"  taking  the  lead  in  questions 
of  controverted  policy  with  the  royal  governors; 
writing  state  papers  from  1765  to  1774;  in 
planning  and  organizing  clubs  and  committees; 
haranguing  in  town-meetings,  or  filling  the 
columns  of  public  prints  adapted  to  the  spirit 
and  temper  of  the  times.  In  addition  to  these 
occupations,  he  maintained  an  extensive  and  la 
borious  correspondence  with  the  friends  of 
American  freedom  in  Great  Britain  and  in  the 
provinces. 

His  private  habits,  which  were  simple,  frugal, 
and  unostentatious,  led  him  to  despise  the  luxury 
and  parade  affected  by  the  crown  officers ;  and 
his  detestation  of  royalty  and  privileged  classes, 
which  no  man  could  have  felt  more  deeply, 
stimulated  him  to  persevere  in  a  course,  which 


lie  conscientiously  believed  to  be  his  duty  to 
pursue,  for  the  welfare  of  his  country. 

The  motives  by  which  he  was  actuated  were 
not  a  sudden  ebullition  of  temper,  nor  a  transient 
impulse  of  resentment,  but  they  were  deliber 
ate,  methodical,  and  unyielding.  There  was  no 
pause,  no  hesitation,  no  despondency ;  every 
day  and  every  hour  was  employed  in  some  con 
tribution  towards  the  main  design,  if  not  in  ac 
tion,  in  writing;  if  not  with  the  pen,  in  conver 
sation  ;  if  not  in  talking,  in  meditation.  The 
means  lie  advised  were  persuasion,  petition,  re 
monstrance,  resolution,  and  when  all  failed,  deii- 
ance  and  extermination  sooner  than  submission. 
With  this  unrelenting  and  austere  spirit,  there 
was  nothing  ferocious,  or  gloomy,  or  arrogant,  in 
his  demeanor.  His  aspect  was  mild,  dignified, 
and  gentlemanly.  In  his  own  State,  or  in  the 
Congress  of  the  Union,  he  was  always  the  ad 
vocate  of  the  strongest  measures,  and  in  the 
darkest  hour  he  never  wavered  nor  desponded. 

No  man  was  more  intrepid  and  dauntless 
when  encompassed  by  dangers,  or  more  calm 
and  unmoved  amid  public  disasters  and  adverse 
fortune.  His  bold  and  daring  conduct  and  lan 
guage  subjected  him  to  great  personal  hazards. 
Had  any  fatal  event  occurred  to  our  country  by 
which  she  had  fallen  in  her  struggle  for  liberty, 
Samuel  Adams  would  have  been  the  first  victim 
of  ministerial  vengeance.  His  blood  would  have 
been  first  shed  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of 
tyranny,  for  the  noble  magnanimity  and  inde 
pendence  with  which  he  defended  the  cause  of 
freedom.  But  such  was  his  firmness,  that  ho 
would  have  met  death  with  as  much  composure 
as  he  regarded  it  with  unconcern. 

O 

His  writings  were  numerous,  and  much  dis 
tinguished  for  their  elegance  and  fervor ;  but, 
unfortunately,  the  greater  part  of  them  have 
been  lost,  or  so  distributed  as  to  render  their 
collection  impossible. 

He  was  the  author  of  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of 
Hillsborougli ;  of  many  political  essays  directed 
against  the  administration  of  Governor  Shirley; 
of  a  letter  in  answer  of  Thomas  Paine,  in  defence 
of  Christianity,  and  of  an  oration  published  in 
the  year  1776.  Four  letters  of  his  correspond 
ence  on  government  are  extant,  and  were  pub 
lished  in  a  pamphlet  form  in  1800. 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


297 


Mr.  Adams's  eloquence  was  of  a  peculiar  char 
acter.  His  language  was  pure,  concise,  and  im 
pressive.  He  was  more  logical  than  figurative. 
His  arguments  were  addressed  rather  to  the 
understanding  than  to  the  feelings ;  yet  he  al 
ways  engaged  the  deepest  attention  of  his 
audience.  On  ordinary  occasions,  there  was 
nothing  remarkable  in  his  speeches;  but,  on 
great  questions,  when  his  own  feelings  were  in 
terested,  he  would  combine  every  thing  great 
in  oratory.  In  the  language  of  an  elegant 
writer,  the  great  qualities  of  his  mind  were  fully 
displayed,  in  proportion  as  the  field  for  their 
exertion  was  extended ;  and  the  energy  of  his 
language  was  not  inferior  to  the  depth  of  his 
mind.  It  was  an  eloquence  admirably  adapted 
to  the  age  in  which  he  flourished,  and  exactly 
calculated  to  attain  the  object  of  his  pursuit. 
It  may  well  be  described  in  the  language  of  the 
poet,  "  thoughts  which  breathe,  and  words 
which  burn."  An  eloquence,  not  consisting  of 
theatrical  gesture,  or  with  the  sublime  enthu 
siasm  and  ardor  of  patriotism ;  an  eloquence  to 
which  his  fellow-citizens  listened  with  applause 
and  rapture ;  and  little  inferior  to  the  best 

VOL.  I.— 38 


models  of  antiquity  for  simplicity,  majesty,  and 
persuasion. 

The  consideration  of  the  character  of  Samuel 
Adams,  when  taken  in  connection  with  the  un 
common  degree  of  popularity  which  his  name 
had  obtained  in  this  country,  may  suggest  an 
important  moral  lesson  to  those  of  our  youth, 
whom  a  generous  ambition  incites  to  seek  the 
temple  of  glory  through  the  thorny  paths  of 
political  strife.  Let  them  compare  him  with 
men  confessedly  very  far  his  superiors  in  every 
gift  of  intellect,  of  education,  and  of  fortune : 
with  those  who  have  governed  empires,  and 
swayed  the  fate  of  nations ;  and  then  let  them 
consider  how  poor  and  how  limited  is  their 
fame,  when  placed  in  competition  with  that  of 
this  humble  patriot.  The  memory  of  those 
men,  tarnished  as  it  is  by  the  history  of  their 
profligacy,  their  corruption,  and  their  crimes, 
is  preserved  only  among  the  advocates  and 
slaves  of  legitimacy,  while  the  name  of  Sam 
uel  Adams  is  enrolled  among  the  benefactors 
of  his  country,  and  repeated  with  respect  and 
gratitude  by  the  humblest  citizens  of  a  free 
State. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

1775. 

WASHINGTON     A     MEMBER     OF     CONVENTION. 

General  Gage  and  the  people  of  Massachusetts. — Revenue-officers  leave  Salem  for  Boston. — Gage  issues  a  call  for  a 
General  Court,  and  revokes  it. — Delegates  are  nevertheless  chosen  and  meet,  and  adjourn  to  Concord  and  form  a 
Provincial  Congress,  with  John  Hancock  for  president.— Remonstrate  with  Gage. — His  reply. — The  Congress 
makes  military  preparations  and  appoints  military  commanders. — Gage  is  opposed  in  his  attempts  to  obtain  the 
means  of  erecting  barracks. — Attitude  of  the  parties. — Gage's  proclamation. — Massachusetts  Congress  reassem 
bles  and  organizes  the  minute-men. — The  British  ministry  prohibits  the  exportation  of  military  stores. — Rhode 
Island  seizes  cannon  and  trains  the  militia. — General  aspect  of  the  colonies. — Sufferings  of  the  Boston  people. — 
Massachusetts  Congress  assembles  in  February. — Their  proceedings. — They  order  deposits  of  military  stores  at 
Worcester  and  Concord. — Leslie's  attempt  to  seize  cannon  at  Salem  defeated. — Gage  attempts  to  seize  stores  at 
Concord. — Battle  of  Lexington. — Washington's  opinion  of  that  battle. — Second  convention  of  Virginia  meets  at 
Richmond. — Washington  a  member. — Its  apparent  loyalty  at  the  opening. — Patrick  Henry  offers  resolutions 
for  putting  the  colony  in  a  state  of  defence. — Supports  them  by  his  celebrated  speech  "  Liberty  or  death." — The 
resolutions  adopted. — Washington  on  the  committee  for  drafting  and  reporting  a  plan  for  defence. — Washington 
returns  to  Mount  Vernon. — Engages  in  the  military  preparations  of  Virginia. 


DURING  the  session  of  the  Continental 
Congress  the  march  of  events  in  Massa 
chusetts  had  frequently  commanded  the 
attention  of  the  members.  General 
Gage,  with  his  positive  orders  from  the 
ministry  to  overawe  and  subdue  the 
people,  and  the  Massachusetts  men,  with 
a  dogged  determination  neither  to  be 
overawed  nor  subdued,  were  engaged 
in  a  struggle  which  was  destined  speed 
ily  to  bring  the  controversy  to  the  ar 
bitrament  of  the  sword.  The  leaders, 
such  as  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock, 
and  Joseph  Warren,  were  by  no  means 
intimidated  by  the  menacing  attitude 
of  Gage  ;  but  persevered  steadily  in  the 
execution  of  their  purpose. 

Observing  the  firm  attitude  of  the 


people,  and  their  evident  determination 
no  longer  to  submit  to  the  commercial 
regulations  of  Great  Britain,  the  officers 
of  the  revenue,  who  had  been  acting 
at  Salem  since  the  shutting  up  of  the 
port  of  Boston,  quitted  their  posts  and 
repaired  to  the  latter  place  for  safety ; 
so  that  the  whole  apparatus  of  a  cus 
tom-house  was  transferred  to  a  port, 
which  an  act  of  parliament  had  pro 
nounced  it  unlawful  for  any  vessel  to 
enter. 

Gage  had  issued  writs  for  assembling 
the  General  Court  at  Salem  on  the  fifth 
of  October;  but  seemingly  ap 
prehensive  of  a  turbulent  ses 
sion,  he  had  countermanded  the  elec 
tions  and  suspended  the  meetings  of  the 


1T74. 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


members  already  returned.  The  peo 
ple  pronounced  the  second  proclama 
tion  illegal,  and,  utterly  disregarding  it, 
chose  their  representatives  in  obedience 
to  the  first. 

The  Assembly,  to  the  number  of 
ninety,  met  at  the  time  and  place  ap 
pointed.  They  waited  a  day  for  the 
governor  to  open  the  session  ;  but  find 
ing  that  he  did  not  appear,  they,  on  the 
third  day,  resolved  themselves  into  a 
Provincial  Congress,  and  adjourned  to 
Concord,  a  town  about  twenty  miles 
distant  from  Boston.  They  chose  John 
Hancock  president ;  and  appointed  a 
committee  to  wait  on  the  governor  with 
a  remonstrance,  in  which  they  accounted 
for  their  meeting  by  representing  the 
distressed  state  of  the  colony ;  men 
tioned  the  grievous  apprehensions  of 
the  people ;  asserted  that  the  rigor  of 
the  Boston  Port-bill  was  increased  by 
the  manner  of  its  execution ;  complained 
of  the  late  laws,  and  of  the  hostile  prep 
arations  on  Boston  Neck ;  and  adjured 
him  to  desist  immediately  from  the  con 
struction  of  a  fortress  there. 

Grage  was  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  He 
could  not  recognize  the  meeting  at  Con 
cord  as  a  legal  assembly,  and  was  sensi 
ble  of  the  imprudence  of  increasing  the 
public  irritation  by  declining  to  take 
notice  of  their  remonstrance.  He  was 
constrained  by  the  pressure  of  circum 
stances  to  return  an  answer ;  and,  in 
that  answer,  he  expressed  his  indigna 
tion  at  the  suspicion  that  the  lives,  lib 
erty,  or  property  of  any  but  avowed 
enemies  were  in  danger  from  English 


troops ;  and  observed,  that,  notwith 
standing  the  hostile  dispositions  mani 
fested  towards  them,  by  withholding 
almost  every  necessary  accommodation, 
they  had  not  discovered  that  resent 
ment  which  such  unfriendly  treatment 
was  calculated  to  provoke.  He  told 
them  that,  while  they  complained  of 
alterations  in  their  charter  by  act  of 
parliament,  they  were  themselves,  by 
their  present  assembling,  subverting 
that  charter,  and  acting  in  direct  viola 
tion  of  their  own  constitution  ;  he  there 
fore  warned  them  of  their  danger,  and 
called  on  them  to  desist  from  such  un 
constitutional  proceedings. 

But  the  warnings  of  the  governor 
made  no  impression  on  the  Provincial 
Congress.  On  the  iTth  of  October, 
that  Assembly  adjourned  to  Cam 
bridge,  about  four  miles  from  Boston. 
They  resolved  to  purchase  military 
stores ;  and  to  enlist  a  number  of 
minute-men,  so  named  from  their  en 
gaging  to  take  the  field  in  arms  on  a 
minute's  warning. 

They  also  appointed  a  committee  of 
safety,  with  authority  to  call  out  the 
militia  when  thought  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  prov 
ince  ;  and  a  committee  of  supplies,  *"o 
purchase  ammunition,  ordnance,  and 
other  military  stores.  They  elected 
Jedidiah  Fribble,  Artemas  Ward,  and 
Colonel  Ponieroy,  who  had  seen  some 
service  in  the  late  war,  general  officers, 
and  appointed  them  to  the  chief  com 
mand  of  the  minute-men  and  militia,  if 
they  should  be  called  into  actual  ser- 


300 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


vice.  On  the  27th  of  October,  the 
Congress  adjourned  to  the  23d  of  No 
vember. 

On  the  approach  of  winter,  the  gov 
ernor  ordered  temporary  barracks  for 
the  troops  to  be  erected  ;  but  he  found 
much  difficulty  in  the  execution  of  his 
purpose,  as,  through  the  influence  of 
the  selectmen  and  committees,  the  me 
chanics  were  unwilling  or  afraid  to  en 
gage  in  the  work,  and  the  merchants 
declined  to  execute  his  orders. 

The  mutual  suspicions  of  the  gov 
ernor  and  people  of  Massachusetts  were 
now  so  strong,  that  every  petty  incident 
increased  the  irritation.  Each  party 
made  loud  professions  of  the  best  in 
tentions,  and  each  watched  the  other 
with  a  jealous  eye.  In  a  proclamation, 
the  governor  forbade  the  people  to  pay 
any  regard  to  the  requisitions,  directions, 
or  resolutions  of  the  Provincial  Con 
gress,  and  denounced  that  body  as  an 
illegal  assembly  ;  but  the  proclamation 
was  disregarded,  and  the  recommenda 
tions  of  Congress  were  revered  and 
promptly  obeyed. 

Instead  of  being  intimidated  by  the 
governor's  proclamation,  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  Massachusetts,  on  reassem- 

O  ' 

blin£r  after  their  adjournment,  proceeded 
with  greater  boldness  than  ever,  and 
gave  decisive  evidence  of  their  deter 
mination  to  carry  matters  to  extremi 
ties  rather  than  submit  to  the  late  acts 
of  parliament.  They  resolved  to  have 
twelve  thousand  men  in  readiness  to  act 
on  any  emergency,  and  ordered  a  fourth 
of  the  militia  to  be  enlisted  as  minute- 


1774. 


men,  and  empowered  them  to  choose 
their  OAvn  officers.  They  dispatched 
agents  to  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut,  to  concert 
measures  with  the  leading  men  in  those 
provinces,  and  to  engage  them  to  pro 
vide  their  contingents  for  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men. 
They  resolved  to  bring  their  force  into 
action,  and  to  oppose  General  Gage 
whenever  he  should  march  his  troops 
out  of  Boston,  with  their  baggage,  am 
munition,  and  artillery ;  and  they  ap 
plied  to  the  ministers  of  religion, 
throughout  the  province,  desiring  their 
countenance  and  co-operation.  They 
also  added  Colonels  Thomas  and  Heath 
to  the  number  of  generals  whom  they 
had  formerly  nominated.  Towards 
the  end  of  November  the  Congress 
dissolved  itself,  having  appointed  an 
other  to  be  held  in  the  month  of  Feb 
ruary. 

Alarmed  by  the  proceedings  in  the 
several  provinces,  the  ministry  had  is 
sued  a  proclamation  prohibiting  the  ex 
portation  of  military  stores  from  Britain. 
On  hearing  of  this  proclamation,  the  in 
habitants  of  Rhode  Island  removed 
above  forty  pieces  of  cannon  from  the 
batteries  about  the  harbor,  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  preventing  them 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  king's 

o  o 

troops,  and  of  employing  them  against 
such  persons  as  might  attempt  to  in 
fringe  their  liberties.  About  the  same 
time,  the  Assembly  of  the  province 
passed  resolutions  for  purchasing  arms 
and  military  stores  at  the  public  ex- 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


301 


pense,  and  for  carefully  training  the 
militia  in  military  exercises. 

The  people  of  New  Hampshire,  who 
had  hitherto  been '  moderate,  were  ex 
cited  to  insurrection  by  the  proclama 
tion,  and  by  the  example  of  their  neigh 
bors  in  Rhode  Island.  They  surprised 
a  small  fort  at  Portsmouth,  and  car 
ried  off  the  military  stores  which  it 
contained. 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1775  pre 
sented  a  gloomy  prospect  to  America  ; 
all  the  Provincial  Assemblies,  except 
that  of  New  York,  approved  of  the  res 
olutions  of  the  General  Congress  ;  and 
even  the  Assembly  of  New  York  joined 
in  the  complaints  of  the  other  provinces, 
although  it  was  less  resolute  in  its  oppo 
sition  to  the  obnoxious  laws.  The  pas 
sions  of  the  people  were  everywhere 
roused,  and  great  agitation  prevailed. 
The  inhabitants  were  all  in  motion ; 
forming  county  meetings ;  entering  into 
associations  ;  recommending  measures 

*  O 

for  carrying  into  execution  the  resolu 
tions  of  the  General  Congress,  and 

O  ' 

choosing  committees  of  inspection  and 
observation,  to  take  care  that  the  pub 
lic  resolutions  should  be  universally  at 
tended  to,  and  to  guard  against  the 
practices  of  those  selfish  individuals, 
who,  for  interested  purposes,  might 
wish  to  elude  them.  In  the  midst  of 
all  this  bustle,  the  militia  were  every 
where  carefully  trained. 

Meanwhile  the  privations  and  suffer 
ings  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  were 
grievous,  and  their  passions  were  highly 
excited ;  but  their  turbulent  spirit  was 


kept  in  check  by  the  presence  of  the 
troops.  Supplies  and  provisions  were 
sent  them  from  the  other  colonies ; 
these,  however,  formed  but  a  partial 
and  precarious  resource ;  but  the  peo 
ple  were  encouraged  by  the  sympathy 
of  their  brethren,  and  by  the  thought 
that  they  were  considered  martyrs  in 
the  common  cause. 

Notwithstanding  the  portentous  as 
pect  of  affairs,  many  of  the  colonists 
still  believed  that  there  would  be  no 
appeal  to  arms.  Formerly  their  non 
importation  associations  had  produced 
the  desired  effect ;  and  they  nattered 
themselves  that  similar  measures  would 
again  be  followed  by  similar  results ; 
that  the  British  ministry  would  never 
come  to  an  open  rupture  with  the  best 
customers  of  their  merchants  and  manu 
facturers,  but  would  recede  from  their 
pretensions  when  convinced  of  the  de 
termined  opposition  of  the  Americans. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  British  ministry 
expected  the  colonists  would  yield ; 
and  thus  both  parties  persisted  in  their 
claims  till  neither  could  easily  give  way. 

In  the  provinces,  although  there  was 
much  apparent  unanimity  in  opposing 
the  late  acts  of  parliament,  yet  not  a 
few  secretly  wished  to  submit  peace 
ably  to  British  authority  ;  some  from  a 
conviction  that  it  was  right  to  do  so ; 
more  from  timidity  and  selfishness :  but 
both  of  these  classes  were  overawed  by 
the  more  active  and  audacious  partisans 
of  American  freedom. 

While  matters  were  in  this  critical 
state  in  America,  many  of  the  people 


i 


302 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


of  Britain  took  little  interest  in  the  af 
fairs  of  the  colonies.  They  did  not  feel 
their  own  interests  immediately  affected, 
and  consequently  their  sensibility  was 
not  awakened.  They  had  long  been 
accustomed  to  hear  of  American  quar 
rels,  and  satisfied  themselves  with  think 
ing  that  the  present  one  would  pass 
away  as  those  before  it  had  done. 
While  the  nation  was  indifferent,  the 
ministry  wrere  irritated  but  irresolute. 
In  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  parlia 
ment,  the  king  informed  the  two  houses 
"  that  a  most  daring  spirit  of  resistance 
and  disobedience  still  prevailed  in  Mas 
sachusetts,  and  had  broken  out  in  fresh 
violences  of  a  very  criminal  nature  ;  but 
that  the  most  proper  and  effectual  meas 
ures  had  been  taken  to  prevent  those 
mischiefs  ;  and  that  they  might  depend 
on  a  firm  resolution  to  withstand  every 
attempt  to  weaken  or  impair  the  su 
preme  authority  of  the  legislature  over 
all  the  dominions  of  the  crown." 

In  the  debates  on  American  affairs, 
the  partisans  of  ministry  spoke  of  the 
colonists  in  the  most  contemptuous  man 
ner  ;  affirmed  that  they  were  undisci 
plined,  and  incapable  of  discipline,  and 
that  their  numbers  would  only  increase 
their  confusion  and  facilitate  their  de 
feat. 

Meanwhile  the  colonists  were  not 
idle.  On  the  1st  of  February,  the  Pro 
vincial  Congress  of  Massachu 
setts  met  at  Cambridge,  and, 
apprehensive  of  being  too  much  within 
the  reach  of  General  Gage,  towards  the 
middle  of  the  month  they  again  ad- 


17T5. 


journed  to  Concord.  They  there  took 
decisive  measures  for  resisting  the  ob 
noxious  acts  of  parliament.  They  earn 
estly  exhorted  the  lailitia  in  general, 
and  the  minute-men  in  particular,  to  be 
indefatigable  in  improving  themselves  in 
military  discipline  ;  they  recommended 
the  making  of  firearms  and  bayonets ; 
and  they  dissuaded  the  people  from 
supplying  the  troops  in  Boston  with 
any  thing  necessary  for  military  ser 
vice.  The  committee  of  safety  resolved 
to  purchase  powder,  artillery,  provis 
ions,  and  other  military  stores,  and  to 
deposit  them  partly  at  Worcester  and 
partly  at  Concord. 

In  this  alarming  posture  of  public  af 
fairs,  General  Gage  conceived  it  to  be 
his  duty  to  seize  the  warlike  stores  of 
the  colonists  wherever  he  could  find 
them.  With  this  view  he  ordered  a 
small  detachment,  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant-colonel  Leslie,  on  Sunday 
the  26th  of  February,  to  bring  off  some 
field-pieces  which  he  understood  the 
Provincial  Congress  had  at  Salem. 
The  party  landed  at  Marblehead,  and 
marched  to  Salem ;  but  found  no  can 
non  there.  Believing  they  had  been 
removed  only  a  short  time  before,  the 
commanding  officer  determined  on  pur 
suit.  He  reached  a  small  river,  on  the 
way  to  Danvers,  over  which  was  a  draw 
bridge  ;  but,  on  his  approach,  some  peo 
ple  on  the  other  side  drew  it  up,  and 
alleged  that,  as  both  the  bridge  and 
road  were  private  property,  the  soldiers 
had  no  right  to  pass  that  way.  The 
party  were  about  to  use  some  boats,  but 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION". 


?>03 


the  owners  instantly  scuttled  them. 
The  bridge  was  at  length  let  down ; 
but  the  day  was  so  far  spent,  that  Colo 
nel  Leslie,  deeming  it  inexpedient  to 
proceed  much  further,  returned  to  Bos 
ton.  This  ineffectual  attempt  showed 
the  designs  of  the  governor,  and  gave 
fresh  activity  to  the  vigilance  of  the 
people. 

The  colonies  were  now  all  in  com 
motion;  and  preparations  were  every 
where  making  for  the  General  Congress, 
which  was  to  assemble  in  the  month  of 
May.  New  York  was  the  only  place 
which  discovered  much  backwardness 
in  the  matter ;  and  perhaps  the  timid 
and  selfish  policy  of  that  province  con 
tributed  no  less  to  the  war,  than  the 
boldness  of  the  people  of  Massachu 
setts  ;  for  the  British  ministry  were  en 
couraged  by  the  irresolution  of  the  peo 
ple  of  New  York  to  persist  in  their  plan 
of  coercion,  from  which  they  had  been 
almost  deterred  by  the  firm  attitude  and 
united  counsels  of  the  other  colonies. 
But  hoping,  by  the  compliance  of  New 
York  with  their  designs,  to  separate  the 
middle  and  southern  from  the  northern 
provinces,  and  so  easily  subjugate  them 
all,  they  determined  to  persevere  in 
•strong  measures.  The  active  exertions, 
however,  of  the  adherents  of  the  British 
ministry  were  defeated,  even  in  New 
York,  by  the  resolute  conduct  of  their 
opponents  ;  and  that  province  sent  dep 
uties  to  the  General  Congress. 

Although  some  of  the  persons  most 
obnoxious  to  the  British  government 
had  withdrawn  from  Boston,  yet  many 


1775. 


zealous  Americans  still  remained  in  the 
town,  observed  every  motion  of  General 
Gage  with  a  vigilant  eye,  and  transmit 
ted  to  their  friends  in  the  country  no 
tices  of  his  proceedings  and  probable 
intentions.  The  American  stores  at 
Concord  had  attracted  the  general's  at 
tention,  and  he  determined  to  seize 
them.  But,  although  he  had  been  care 
ful  to  conceal  his  intention,  yet  some  in 
timations  of  it  reached  the  ears  of  the 
colonists,  who  took  their  measures  ac 
cordingly. 

At  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  on  the 
18th  of  April,  General  Gage  embarked 
eight  hundred  grenadiers  and 
light-infantry,  the  flower  of  his 
army,  under  the  command  of  Lieuten 
ant-colonel  Smith  and  Major  Pitcairn, 
on  Charles  River  at  Boston  Neck. 

They  sailed  up  the  river,  landed  at 
Phipps's  farm,  and  advanced  towards 
Concord.  Of  this  movement  some  of 
the  friends  of  the  American  cause  got 
notice,  just  before  the  embarkation  of 
the  troops ;  and  they  instantly  dis 
patched  messengers  by  different  routes 
with  the  information.  The  troops  soon 
perceived,  by  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
firing  of  musketry,  that,  notwithstand 
ing  the  secrecy  with  which  they  had 
quitted  Boston,  they  had  been  discov 
ered,  and  that  the  alarm  was  fast  spread 
ing  throughout  the  country.  Between 
four  and  five  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  19th  of  April,  the  detachment 
reached  Lexington,  thirteen  miles  from 

O  ' 

Boston.  Here  about  seventy  of  the 
militia  were  assembled,  and  were  stand- 


304 


LIFE  AKD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  HI. 


near  the  road ;    but  their  number 

' 

bein0"  so  small,  they  had  no  intention  of 
making  any  resistance  to  the  military. 
Major  Pitcairn,  who  had  been  sent  for 
ward  with  the  light-infantry,  rode  to 
wards  them,  calling  out,  "  Disperse,  you 
rebels  !  throw  down  your  arms  and  dis 
perse  ! "  The  order  was  not  instantly 
obeyed :  Major  Pitcairn  advanced  a  lit 
tle  further,  fired  his  pistol,  and  flour 
ished  his  sword,  while  his  men  began  to 
fire,  with  a  shout.  Several  Americans 
fell ;  the  rest  dispersed,  but  the  firing 
on  them  was  continued ;  and,  on  ob 
serving  this,  some  of  the  retreating  col 
onists  returned  the  fire.  Eight  Ameri 
cans  remained  dead  on  the  field. 

At  the  close  of  this  rencounter,  the 
rest  of  the  British  detachment,  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Smith,  came  up ;  and 
the  party,  without  further  violence,  pro 
ceeded  to  Concord.  On  arriving  at  that 
place,  they  found  a  body  of  railitia 
drawn  up,  who  retreated  across  the 
bridge  before  the  British  light-infantry. 
The  main  body  of  the  royal  troops  en 
tered  the  town,  destroyed  two  pieces  of 
cannon  with  their  carriages,  and  a  num 
ber  of  carriage-wheels  ;  threw  five  hun 
dred  pounds  of  balls  into  the  river  and 
wells,  and  destroyed  about  sixty  barrels 
of  flour.  These  were  all  the  stores  they 
found. 

While  the  main  body  of  the  troops 
was  engaged  in  these  operations,  the 
light-infantry  kept  possession  of  the 
bridge,  the  Americans  having  retired 
to  wait  for  reinforcements.  Reinforce 
ments  arrived ;  and  John  Butterworth, 


of  Concord,  who  commanded  the  Amer 
icans,  ordered  his  men  to  advance  ;  but, 
ignorant  of  what  had  happened  at  Lex 
ington,  enjoined  them  not  to  fire,  unless 
the  troops  fired  first.  The  matter  did 
not  long  remain  in  suspense.  The 
Americans  advanced ;  the  troops  fired 
on  them ;  the  Americans  returned  the 
fire ;  a  smart  skirmish  ensued,  and  a 
number  of  men  fell  on  each  side. 

The  troops,  having  accomplished  the 
object  of  their  expedition,  began  to  re 
tire.  But  blood  had  been  shed,  and 
the  a^orressors  were  not  to  be  allowed 

OO 

to  escape  with  impunity.  The  country 
was  alarmed ;  armed  men  crowded  in 
from  every  quarter  ;  and  the  retreating 
troops  were  assailed  with  an  unceasing 
but  irregular  discharge  of  musketry. 

General  Gage  had  early  information 
that  the  country  was  rising  in  arms ; 
and,  about  eight  in  the  morning,  he 
dispatched  nine  hundred  men,  under 
the  command  of  Earl  Percy,  to  support 
his  first  party.  According  to  Gordon, 
this  detachment  left  Boston  with  their 
music  playing  Yankee  Doodle,  a  tune 
composed  in  derision  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  northern  provinces ;  an  act  which 
had  no  tendency  to  subdue,  but  which 
was  well  calculated  to  irritate,  the  colo 
nists. 

Earl  Percy  met  Colonel  Smith's  re 
treating  party  at  Lexington  much  ex 
hausted  ;  and,  being  provided  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  he  was  able  to  keep 
the  Americans  in  check.  The  whole 
party  rested  on  their  arms  till  they 
took  some  refreshment,  of  which  they 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


305 


stood  mucli  in  need.  But  there  was 
no  time  for  delay ;  as  the  militia  and 
minute-men  were  hastening  in  from  all 
quarters  to  the  scene  of  action.  When 
the  troops  resumed  their  march,  the  at 
tack  was  renewed ;  and  Earl  Percy  con 
tinued  the  retreat  under  an  incessant 
and  galling  fire  of  small-arms.  By 
means  of  his  field-pieces  and  musketry, 
however,  he  was  able  to  keep  the  assail 
ants  at  a  respectful  distance.  The  colo 
nists  were  under  no  authority  ;  but  ran 
across  the  fields  from,  one  place  to  an 
other,  taking  their  station  at  the  points 
from  which  they  could  fire  on  the  troops 
with  most  safety  and  effect.  Numbers 
of  them,  becoming  weary  of  the  pur 
suit,  retired  from  the  contest ;  but  their 
place  was  supplied  by  new-comers ;  so 
that,  although  not  more  than  four  or 
five  hundred  of  the  provincials  were 
actually  engaged  at  any  one  time,  yet 
the  conflict  was  continued  without  in 
termission,  till  the  troops,  in  a  state  of 
great  exhaustion,  reached  Charlestown 
Neck,  with  only  two  or  three  rounds 
of  cartridges  each,  although  they  had 
thirty-six  in  the  morning. 

On  this  momentous  day,  the  British 
had  sixty-five  men  killed,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  wounded,  and  twenty-eight 
taken  prisoners.  The  provincials  had 
fifty  men  killed,  thirty-four  wounded, 
and  four  missing. 

Washington's  opinion  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington  is  thus  expressed  in  a  letter 
of  May  31,  1775,  to  George  William 
Fairfax,  then  residing  in  England  : 

"  Before  this  letter  will  come  to  hand, 

VOL.  I.— 39 


you  must  undoubtedly  have  received  an 
account  of  the  engagement  in  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  between  the  ministerial 
troops  (for  we  do  not,  nor  can  we  yet 
prevail  upon  ourselves  to  call  them  the 
king's  troops)  and  the  provincials  of 
that  government.  But  as  you  may  not 
have  heard  how  that  affair  began,  I  in 
close  the  several  affidavits,  which  were 
taken  after  the  action. 

General  Gage  acknowledges  that  the 
detachment  under  Lieutenant-colonel 
Smith  was  sent  out  to  destroy  private 
property ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  destroy 
a  magazine  which  self-preservation  oblig 
ed  the  inhabitants  to  establish.  And 
he  also  confesses,  in  effect  at  least,  that 
his  men  made  a  very  precipitate  retreat 
from  Concord,  notwithstanding  the  re 
inforcement  under  Lord  Percy ;  the  last 
of  which  may  serve  to  convince  Lord 
Sandwich,  and  others  of  the  same  senti 
ment,  that  the  Americans  will  fight  for 
their  liberties  and  property,  however 
pusillanimous  in  his  lordship's  eye  they 
may  appear  in  other  respects. 

From  the  best  accounts  I  have  been 
able  to  collect  of  that  affair,  indeed  from 
every  one,  I  believe  the  fact,  stripped  of 
all  coloring,  to  be  plainly  this,  that  if 
the  retreat  had  not  been  as  precipitate 
as  it  was — and  God  knows  it  could  not 
well  have  been  more  so — the  ministerial 
troops  must  have  surrendered,  or  been 
totally  cut  off;  for  they  had  not  ar 
rived  at  Charlestown  (under  cover  of 
their  ships)  half  an  hour,  before  a  pow 
erful  body  of  men  from  Marblehead  and 
Salem  was  at  their  heels,  and  must,  if 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


they  had  happened  to  be  up  one  hour 
sooner,  inevitably  have  intercepted  their 
retreat  to  Charlestown.  Unhappy  it 
is,  though,  to  reflect  that  a  brother's 

O      ' 

sword  has  been  sheathed  in  a  brother's 
breast,  and  that  the  once  happy  and 
peaceful  plains  of  America  are  either  to 
be  drenched  with  blood  or  inhabited  by 
slaves.  Sad  alternative  !  But  can  a 
virtuous  man  hesitate  in  his  choice  ?" 
On  Monday,  the  20th  of  March, 


the  convention  of  delegates  from  the 
several  counties  and  corporations  of  Vir 
ginia  met  for  the  second  time.  This 
assembly  was  held  in  the  old  church  in 
the  town  of  Richmond.  Washington 
and  Patrick  Henry  were  members  of 
that  body.  The  reader  will  bear  in 
mind  the  tone  of  the  instructions  given 
by  the  convention  of  the  preceding  year 
to  their  deputies  in  Congress.*  He  will 
remember  that,  while  they  recite  with 
great  feeling  the  series  of  grievances 
under  which  the  colonies  had  labored, 
and  insist  with  firmness  on  their  consti 
tutional  rights,  they  give,  nevertheless, 
the  most  explicit  and  solemn  pledge  of 
their  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  his 
majesty  King  George  the  Third,  and 
avow  their  determination  to  support 
him  with  their  lives  and  fortunes,  in  the 
legal  exercise  of  all  his  just  rights  and 
prerogatives.  He  will  remember  that 
these  instructions  contain,  also,  an  ex 
pression  of  their  sincere  approbation  of 
a  connection  with  Great  Britain,  and 
their  ardent  wishes  for  a  return  of  that 

0  See  Document  [A]  at  end  of  chapter  x. 


friendly  intercourse  from  which  this 
country  had  derived  so  much  prosperity 
and  happiness. 

These  sentiments  still  influenced  many 
of  the  leading  members  of  the  conven 
tion  of  1775.  They  could  not  part  with 
the  fond  hope  that  those  peaceful  days 
would  again  return,  which  had  shed  so 
much  light  and  warmth  over  the  land ; 
and  the  report  of  the  king's  gracious  re 
ception  of  the  petition  from  Congress 
tended  to  cherish  and  foster  that  hope, 
and  to  render  them  averse  to  any  means 
of  violence.  But  Patrick  Henry  saw 
things  with  a  steadier  eye  and  a  deeper 
insight.  His  judgment  was  too  solid  to 
be  duped  by  appearances  ;  and  his  heart 
too  firm  and  manly  to  be  amused  by 
false  and  flattering  hopes.  He  had  long 
since  read  the  true  character  of  the 
British  court,  and  saw  that  no  alterna 
tive  remained  for  his  country  but  abject 
submission  or  heroic  resistance.  It  was 
not  for  a  soul  like  Henry's  to  hesitate 
between  these  courses.  He  had  offered 
upon  the  altar  of  liberty  no  divided 
heart.  The  gulf  of  war  which  yawned 
before  him  was  indeed  fiery  and  fearful ; 
but  he  saw  that  the  awful  plunge  was 
inevitable.  The  body  of  the  conven 
tion,  however,  hesitated.  They  cast 
around  "a  longing,  lingering  look"  on 
those  flowery  fields  on  which  peace,  and 
ease,  and  joy  were  still  sporting ;  and  it 
required  all  the  energies  of  a  Mentor 
like  Henry  to  prepare  their  minds  for 
the  dread  alternative  of  open  hostilities. 

The  convention  being  formed  and 
organized  for  business,  proceeded,  in  the 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


307 


first  place,  to  express  their  unqualified 
approbation  of  the  measures  of  Con 
gress,  and  to  declare  that  they  consid 
ered  "  this  whole  continent  as  under  the 
highest  obligations  to  that  respectable 
body,  for  the  wisdom  of  their  counsels, 
and  their  unremitted  endeavors  to  main 
tain  and  preserve  inviolate  the  just 
rights  and  liberties  of  his  majesty's  duti 
ful  and  loyal  subjects  in  America." 

They  next  resolved,  that  "  the  warm 
est  thanks  of  the  convention,  and  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  this  colony,  were  due, 
and  that  this  just  tribute  of  applause 
be  presented  to  the  worthy  delegates, 
deputed  by  a  former  convention  to  rep 
resent  this  colony  in  General  Congress, 
for  their  cheerful  undertaking  and  faith 
ful  discharge  of  the  very  important  trust 
reposed  in  them." 

The  morning  of  the  23d  of  March 
was  opened  by  reading  a  petition  and 
memorial  from  the  Assembly  of  Jamaica 
to  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty, 
whereupon  it  was 

"  Resol/ued,  That  the  unfeigned  thanks 
and  most  grateful  acknowledgments  of 
the  convention  be  presented  to  that 
very  respectable  Assembly,  for  the  ex 
ceeding  generous  and  affectionate  part 
they  have  so  nobly  taken  in  the  un 
happy  contest  between  Great  Britain 
and  her  colonies,  and  for  their  truly 
patriotic  endeavors  to  fix  the  just  claim 
of  the  colonists  upon  the  most  perma 
nent  constitutional  principles : — that  the 
Assembly  be  assured,  that  it  is  the  most 
ardent  wish  of  this  colony  (and  they 
were  persuaded  of  the  whole  continent 


of  North  America)  to  see  a  speedy  re 
turn  of  those  halcyon  days,  when  we 
lived  a  free  and  happy  people." 

These  proceedings  were  not  adapted 
to  the  taste  of  Patrick  Henry ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  were  "gall  and  worm 
wood"  to  him.  The  House  required  to 
be  wrought  up  to  a  bolder  tone.  He 
rose,  therefore,  and  moved  the  follow 
ing  manly  resolutions : 

"  Hesol/ued,  That  a  well-regulated 
militia,  composed  of  gentlemen  and  yeo 
men,  is  the  natural  strength  and  only 
security  of  a  free  government ;  that  such 
a  militia  in  this  colony  would  forever 
render  it  unnecessary  for  the  mother 
country  to  keep  among  us,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  our  defence,  any  standing  army 
of  mercenary  soldiers,  always  subversive 
of  the  quiet,  and  dangerous  to  the  liber 
ties  of  the  people,  and  would  obviate 
the  pretext  of  taxing  us  for  their  sup 
port. 

That  the  establishment  of  such  mi 
litia  is,  at  tlii-s  time,  peculiarly  neces 
sary,  by  the  state  of  our  laws,  for  the 
protection  and  defence  of  the  country, 
some  of  which  are  already  expired,  and 
others  will  shortly  be  so  ;  and  that  the 
known  remissness  of  government  in  call 
ing  us  together  in  legislative  capacity, 
renders  it  too  insecure,  in  this  time  of 
danger  and  distress,  to  rely  that  oppor 
tunity  will  be  given  of  renewing  them 
in  General  Assembly,  or  making  any 
provision  to  secure  our  inestimable 
rights  and  liberties  from  those  further 

o 

violations  with  which  they  are  threat 
ened. 


308 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IIL 


Resolved,  therefore,  That  this  colony 
be  immediately  put  into  a  state  of  de 
fence,  and  that  be  a  commit 
tee  to  prepare  a  plan  for  embodying, 
arming,  and  disciplining  such  a  number 
of  men,  as  may  be  sufficient  for  that 
purpose." 

The  alarm  which  such  a  proposition 
must  have  given  to  those  who  had  con 
templated  no  resistance  of  a  character 
more  serious  than  petition,  non-importa 
tion,  and  passive  fortitude,  and  who  still 
hung  with  suppliant  tenderness  on  the 
skirts  of  Britain,  will  be  readily  con 
ceived  by  the  reflecting  reader.  The 
shock  was  painful.  It  was  almost  gen 
eral.  The  resolutions  were  opposed  as 
not  only  rash  in  policy,  but  as  harsh  and 
well-nigh  impious  in  point  of  feeling. 
Some  of  the  warmest  patriots  of  the 
convention  opposed  them.  Richard 
Bland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  Ed 
mund  Pendleton,  who  had  so  lately 
drank  of  the  fountain  of  patriotism  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  Robert 
C.  Nicholas,  one  of  the  best  as  well  as 
ablest  men  and  patriots  in  the  State, 
resisted  them  with  all  their  influence 
and  abilities. 

They  urged  the  late  gracious  recep 
tion  of  the  congressional  petition  by 
the  throne  ;  they  insisted  that  national 
comity,  and  much  more,  filial  respect, 
demanded  the  exercise  of  a  more  digni 
fied  patience.  That  the  sympathies  of 
the  parent  country  were  now  on  our 
side.  That  the  friends  of  American 
liberty  in  parliament  were  still  with  us, 
and  had,  as  yet,  had  no  cause  to  blush 


for  our  indiscretion.  That  the  manu 
facturing  interests  of  Great  Britain,  al 
ready  smarting  under  the  effects  of  our 
non-importation,  co-operated  powerfully 
towards  our  relief.  That  the  sovereign 
himself  had  relented,  and  showed  that 
he  looked  upon  our  sufferings  with  an 
eye  of  pity.  "Was  this  a  moment," 
they  asked,  "  to  disgust  our  friends,  to 
extinguish  all  the  conspiring  sympa 
thies  which  were  working  in  our  favor, 
to  turn  their  friendship  into  hatred, 
their  pity  into  revenge  ?  And  what 
was  there,"  they  asked,  "in  the  situa 
tion  of  the  colony,  to  tempt  us  to  this  ? 
Were  we  a  great  military  people  ? 
Were  we  ready  for  war  ?  Where  were 
our  stores, — where  were  our  arms,— 
where  our  soldiers, — where  our  gen 
erals, — where  our  money,  the  sinews  of 
war  ?  They  were  nowhere  to  be  found. 
In  truth,  we  were  poor, — we  were 
naked, — we  were  defenceless.  And  yet 
we  talk  of  assuming  the  front  of  war ! 
of  assuming  it,  too,  against  a  nation, 
one  of  the  most  formidable  in  the 
world  !  A  nation  ready  and  armed  at 
all  points !  Her  navies  riding  trium 
phant  in  every  sea ;  her  armies  never 
marching  but  to  certain  victory  ! 
What  was  to  be  the  issue  of  the  strug 
gle  we  were  called  upon  to  court  ? 
What  could  be  the  issue  in  the  com 
parative  circumstances  of  the  two  coun 
tries,  but  to  yield  up  this  country  an 
easy  prey  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  con 
vert  the  illegitimate  right  which  the 
British  parliament  now  claimed,  into  a 
firm  and  indubitable  right,  ly  conquest  ? 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHING  TON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


309 


The  measure  might  be  brave ;  but  it 
was  the  bravery  of  madmen.  It  had 
no  pretension  to  the  character  of  pru 
dence  ;  and  as  little  to  the  grace  of  gen 
uine  courage.  It  would  be  time  enough 
to  resort  to  measures  of  despair,  when 
every  well-founded  hope  had  entirely 
vanished." 

To  this  strong  view  of  the  subject, 
supported  as  it  was  by  the  stubborn 
fact  of  the  well-known  helpless  condi 
tion  of  the  colony,  the  opponents  of 
these  resolutions  superadded  every 
topic  of  persuasion  which  belonged  to 
the  cause : 

"  The  strength  and  lustre  which  we 

O 

have  derived  from  our  connection  with 
Great  Britain, — the  domestic  comforts 
which  we  had  drawn  from  the  same 
source,  and  whose  value  we  were  now 
able  to  estimate  by  their  loss, — that 
ray  of  reconciliation  which  was  dawn 
ing  upon  us  from  the  east,  and  which 
promised  so  fair  and  happy  a  day  ;— 
with  this  they  contrasted  the  clouds 
and  storms  which  the  measure  now  pro 
posed  was  so  well  calculated  to  raise, 
and  in  which  we  should  not  have  even 
the  poor  consolation  of  being  pitied  by 
the  world,  since  we  should  have  so  need 
lessly  and  rashly  drawn  them  upon  our 
selves." 

These  arguments  and  topics  of  per 
suasion  were  so  well  justified  by  the 
appearance  of  things,  and  were  more 
over  so  entirely  in  unison  with  that  love 
of  ease  and  quiet  which  is  natural  to 
man,  and  that  disposition  to  hope  for 
happier  times,  even  under  the  most  for 


bidding  circumstances,  that  an  ordinary 
man,  in  Mr.  Henry's  situation,  would 
have  been  glad  to  compound  with  the 
displeasure  of  the  House,  by  being  per 
mitted  to  withdraw  his  resolutions  in 
silence. 

Not  so  Mr.  Henry.  His  was  a  spirit 
fitted  to  raise  the  whirlwind,  as  well  as 
to  ride  in  and  direct  it.  His  was  that 
comprehensive  view,  that  unerring  pres 
cience,  that  perfect  command  over  the 
actions  of  men,  which  qualified  him  not 
merely  to  guide,  but  almost  to  create 
the  destinies  of  nations. 

He  rose,  at  this  time,  with  a  majesty 
unusual  to  him  in  an  exordium,  and 
with  all  that  self-possession  by  which 
he  was  so  invariably  distinguished : 
"No  man,"  he  said,  "thought  more 
highly  than  he  did  of  the  patriotism, 
as  well  as  abilities,  of  the  very  worthy 
gentlemen  who  had  just  addressed  the 
House.  But  different  men  often  saw 
the  same  subject  in  different  lights ; 
and,  therefore,  he  hoped  it  would  not 
be  thought  disrespectful  to  those  gen 
tlemen,  if,  entertaining  as  he  did,  opin 
ions  of  a  character  very  opposite  to 
theirs,  he  should  speak  forth  Jiis  sen 
timents  freely,  and  without  reserve. 
This,"  he  said,  "  was  no  time  for  cere 
mony.  The  question  before  this  House 
was  one  of  awful  moment  to  the  coun 
try.  For  his  own  part,  he  considered  it 
as  nothing  less  than  a  question  of  free 
dom  or  slavery.  And  in  proportion  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  subject,  ought  to 
be  the  freedom  of  the  debate.  It  was 
only  in  this  way  that  they  could  hope 


310 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  rn. 


to  arrive  at  truth,  and  fulfil  the  great 
responsibility  which  they  held  to  God 
and  their  country.  Should  he  keep 
back  his  opinions  at  such  a  time,  through 
fear  of  giving  offence,  he  should  con 
sider  himself  as  guilty  of  treason  to 
wards  his  country,  and  of  an  act  of  dis 
loyalty  towards  the  majesty  of  Heaven, 
which  he  revered  above  all  earthly 
kings. 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  he,  "  it  is  natu 
ral  to  man  to  indulge  in  the  illusions  of 
hope.  We  are  apt  to  shut  our  eyes 
against  a  painful  truth — and  listen  to 
the  song  of  that  syren,  till  she  trans 
forms  us  into  beasts.  Is  this,"  he  asked, 
"the  part  of  wise  men  engaged  in  a 
great  and  arduous  struggle  for  liberty  ? 
Were  we  disposed  to  be  of  the  number 
of  those,  who,  having  eyes,  see  not,  and 
having  ears,  hear  not,  the  things  which 
so  nearly  concern  their  temporal  salva 
tion  ?  For  his  part,  whatever  anguish 
of  spirit  it  might  cost,  lie  was  willing  to 
know  the  whole  truth ;  to  know  the 
worst,  and  to  provide  for  it. 

"  lie  had,"  he  said,  "  but  one  lamp 
by  which  his  feet  were  guided,  and  that 
was  the  lamp  of  experience.  He  knew 
no  way  of  judging  of  the  future  but  by 
the  past.  And,  judging  by  the  past, 
he  wished  to  know  what  there  had 
been  in  the  conduct  of  the  British  min 
istry  for  the  last  ten  years,  to  justify 
those  hopes  with  which  these  gentle 
men  had  been  pleased  to  solace  them 
selves  and  the  House  ?  Is  it  that  in 
sidious  smile  with  which  our  petition 
has  been  lately  received  ?  Trust  it  not, 


sir ;  it  will  prove  a  snare  to  your  feet. 
Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  betrayed 
with  a  kiss.  Ask  yourselves  how  this 
gracious  reception  of  our  petition  com 
ports  with  those  warlike  preparations 
which  cover  our  waters  and  darken  our 
land.  Are  fleets  and  armies  necessary 
to  a  work  of  love  and  reconciliation  ? 
Have  we  shown  ourselves  so  unwilling 
to  be  reconciled,  that  force  must  be 
called  in  to  win  back  our  love  ?  Let 
us  not  deceive  ourselves,  sir :  what 
means  this  martial  array,  if  its  purpose 
be  not  to  force  us  to  submission  ?  Can 
the  gentlemen  assign  any  other  possible 
motive  for  it  ?  Has  Great  Britain  any 
enemy  in  this  quarter  of  the  world,  to 
call  for  this  accumulation  of  navies  and 
armies  ?  No,  sir,  she  has  none.  They 
are  meant  for  us  ;  they  can  be  meant 
for  no  other.  They  are  sent  over  to 
bind  and  rivet  upon  us  those  chains 
which  the  British  ministry  have  been 
so  long  forging.  And  what  have  we  to 
oppose  them.  ?  Shall  we  try  argument  ? 
Sir,  we  have  been  trying  that  for  the 
last  ten  years.  Have  we  any  thing  new 
to  offer  on  the  subject  ?  Nothing.  We 
have  held  the  subject  up  in  every  light 
of  which  it  is  capable  ;  but  it  has  been 
all  in  vain.  Shall  we  resort  to  entreaty 
and  humble  supplication  ?  What  terms 
shall  we  find,  which  have  not  been  al 
ready  exhausted.  Let  us  not,  I  beseech 
you,  sir,  deceive  ourselves  longer.  Sir, 
we  have  done  every  thing  that  could 
be  done,  to  avert  the  storm  which  is 
now  coming  on.  We  have  petitioned 
—we  have  remonstrated — we  have  sup- 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION. 


311 


plicated, — we  have  prostrated  ourselves 
before  the  throne,  and  have  implored 
its  interposition  to  arrest  the  tyrannical 
hands  of  the  ministry  and  parliament. 
Our  petitions  have  been  slighted ;  our 
remonstrances  have  produced  additional 
violence  and  insult ;  our  supplications 
have  been  disregarded ;  and  we  have 
been  spurned,  with  contempt,  from  the 
foot  of  the  throne.  In  vain,  after  these 
things,  may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope 
of  peace  and  reconciliation.  There  is 
no  longer  any  room  for  hope.  If  we 
wish  to  be  free, — if  we  mean  to  pre 
serve  inviolate  those  inestimable  privi 
leges  for  which  we  have  been  so  long 
contending, — if  we  mean  not  basely  to 
abandon  the  noble  strusrsrle  in  which  we 

oo 

have  been  so  long  engaged,  and  which 
we  have  pledged  ourselves  never  to 
abandon,  until  the  glorious  object  of 
our  contest  shall  be  obtained, — we  must 
fight !  I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight ! 
An  appeal  to  arms  and  to  the  God  of 
Hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us  ! 

"  They  tell  us,  sir,"  continued  Mr. 
Henry,  "  that  we  are  weak, — unable  to 
cope  with  so  formidable  an  adversary. 
But  when  shall  we  be  stronger.  Will 
it  be  the  next  week  or  the  next  year  ? 
Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally  dis 
armed,  and  when  a  British  guard  shall 
be  stationed  in  every  house  ?  Shall  we 
gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  in 
action  ?  Shall  we  acquire  the  means  of 
effectual  resistance  by  lying  supinely  on 
our  backs,  and  huc^in^  the  delusive 

/  oo      o 

phantom  of  hope,  until  our  enemies 
shall  have  bound  us  hand  and  foot  ? 


Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a 
proper  use  of  those  means  which  the 
God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  cm- 
power.  Three  millions  of  people  armed 
in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  a 
country  such  as  we  possess,  are  invin 
cible  by  any  force  which  our  enemy 
can  send  against  us.  Besides,  sir,  we 
shall  not  fight  our  battles  alone.  There 
is  a  just  God  who  presides  over  the  des 
tinies  of  nations,  and  who  will  raise  up 
friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.  The 
battle,  sir,  is  not  to  the  strong  alone ; 
it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the 
brave.  Besides,  sir,  we  have  no  elec 
tion.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire 

O 

it,  it  is  now  too  late  to  retire  from  the 
contest.  There  is  no  retreat  but  in  sub 
mission  and  slavery  !  Our  chains  are 
forged.  Their  clanking  may  be  heard 
on  the  plains  of  Boston  !  The  war  is 
inevitable, — and  let  it  come  !  I  repeat 
it,  sir,  let  it  come  ! 

"  It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the 
matter.  Gentlemen  may  cry,  peace, 
peace, — but  there  is  no  peace.  The 
war  is  actually  begun.  The  next  gale 
that  sweeps  from  the  north  will  bring 
to  our  ears  the  clash  of  resounding 
arms  !  *  Our  brethren  are  already  in 
the  field  !  Why  stand  we  here  idle  ? 
What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish  ?  What 
would  they  have  ?  Is  life  so  dear,  or 
peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at 
the  price  of  chains  and  slavery  ?  For 
bid  it,  Almighty  God  ! — I  know  not 
what  course  others  may  take ;  but  as 

°  This  speech  was  delivered  a  few  days  before  the  bat 
tle  of  Lexington. 


312 


LIFE  AKD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  HI. 


for  me,"  cried  lie,  with,  both  his  arms 
extended  aloft,  his  brows  knit,  every 
feature  marked  with  the  resolute  pur 
pose  of  his  soul,  and  his  voice  swelled 
to  its  boldest  note  of  exclamation, — 
"  give  me  liberty — or  give  me  death  ! " 

lie  took  his  seat.  No  murmur  of  ap 
plause  was  heard.  The  effect  was  too 
deep.  After  the  trance  of  a  moment, 
several  members  started  from  their 
seats.  The  cry  "  to  arms  ! "  seemed  to 
quiver  on  every  lip,  and  gleam  from 
every  eye  !  Richard  H.  Lee  arose  and 
supported  Mr.  Henry,  with  his  usual 
spirit  and  elegance.  But  his  melody 
was  lost  amid  the  agitations  of  that 
oceau,  which  the  master-spirit  of  the 
storm  had  raised  up  on  high.  That 
supernatural  voice  still  sounded  in  their 
ears,  and  shivered  along  their  arteries. 
They  heard,  in  every  pause,  the  cry  of 
liberty  or  death.  They  became  impa 
tient  of  speech, — their  souls  were  on 
fire  for  action. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted ;  and 
Patrick  Henry,  Richard  II.  Lee,  Robert 
C.Nicholas,  Benjamin  Harrison,  Lemuel 
Riddick,  George  Washington,  Adam 
Stevens,  Andrew  Lewis,  William  Chris 
tian,  Edmund  Pendleton,  Thomas  Jef 
ferson,  and  Isaac  Lane,  esquires,  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  the 
plan  called  for  by  the  last  resolution. 

The  plan  for  embodying,  arming,  and 
disciplining  the  militia,  proposed  by  the 
committee  which  has  just  been  men 
tioned,  was  received  and  adopted. 

The  convention  having  adopted  a 
plan  for  the  encouragement  of  arts  and 


manufactures  in  the  colony  of  Virginia 
and  reappointed  their  former  deputies 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  with  the 
substitution  of  Mr.  Jefferson  for  Mr. 
Peyton  Randolph,  in  case  of  the  non- 
attendance  of  the  latter,  and  having 
also  provided  for  a  re-election  of  dele 
gates  to  the  next  convention,  came  to 
an  adjournment.* 

How  entirely  Washington  concurred 
in  the  views  of  Patrick  Henryf  on  this 
momentous  occasion,  is  clearly  apparent 
by  the  activity  with  which  he,  at  once, 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  resolutions 
for  placing  the  militia  on  a  respectable 
footing  with  regard  to  discipline  and 
efficiency.  He  was  one  of  the  commit 
tee  for  drafting  and  reporting  the  plan 
for  putting  the  resolutions  in  execution. 
Before  the  convention  rose,  he  wrote  as 
follows  to  his  brother  John  Augustine 
Washington : 

"  I  had  like  to  have  forgotten  to  ex 
press  my  entire  approbation  of  the  laud 
able  pursuit  you  are  engaged  in,  of  train 
ing  an  independent  company.  I  have 
promised  to  review  the  independent 
company  of  Richmond  some  time  this 
summer,  they  having  made  me  a  tender 
of  the  command  of  it.  At  the  same 
time  I  could  review  yours,  and  shall 
very  cheerfully  accept  the  honor  of  com 
manding  it,  if  occasion  require  it  to  be 
drawn  out,  as  it  is  my  full  intention  to 
devote  my  life  and  fortune  in  the  cause 
we  are  engaged  in,  if  needful." 

This  last  expression  of  Washington 

0  Wirt,  Life  of  Patrick  Henry. 

f  See  Document  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  A  MEMBER  OF  CONVENTION". 


313 


shows,  that  after  considering  the  whole 
subject  with  his  usual  calm  deliberation, 
he  had  come  to  the  same  conclusion 
with  Hemy,  that  the  war  was  inevit 
able,  and  that  he  had  adopted  the 
firm  determination  to  devote  himself 
with  all  his  energies  to  its  prosecution 
whenever  the  time  for  action  should 
arrive. 

On  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  convention,  he 
took  an  active  part  in  the  military  pre 
parations,  which  had  been  enjoined  on 
the  people  by  that  body.  The  system 
of  independent  militia  companies  was 
no  novelty  in  Virginia.  The  people  of 
that  colony  had  long  been  accustomed 
to  associate  in  such  companies  for  the 
purpose  of  military  discipline.  They 
chose  their  own  officers,  provided  thern- 

VOL,  T.—  40 


selves  with  uniforms,  arms,  and  colors, 
and  were  governed  by  the  militia  laws. 
Dunmore,  at  that  time  governor  of  Vir 
ginia,  had  encouraged  this  system,  hav 
ing  occasion  for  the  services  of  the  inde 
pendent  companies  in  an  Indian  war 
which  had  broken  out  on  the  Western 
border. 

Washington,  confessedly  the  most  dis 
tinguished  military  officer  in  the  colony, 
forthwith  interested  himself  in  the  work 
of  disciplining  the  militia,  attending  re 
views,  giving  advice  and  direction,  and 
infusing  his  own  spirit  of  activity  and 
order  into  their  proceedings.  Indeed, 
he  was  generally  regarded  as  the  person 
destined  to  lead  the  forces  of  that  col 
ony,  in  case  of  hostilities,  as  he  had  done 
in  the  last  war.  But  he  was  reserved 
for  a  higher  destiny. 


PATRICK  HENRY. 

IT  will  have  been  observed  by  the  reader,  that 
among  the  early  advocates  of  American  rights 
in  the  Revolutionary  contest,  none  was  more  ac 
tive  and  efficient  than  the  celebrated  orator, 
Patrick  Henry.  This  truly  great  man  was  born 
at  Studley,  in  the  county  of  Hanover,  and  State 
of  Virginia,  on  the  29th  May,  1736.  He  de 
scended  from  respectable  Scotch  ancestry,  in  the 
paternal  line;  and  his  mother  was  a  native  of 
the  county  in  which  he  was  born.  On  the  ma 
ternal  side,  at  least,  he  seems  to  have  descended 
from  a  rhetorical  race. 

In  childhood  and  youth,  Patrick  Henry,  whose 
name  renders  titles  superfluous,  gave  no  presages 
of  his  future  greatness.  He  learned  to  read  and 
write  reluctantly ;  made  some  small  progress  in 
arithmetic ;  acquired  a  superficial  knowledge  of 
the  Latin  language;  and  made  a  considerable 
proficiency  in  mathematics,  the  only  branch  of 
education  for  which  he  discovered,  in  his  youth, 
the  slightest  predilection. 

His  propensity  to  observe  and  comment  upon 
the  human  character,  was  the  only  circumstance 
which  distinguished  him,  advantageously,  from 
his  youthful  companions. 

From  what  has  been  already  stated,  it  will  be 
seen  how  little  education  had  to  do  with  the 
formation  of  this  great  man's  mind.  He  was, 
indeed,  a  mere  child  of  nature,  and  nature  seems 
to  have  been  too  proud  and  too  jealous  of  her 
work,  to  permit  it  to  be  touched  by  the  hand  of 
art.  She  gave  him  Shakspeare's  genius,  and 
bade  him,  like  Shakspeare,  to  depend  on  that 
alone. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  young  Henry  was 
placed  behind  the  counter  of  a  merchant  in  the 
country ,  and  at  sixteen  his  father  set  him  up  in 


trade  in  partnership  with  his  brother  "William. 
Through  want  of  energy,  the  love  of  music,  the 
charms  of  the  chase,  and  a  readiness  to  trust 
every  one,  the  firm  was  soon  reduced  to  bank 
ruptcy.  The  only  advantage  which  resulted 
from  his  short  continuance  in  mercantile  busi 
ness,  was  an  opportunity  to  study  human  char 
acter. 

At  eighteen,  Mr.  Henry  married  the  daughter 
of  an  honest  farmer,  and  undertook  to  cultivate 
a  few  acres  for  himself.  His  only  delights,  at 
this  time,  were  those  which  flow  from  the  en 
dearing  relations  of  conjugal  life.  His  want  of 
agricultural  skill,  and  his  unconqiierable  aversion 
to  every  species  of  systematic  labor,  terminated 
his  career  as  a  planter  in  the  short  space  of  two 
years.  Again  he  had  recourse  to  merchandise, 
and  again  failed  in  business.  Every  atom  of  his 
property  was  now  gone ;  his  friends  were  un 
able  to  assist  him  any  further ;  he  had  tried 
every  means  of  support  of  which  he  thought 
himself  capable,  and  every  one  had  failed ;  ruin 
was  behind  him ;  poverty,  debt,  want,  and  fam 
ine  before ;  and  as  if  his  cup  of  misery  were  not 
already  full  enough,  here  was  a  suffering  wife 
and  children  to  make  it  overflow.  Still  he  had 
a  cheerful  temper,  and  his  passion  was  music, 
dancing,  and  pleasantry.  About  this  time  he 
became  fond  of  geography  and  historical  works 
generally.  Livy  was  his  favorite ;  and,  in  some 
measure,  awakened  the  dormant  powers  of  his 
genius.  As  a  last  effort,  he  determined,  of  his 
own  accord,  to  make  a  trial  of  the  law.  He, 
however,  disliked  the  professional  business  of  an 
attorney  at  law,  and  he  seems  to  have  hoped  for 
nothing  more  from  the  profession  than  a  scanty 
subsistence  for  himself  and  his  family,  and  his 
preparation  was  suited  to  these  humble  expecta 
tions  ;  for,  to  the  study  of  a  profession,  which  is 


CHAP.  XL] 


DOCUMENT. 


815 


said  to  require  the  lucubrations  of  twenty  years, 
Mr.  Henry  devoted  not  more  than  six  weeks. 
On  examination  he  was  licensed,  rather  through 
courtesy,  and  some  expectation  that  he  would 
study,  than  from  any  conviction  which  his  ex 
aminers  had  of  his  present  competence.  At  the 
age  of  four-and-twenty  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  for  three  years  occupied  the  back 
ground,  during  which  period  the  Avants  and  dis 
tresses  of  his  family  were  extreme ;  and  he  per 
formed  the  duty  of  an  assistant  to  his  father-in- 
law  in  a  tavern. 

In  1764,  he  pursued  his  favorite  amusement 
of  hunting  with  extreme  ardor ;  and  has  been 
known  to  hunt  deer  frequently  for  several  days 
together,  carrying  his  provisions  with  him,  and 
at  night  encamping  in  the  woods. 

After  the  hunt  was  over,  he  would  go  from 
the  ground  to  Louisa  Court,  clad  in  a  coarse 
cloth  coat,  stained  with  all  the  trophies  of  the 
chase,  greasy  leather  breeches  ornamented  in  the 
same  way,  leggings  for  boots,  and  a  pair  of 
saddle-bags  on  his  arm.  Thus  accoutred  he 
would  enter  the  court-house,  take  up  the  first  of 
his  causes  that  chanced  to  be  called  ;  and  if 
there  was  any  scope  for  his  peculiar  talent,  throw 
his  adversary  into  the  background,  and  astonish 
both  court  and  jury  by  the  powerful  effusions 
of  his  natural  eloquence. 

In  the  same  year  he  Avas  introduced  to  the 
gay  and  fashionable  circle  at  Wllliamsburg,  then 
the  seat  of  government  for  the  State,  that  he 
might  be  counsel  in  the  case  of  a  contested  elec 
tion  ;  but  he  made  no  preparation  for  pleading, 
and,  as  we  might  naturally  suppose,  none  for 
appearing  in  a  suitable  costume.  He  moved 
awkwardly  about  in  his  threadbare  and  coarse 
dress ;  and  while  some  thought  him  a  prodigy, 
others  concluded  him  to  be  an  idiot :  neverthe 
less,  before  the  committee  of  elections,  he  de 
livered  an  argument  which  Judge  Tyler,  Judge 
Winston,  and  others,  pronounced  the  best  they 
had  ever  heard.  In  the  same  year,  it  is  asserted 
on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  Mr. 
Henry  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  ball  of  the 
Revolution.  He  originated  the  spirit  of  the 
Revolution  in  Virginia,  unquestionably ;  and 
possessed  a  dauntless  soul,  exactly  suited  to  the 
important  work  he  was  destined  to  perform. 


In  the  year  1765,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  of  Virginia.  He  introduced  his  cele 
brated  resolutions  against  the  stamp-act,  which 
breathed  a  spirit  of  liberty,  and  which  had  a 
tendency  to  rouse  the  people  of  that  common 
wealth  in  favor  of  our  glorious  Revolution. 

He  was  elected,  in  1774,  one  of  the  deputies 
from  Virginia  to  the  first  Congress,  and  was  in 
this  year  one  of  the  committee  which  drew  up 
the  petition  to  the  king.  In  May,  1775,  after 
Lord  Dunmore  had  conveyed  on  board  a  ship  a 
part  of  the  powder  from  the  magazine  of  Wil- 
liamsburg,  Mr.  Henry  distinguished  himself  by 
assembling  the  independent  companies  of  Han 
over  and  King  William  counties,  and  directing 
them  towards  Williamsburg,  with  the  avowed 
design  of  obtaining  payment  for  the  powder,  or 
of  compelling  to  its  restitution.  The  object  was 
effected,  for  the  king's  receiver-general  gave  a 
bill  for  the  value  of  the  property.  The  gov 
ernor  immediately  fortified  his  palace,  and  is 
sued  a  proclamation,  charging  those  who  had 
procured  the  bill  with  rebellious  practices.  This 
only  occasioned  a  number  of  county  meetings, 
which  applauded  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Henry,  and 
expressed  a  determination  to  protect  him.  In 
August,  1775,  when  a  new  choice  of  deputies  to 
Congress  was  made,  he  was  not  re-elected,  for 
his  services  were  now  demanded  more  exclu 
sively  in  his  own  State.  After  the  departure  of 
Lord  Dunmore,  he  was  chosen  the  first  gov 
ernor  in  June,  1776,  and  he  held  this  office  sev 
eral  succeeding  years,  bending  all  his  exertions 
to  promote  the  freedom  and  independence  of 
his  country.  In  the  beginning  of  1778,  an 
anonymous  letter  was  addressed  to  him  with  a 
design  of  alienating  his  affections  from  the  com- 

o  o 

mandcr-in-chief.  He  inclosed  it  to  Washington, 
both  to  evince  his  friendship  and  to  put  him  on 
his  guard.  In  another  letter,  written  a  few  days 
afterwards,  when  he  had  heard  of  a  plan  to  effect 
the  removal  of  Washington,  he  says  to  him  : 
"  While  you  face  the  armed  enemies  of  our  lib 
erty  in  the  field,  and,  by  the  favor  of  God,  have 
been  kept  unhurt,  I  trust  your  country  will 
never  harbor  in  her  bosom  the  miscreant  who 
would  ruin  her  best  supporter ;  but  when  arts 
unworthy  honest  men  are  used  to  defame  and 
traduce  you,  I  think  it  not  amiss,  but  a  duty,  to 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


assure  you  of  that  estimation  in  which  the  pub 
lic  hold  you." 

In  June,  1788,  he  was  a  member,  with  other 
illustrious  citizens  of  Virginia,  of  the  convention 
which  was  appointed  to  consider  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States ;  and  he  exerted  all 
the  force  of  his  masterly  eloquence,  day  after 
day,  to  prevent  its  adoption.  He  contended 
that  changes  were  dangerous  to  liberty;  that 
the  old  confederation  had  carried  us  through 
the  war,  and  secured  our  independence,  and 
needed  only  amendment ;  that  the  proposed 
government  was  a  consolidated  government,  in 
which  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  would  be 
lost,  and  all  pretensions  to  rights  and  privileges 
would  be  rendered  insecure  ;  that  the  want  of  a 
bill  of  rights  was  an  essential  defect ;  that  gen 
eral  warrants  should  have  been  prohibited  ;  and 
that  to  adopt  the  constitution  with  a  view  to 
subsequent  amendments,  was  only  submitting 
to  tyranny  in  the  hope  of  being  liberated  from 
it  at  some  future  time.  He  therefore  offered  a 
resolution  containing  a  bill  of  rights  and  amend 
ments  for  the  greater  security  of  liberty  and 
property,  to  be  referred  to  the  other  States  be 
fore  the  ratification  of  the  proposed  fbrni  of 
government.  His  resolution,  however,  was  not 
accepted.  The  arguments  of  Pcndleton,  Ran 
dolph,  Madison,  and  Marshall  prevailed  against 
the  eloquence  of  Henry,  and  the  constitution 
was  adopted,  though  by  a  small  majority.  Mr. 
Henry's  bill  of  rights  and  his  amendments  were 
then  accepted,  and  directed  to  be  transmitted 
to  the  several  States.  Some  of  these  amend 
ments  have  been  engrafted  into  the  federal  con 
stitution  ;  on  which  account,  as  well  as  on  ac 
count  of  the  lessons  of  experience,  Mr.  Henry, 
in  a  few  years,  lost  in  a  degree  his  repugnance 
to  it. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Randolph  in 
August,  1795,  he  was  nominated  by  President 
Washington  as  secretary  of  state,  but  consider 
ations  of  a  priv  ite  nature  induced  him  to  decline 


the  honorable  trust.  In  November,  1796,  he 
was  again  elected  governor  of  Virginia,  and  this 
office  also  he  immediately  resigned. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1799,  he  was  ap 
pointed  by  President  Adams  as  an  envoy  to 
France  with  Messrs.  Ellsworth  and  Murray. 
His  letter  in  reply  to  the  secretfrty  of  state  is 
dated  in  Charlotte  county,  April  the  16th,  and 
in  it  he  speaks  of  a  severe  indisposition,  to 
which  he  was  then  subject,  and  of  his  ad 
vanced  age  and  increasing  debility,  and  adds : 
"  Nothing  short  of  absolute  necessity  could  in 
duce  me  to  withhold  my  little  aid  from  an  ad 
ministration,  whose  abilities,  patriotism,  and 
virtue  deserve  the  gratitude  and  reverence  of 
all  their  fellow-citizens."  Governor  Davie,  of 
North  Carolina,  was  in  consequence  appointed 
in  his  place.  He  lived  but  a  short  time  after 
this  testimony  of  the  respect  in  which  his  talents 
and  patriotism  were  held,  for  he  died  at  Red 
Hill,  in  Charlotte  county,  June  6,  1799. 

Mr.  Henry  was  a  man  of  eminent  talents,  of 
ardent  attachment  to  liberty,  and  of  most  com 
manding  eloquence.  The  Virginians  boast  of 
him  as  an  orator  of  nature.  His  general  ap 
pearance  and  manners  were  those  of  a  plain 
farmer.  In  this  charactei1,  he  always  entered 
on  the  exordium  of  an  oration.  His  unassum 
ing  looks  and  expression  of  humility  induced  his 
hearers  to  listen  to  him  with  the  same  easy 
openness  with  which  they  would  converse  with 
an  honest  neighbor.  After  he  had  thus  dis 
armed  prejudice  and  pride,  and  opened  a  way 
to  the  heart,  the  inspiration  of  his  eloquence, 
when  little  expected,  would  invest  him.  with  the 
authority  of  a  prophet.  With  a  mind  of  great 
powers  and  a  heart  of  keen  sensibility,  he  would 
sometimes  rise  in  the  majesty  of  his  genius,  and, 
while  he  filled  the  audience  with  admiration, 
would,  with  almost  irresistible  influence,  bear 
along  the  passions  of  others  with  him. 

In  private  life,  he  was  as  amiable  and  virtuous 
as  he  was  conspicuous  in  his  f  iblic  career. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1775. 

PARTISAN     WARFARE. 

Position  of  affairs  in  the  colonies. — General  Ward  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  before  Boston. — The  Massachu 
setts  Congress  resolves  to  raise  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  to  besiege  Boston. — Putnam  and  Arnold  arrive 
in  the  camp. — State  of  the  army. — Effect  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  in  New  York. — In  New  Jersey. — In  Mary 
land. — In  Virginia. — Lord  Dunmore  seizes  and  carries  off  the  gunpowder  in  the  arsenal. — Patrick  Henry  turns 
out  with  his  volunteers  and  compels  restitution. — Dunmwe's  proclamation. — He  convenes  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses. — Affair  of  the  magazine.— Dunmore  takes  refuge  in  a  British  man-of-war. — Rising  of  the  Assembly. — 
Meeting  of  the  Convention.— Dunmore  attacks  Hampton. — Is  repulsed. — Proclaims  martial  law! — Affair  of  Nor 
folk  bridge.— Death  of  Colonel  Fordyce. — Defeat  of  the  British. — Flight  of  Dunmore. — Destruction  of  Norfolk. 
— Dunmore  conspires  with  Connelly  to  invade  Virginia. — The  plot  discovered. — Dunmore  leaves  Virginia  and 
joins  General  Howe. — Ethan  Allen  and  Benedict  Arnold  surprise  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. — They  attempt 
to  capture  St.  Johns,  on  the  Sorel,  and  fail. — Importance  of  the  captures  made  by  them,  and  of  the  way  opened 
by  Lake  Champlain  to  Canada. 


IT  must  be  confessed  that  at  the  pe 
riod  at  which  we  have  now  arrived,  the 
state  of  affairs  in  the  colonies  was  any 
thing  but  cheering.  A  few  colonies, 
scattered  along  the  whole  Atlantic 
coast,  had  provoked  the  resentment  of 
one  of  the  most  powerful  nations  in  the 
world ;  and  they  were  now  about  to 
experience  the  full  effects  of  that  re 
sentment. 

But,  unpromising  as  their  prospects 
were,  the  people  determined  not  to  be 
wanting  to  themselves,  and  took  their 
measures  with  promptitude  and  vigor. 
Intelligence  of  the  events  of  the  19th  of 
April  spread  rapidly  over  the  country  ; 
and  the  militia,  from  every  quarter, 
hastened  towards  Boston.  On  the 
20th,  the  Provincial  Congress  chose 


General  Artemas  Ward  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  forces  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  and  soon  afterwards  named  John 
Thomas  lieutenant-general.  Both  of 
those  officers  had  seen  some  service 
during  the  preceding  war. 

The  Provincial  Congress,  having  ad 
journed  from  Concord  to  Watertown, 
resolved  that  an  army  of  thirty  thou 
sand  men  be  immediately  raised,  and 
wrote  to  the  colonies  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut, 
informing  them  of  the  events  of  the 

O 

19th,  and  earnestly  requesting  them  to 
send  forward  as  many  troops  as  they 
could  spare,  with  provisions,  arms,  and 
military  stores.  General  Israel  Put 
nam,  then  sixty  years  of  age,  left  his 
plough  in  the  field,  and,  with  the  Con- 


318 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


necticut  militia,  hastened  to  join  his 
countrymen  in  arms  ;  and  Captain  Ben 
edict  Arnold,  of  New  Haven,  after 
wards  of  so  much  notoriety,  was  soon 
in  camp  with  his  company.  The  pro 
vincial  head-quarters  were  at  Cam 
bridge. 

A  large  body  of  men  was  soon  col 
lected  before  Boston  ;  but  they  were  in 
great  want  of  every  thing  necessary  for 
the  equipment  of  an  army.  They  had 
muskets,  many  of  them  old  and  rusty ; 
but  were  ill-provided  with  bayonets. 
They  had  a  few  pieces  of  artillery  and 
a  few  mortars,  with  some  balls  and 
shells ;  but  had  only  forty-one  barrels 
of  gunpowder  in  the  public  store. 

The  battle  of  Lexington  operated 
like  an  electrical  shock  throughout  the 
provinces.  On  hearing  of  that  event, 
even  in  New  York,  where  the  friends 
of  the  ministry  were  more  numerous 
than  in  any  other  place,  the  people  laid 
aside  their  indecision,  and  espoused  the 
cause  of  their  countrymen.  They  shut 
up  the  custom-house,  and  stopped  all 
vessels  preparing  to  sail  to  Quebec, 
Newfoundland,  Georgia,*  or  Boston. 
They  also  addressed  a  letter  to  the  lord 
mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  council 
of  the  city  of  London,  in  which  they 
declared  that  all  the  horrors  of  civil 
war  would  not  compel  the  Americans 
to  submit  to  taxation  by  authority  of 
the  British  parliament ;  and  expressed 
a  confident  hope  that  the  citizens  of 

°  Georgia,  at  that  time,  had  not  yet  joined  the  united 
colonies  by  sending  delegates  to  the  Continental  Con 
gress. 


London  would  exert  themselves  to  re 
store  union  and  peace  to  the  empire. 

The  colonists  of  New  Jersey  took 
possession  of  the  treasury  of  the  prov 
ince,  containing  about  twenty  thousand 
pounds,  to  employ  it  in  their  own  de 
fence.  The  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia 
followed  the  example  of  New  York,  and 
prevented  the  sailing  of  vessels  to  any 
port  on  the  continent  that  acknowl 
edged  the  aufhority  or  was  subject  to 
the  power  of  Britain. 

In  the  space  of  six  days,  intelligence 
of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached  Bal 
timore  in  Maryland.  The  people  in 
stantly  seized  the  provincial  magazine, 
containing  about  fifteen  hundred  stand 
of  arms,  and  stopped  all  exports  to  the 
fishing  islands,  to  such  of  the  colonies 
as  had  declined  to  join  the  confederacy, 
and  to  the  British  army  and  navy  at 
Boston. 

In  Virginia  a  Provincial  Congress 
had  met,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
month  of  March,  which  took  measures 
for  training  the  militia,  and  recom 
mended  to  each  county  to  raise  a  vol 
unteer  company  for  the  better  defence 
of  the  country.  At  Williamsburg,  the 
capital  of  the  colony,  there  was  a  small 
provincial  magazine,  containing  upwards 
of  one  thousand  pounds  of  gunpowder. 
On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  April, 
Lord  Dunmore,  the  governor, 
employed  Henry  Collins,  the 
captain  of  an  armed  vessel,  to  convey 
the  greater  part  of  that  powder  on 
board  his  ship.  Having  got  notice  of 
the  transaction,  the  citizens  took  the 


1TT5. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


PARTISAN  WARFARE. 


319 


alarm,  and  the  mayor  and  corporation 
addressed  his  lordship  on  the  subject. 
He  answered,  that  he  had  removed  the 
powder  to  a  place  of  security ;  and  as 
sured  them  that,  if  it  should  be  needed 
in  order  to  suppress  an  insurrection,  he 
would  restore  it  in  half  an  hour. 

On  this  occasion,  Patrick  Henry 
showed  himself  as  prompt  to  act  as  he 
was  earnest  in  exhorting  others  to  ac 
tion.  He,  as  well  as  Washington,  had 
taken  part  in  training  the  militia,  and 
had  accepted  the  command  of  a  com 
pany. 

When  news  of  Lord  Dunmore's  ag 
gressive  proceeding  reached  Hanover 
county,  Henry,  at  the  head  of  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  volunteers, 
marched  towards  Williamsburg  to  de 
mand  restitution  of  the  powder,  and  to 
protect  the  public  treasury  against  a 
similar  depredation.  When  within 
about  fifteen  miles  of  the  capital,  he  was 
assured  that  the  receiver-general  would 
pay  for  the  powder,  and  that  the  citi 
zens  would  guard  the  public  treasury 
and  magazine.  The  party  then  dis 
persed. 

Lord  Dunmore,  greatly  alarmed  by 
Henry's  march,  converted  his  palace 
into  a  garrison,  and  issued  a  proclama 
tion,  charging  the  people  with  the  de 
sign  of  altering  the  established  constitu 
tion.  This  was  a  new  cause  of  exaspera 
tion;  and  the  people,  in  their  county 
meetings,  not  only  approved  of  Mr. 
Henry's  proceedings,  but  retorted  upon 
the  governor,  attributing  all  the  dis 
turbances  to  his  misconduct,  and  declar 


ing  that  they  only  vindicated  their 
rights,  and  opposed  innovation.  While 
the  public  mind  was  in  this  feverish 
state,  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Lex 
ington  arrived  in  Virginia.  It  greatly 
increased  the  apprehensions  and  irrita 
tion  of  the  people,  and  made  them  far 
more  active  in  arming  and  training  the 
militia  and  volunteer  companies  than 
they  had  formerly  been.  In  Virginia, 
as  well  as  in  the  other  colonies,  many 
were  much  alarmed ;  but  the  apprehen 
sions  of  impending  danger  were  over 
powered  by  feelings  of  indignation. 

In  this  critical  posture  of  affairs,  Lord 
Dunmore  convened  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses.*  His  intention  was  to  procure 
their  approbation  of  Lord  North's  con 
ciliatory  plan ;  and  in  his  speech  at  the 
opening  of  the  session,  he  employed  all 
his  address  to  gain  his  end.  But,  in 
stead  of  complying  with  his  recommen 
dations,  the  House  immediately  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the 
causes  of  the  late  disturbances,  and  to 
examine  the  state  of  the  public  maga 
zine.  For  the  defence  of  the  magazine 
Lord  Dunmore  had  ordered  spring-guns 
to  be  placed  in  it,  without  giving  any 
public  warning  of  the  measure.  Some 
inconsiderate  young  men,  unapprised  of 
their  danger,  attempted  to  furnish  them 
selves  with  arms  out  of  it ;  and  one  of 
them  was  wounded.  This  circumstance 
occasioned  a  violent  ferment.  A  multi- 


0  Washington  being  at  this  time  engaged  in  his  duties 
at  the  second  session  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in 
Philadelphia,  was  not  present  at  this  meeting  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses. 


320 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  HI. 


tilde  of  people  assembled,  broke  into  the 
magazine,  and  took  out  many  of  the 
arms ;  but  some  members  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  having  repaired  to  the 
spot,  by  their  remonstrances  prevailed 
on  the  people  to  restore  them. 

On  the  Yth  of  June,  a  report  was 
spread  about  Williarnsburg,  that  Cap 
tain  Collins,  of  his  majesty's  ship  Mag 
dalen,  was  coming  up  the  river  with 
about  one  hundred  men  in  several  boats 
to  take  possession  of  the  town.  A 
number  of  armed  persons  instantly  as 
sembled  to  defend  the  place  and  its  in 
habitants  ;  but  on  learning  that  there 
was  no  occasion  for  their  services,  they 
quietly  dispersed.  The  circumstance, 
however,  made  such  a  deep  impres 
sion  on  the  governor's  mind,  that,  with 
his  lady  and  family,  he  quitted  Wil 
liamsburg  and  proceeded  to  Yorktown, 
and  went  on  board  the  Fowey  man-of- 
war. 

A  correspondence,  in  some  instances 
not  a  little  acrimonious,  now  took  place 
between  his  lordship  and  the  council 
and  burgesses.  He  accused :  they  re 
criminated.  They  rejected  Lord  North's 
conciliatory  plan ;  but  passed  the  neces 
sary  bills,  and  entreated  the  governor's 
attendance  to  give  his  assent  to  them, 
and  to  close  the  session.  His  lordship 
declined  meeting  them  in  the  capital, 
and  they  did  not  choose  to  wait  upon 
him  on  board  a  man-of-war.  The  cor 
respondence  terminated  about  the  mid 
dle  of  July,  when  the  Burgesses  were 
obliged  to  separate,  in  order  to  attend 
to  their  private  affairs;  but  they  ap- 


1TT5. 


pointed  a  convention  of  delegates  to 
meet  and  supply  their  place. 

We  must  now  advance  a  little  beyond 
the  general  march  of  events,  in  order  to 
make  a  final  disposition  of  the  adminis 
tration  of  Lord  Dunmore  in  Virginia. 

o 

111  August  the  convention  met,  and 
showed  itself  animated  by  the 
common  spirit  of  the  country. 
About  the  middle  of  the  month,  a  pe 
tition  from  a  number  of  merchants  and 
others,  chiefly  natives  of  Scotland,  pray 
ing  that  they  might  not  be  obliged  to 
bear  arms  against  their  countrymen,  and 
promising  a  strict  neutrality  in  case  the 
province  should  be  invaded  by  British 
troops,  was  presented  to  the  conven 
tion.  That  assembly  recommended  to 
the  committees,  and  to  the  colony  in 
general,  to  treat  with  lenity  and  kind 
ness  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
who  did  not  show  themselves  enemies 
of  the  American  cause,  and  to  cherish 
union  and  harmony  among  all  ranks  of 
people.  But  many  of  those  petitioners 
having,  contrary  to  their  plighted  faith, 
manifested  a  decided  preference  to  the 
royal  cause,  the  recommendation  in  their 
favor  was  soon  revoked.  Before  dis 
solving  itself,  the  convention  issued  a 
declaration  setting  forth  the  reasons  of 
its  meeting,  and  showing  the  necessity 
of  immediately  putting  the  country  in 
a  posture  of  defence. 

Having  been  joined  by  a  number  of 
loyal  colonists  and  fugitive  slaves,  Lord 
Dunmore  very  imprudently  began  a 
system  of  predatory  warfare.  By  mu 
tual  insults  and  injuries,  the  minds  of 


CHAP.  XII.] 


PARTISAN  WARFARE. 


321 


both  parties  became  much  exasperated. 
At  length  the  governor  attempted  to 
burn  the  town  of  Hampton ;  but,  on  the 
morning  of  the  27th  of  October,  just  as 
he  began  a  furious  cannonade  upon  it, 
a  body  of  riflemen  from  Williamsburg, 
who  had  marched  all  night,  entered  the 
place,  and  being  joined  by  some  of  their 
countrymen,  took  such  an  advantageous 
position,  that,  with  their  small-arms, 
they  compelled  his  lordship  to  retreat, 
with  the  loss  of  some  of  his  men  and 
one  of  his  vessels. 

Infuriated  by  this  repulse,  Lord  Dun- 
more  had  recourse  to  a  measure  more 
expressive  of  his  exasperated  feelings 
than  of  loyal  zeal  or  patriotic  wisdom. 
He  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  the 
province  under  martial  law ;  requiring 
all  persons  capable  of  bearing  arms  to 
repair  to  the  royal  standard,  under  the 
penalty  of  being  considered  traitors  if 
they  disobeyed,  and  promising  freedom 
to  all  indented  servants,  negroes,  and 
others  belonging  to  rebels,  on  their  join 
ing  his  majesty's  troops. 

In  consequence  of  this  proclamation, 
his  lordship  soon  found  himself  at  the 
head  of  some  hundreds  of  fugitive  ne 
groes  and  others  at  Norfolk;  but  the 
proclamation  highly  incensed  the  great 
body  of  the  Virginians,  and  alienated 
the  minds  of  many  who  had  hitherto 
been  friendly  to  the  British  claims. 
Being  informed  that  a  number  of  armed 
colonists  was  rapidly  advancing  against 
him,  Lord  Dunmore  took  possession  of 
the  great  bridge  near  Norfolk ;  a  post 
of  much  importance  for  protecting  his 

VOL.  I.— 41 


1TT5. 


friends,  and  frustrating  the  designs  of 
his  enemies.  On  arriving  near  the 
bridge,  the  Virginians,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Woodford,  instead  of  attempt 
ing  to  force  a  passage,  fortified  them 
selves  at  a  short  distance  on  the  other 
side  of  Elizabeth  River ;  and  in  this  po 
sition  the  two  parties  faced  each  other 
for  several  days. 

The  impatient  impetuosity  of  Lord 
Dunmore's  temper  could  ill  brook  to  be 
thus  braved  by  the  colonists,  whom  he 
despised ;  and  he  determined  to  dislodge 
them.  Accordingly,  early  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  8th  of  December,  Captain 
Fordyce  of  the  fourteenth  regiment,  at 
the  head  of  a  royalist  detachment,  left 
Norfolk,  and  reached  the  bridge 
before  daybreak.  He  silently 
replaced  the  planks  of  the  bridge  which 
had  been  removed.  The  road  between 
the  bridge  and  the  American  breast 
work,  which  was  on  the  south  of  the 
river,  was  a  narrow  causeway,  through 
swampy  ground ;  and  on  the  right,  with 
in  musket-shot  of  the  causeway,  was  a 
thicket,  where  the  Americans  had  posted 
a  small  party.  At  daybreak,  Captain 
Fordyce,  at  the  head  of  his  detachment, 
with  fixed  bayonets,  passed  the  bridge, 
and  proceeded  rapidly  towards  the 
enemy.  But  the  Americans  were  not 
unprepared:  they,  however,  allowed  the 
troops  to  advance  a  good  way  without 
molestation ;  and  when  near  the  works, 
poured  upon  them  a  destructive  dis 
charge  of  musketry,  both  from  the  in- 
trenchnient  and  thicket  at  the  same 
time.  Undismayed  by  this  warm  re- 


322 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  III. 


ception,  Captain  Fordyce  steadily  ad 
vanced  ;  but,  on  the  second  fire,  lie  fell 
dead  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Amer 
ican  woi.sks.  His  party  instantly  re 
treated,  sixty-two  of  their  number  being 
killed  or  wounded,  while  the  Americans 
had  only  one  man  slightly  hurt. 

Next  night  Lord  Dunmore  quitted 
his  post,  and,  with  his  adherents,  sought 
refuge  on  board  the  shipping  in  the 
river.  The  Americans  took  possession 
of  the  town,  and  refused  to  supply  the 
ships  with  provisions.  Exasperated  by 
this  refusal,  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
1st  of  January,  1776,  Lord  Dunmore 
began  a  furious  cannonade  on  the  town, 
and  sent  parties  of  sailors  and  marines 
ashore,  who  set  fire  to  the  houses  nearest 
the  water.  The  flames  spread  rapidly 
among  the  wooden  buildings ;  a  great 
part  of  the  town  was  consumed ;  and 
the  Americans  themselves  afterwards 
destroyed  the  rest  of  it,  that  it  might 
afford  no  shelter  to  the  royal  troops. 
Thus  perished  Norfolk,  the  most  flour 
ishing  commercial  town  of  Virginia. 

While  these  operations  were  going 
on,  Lord  Dunmore  entertained  hopes  of 
subduing  the  colony  by  the  agency  of 
an  adventurer  named  John  Connelly,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania.  This  man,  hav 
ing  concerted  measures  with  his  lord 
ship,  and  having  received  encourage 
ment  from  General  Gage  also,  communi 
cated  with  such  militia  officers  as  he 
thought  most  likely  to  enter  into  his 
views,  promising  them,  in  the  name  of 
his  lordship,  ample  rewards.  He  en 
gaged  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio  to  act  in 


concert  with  him ;  and  he  was  to  be  as 
sisted  by  the  garrisons  of  Fort  Detroit, 
and  Fort  Gage  in  the  Illinois.  Having 
collected  a  force  on  the  western  fron 
tier,  he  was  to  penetrate  through  Vir 
ginia,  and  meet  his  lordship  at  Alexan 
dria,  on  the  Potomac,  in  April.  But, 
about  ten  days  after  taking  leave  of 
Lord  Dunmore,  Connelly  was  appre 
hended  ;  his  papers  were  seized ;  the 
plot  was  fully  discovered,  and  entirely 
frustrated.  Lord  Dunmore,  finding  all 
his  efforts  ineffectual,  and  being  unable 
to  remain  any  longer  on  the  coast,  sailed 
with  the  force  under  his  command  to 
join  General  Howe. 

AVe  now  return  to  the  seat  of  active 
operations  in  the  northern  colonies. 
The  battle  of  Lexington  had  given  a 
powerful  impulse  to  the  prosecution  of 
hostilities  against  the  British  forces 
wherever  they  might  be  found,  and  the 
forts,  magazines,  and  arsenals  were 
speedily  seized  upon  by  the  people  in 
all  directions.  One  of  the  most  import 
ant  of  these  enterprises,  undertaken  by 
volunteers,  was  that  by  which  the  cap 
ture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point 
was  effected.  The  idea  of  seizing  upon 
these  fortresses,  which  were  full  of  mu 
nitions  of  war,  and.  very  feebly  gar 
risoned,  had  been  conceived  by  two  re 
markable  men  at  about  the  same  time. 
These  were  Colonel  Ethan  Allen  and 
Benedict  Arnold.  The  former  was  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  brought  up  in  the 
region  then  called  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  (the  future  State  of  Vermont), 
where  he  was  a  leading  man  among  the 


CHAP.  XII.] 


PARTISAN  WARFARE. 


323 


1T75. 


"  Green  Mountain  Boys."  The  latter 
had  already  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  colonel  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
Massachusetts. 

On  the  second  of  May,  a  party  of 
volunteers,  two  hundred  and  seventy 
strong,  assembled  at  Castleton, 
near  Lake  Champlain,  and  chose 
Ethan  Allen  for  their  leader,  with 
James  Easton  and  Seth  Warner  as 
second  and  third  in  command.  After 
taking  measures  to  secure  the  boats  on 
the  lake,  they  were  joined  by  Arnold, 
who,  as  he  had  a  colonel's  commission 
from  Massachusetts,  claimed  the  com 
mand  ;  but  the  Vermonters  refused 
flatly,  and  he  was  forced  to  serve  as 
volunteer  or  not  at  all. 

The  party  arrived  at  Shoreham,  op 
posite  Ticonderoga,  on  the  night  of  the 
9th  of  May.  Never  dreaming  of  such 
a  thing  as  an  attack,  the  vigilance  of  the 
garrison  was  quite  relaxed.  Having 
obtained  a  boy  named  Nathan  Beman  as 
a  guide,  Allen  and  Arnold  crossed  over 
during  the  night  with  only  eighty-three 
of  their  men,  the  rest  being  unable  to 
follow  them  for  want  of  a  supply  of 
boats. 

Landed  under  the  walls  of  the  fort, 
they  found  their  position  extremely 
critical;  the  dawn  was  beginning  to 
break,  and  unless  they  could  succeed  in 
instantly  surprising  the  garrison,  they 
ran  themselves  the  most  imminent  risk 
of  capture. 

Ethan  Allen  did  not  hesitate  a  mo 
ment,  but,  drawing  up  his  men,  briefly 
explained  to  them  the  position  of  affairs, 


and  then,  with  Arnold  by  his  side,  hur 
ried  up  immediately  to  the  sally-port. 
The  sentinel  snapped  his  fusee  at  them, 
and  rushing  into  the  fort,  the  Ameri 
cans  followed  close  at  his  heels,  and  en 
tering  the  open  parade,  awoke  the 
sleeping  garrison  with  three  hearty 
cheers.  The  English  soldiers  started 
from  their  beds,  and  rushing  below, 
were  immediately  taken  prisoners. 
Meanwhile,  Allen,  attended  by  his  guide, 
hurried  up  to  the  chamber  of  the  com 
mandant,  Captain  Delaplace,  who  was 
in  bed,  and  knocking  at  his  door  with 
the  hilt  of  his  huge  sword,  ordered  him 
in  a  stentorian  voice  to  make  his  instant 
appearance,  or  the  entire  garrison  should 
immediately  be  put  to  death.  The 
commandant  appeared  at  his  door  half- 
dressed,  "the  frightened  face  of  his 
pretty  wife  peering  over  his  shoulder." 
Gazing  in  bewildered  astonishment  at 
Allen,  he  exclaimed,  "By  whose  au 
thority  do  you  act  ?"  "  In  the  name  of 
the  Great  Jehovah,  and  the  Continental 
Congress !"  replied  Allen.  There  was 
no  alternative,  and  Delaplace  surren 
dered.  Two  days  afterwards,  Crown 
Point  was  surprised  and  taken.  More 
than  two  hundred  pieces  of  artillery, 
and  a  large  and  valuable  supply  of 
powder,  which  was  greatly  needed,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  Ethan 
Allen  next  surprised  and  captured 
Skenesborough,  now  Whitehall. 

Arnold  now  insisted  upon  taking  the 
command  of  Fort  Ticonderoga,  by  vir 
tue  of  his  commission  from  Massachu 
setts.  But  he  was  again  resisted  by  the 


324 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  HI. 


"  Green  Mountain  Boys ;"  and  a  com 
mittee  of  the  Connecticut  Legislature 
gave  the  command  to  Allen,  till  the  de 
termination  of  Congress  on  the  subject 
could  be  had ;  while  Arnold  sent  a  pro 
test  to  the  Massachusetts  legislature. 
The  two  commanders,  however,  engaged 
together  in  the  project  for  capturing 
St.  John's  on  the  Sorel  River,  the  fron 
tier  post  of  Canada.  This  they  had 


nearly  accomplished  by  means  of  an 
armed  schooner  and  some  batteaux,  in 
which  they  crossed  the  lake;  but  the 
arrival  of  strong  reinforcements  from 
Montreal  and  Chamblee  defeated  this 
project.  Nevertheless,  by  the  capture 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  Allen 
and  Arnold,  as  a  British  writer  admits, 
"  had  got  into  their  hands  the  keys  of 
Canada." 


LIFE  AID  TIMES 


OF 


WASHINGTON, 


BOOK   IV. 

WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, 


CHAPTER    I 

1775, 

WASHINGTON     APPOINTED      C  0  M  M  A  N  D  E  R-I  N-C  B  I  E  F. 

Meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  1775. — Georgia  sends  delegates. — Organization. — Hancock. — Depositions 
about  the  battle  of  Lexington. — Advice  to  New  York. — Exportations  to  British  America  interdicted. — Supplies 
cut  off  from  the  British  army. — Affairs  of  the  fisheries. — Peyton  Eandolph  leaves  the  chair,  and  John  Hancock  is 
chosen  president  of  the  Congress. — News  from  the  British  parliament. — Congress  resolves  to  place  the  country  in 
a  state  of  defence,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  address  a  second  petition  to  the  king,  and  an  address  to  the  Cana 
dians. — They  also  send  a  talk  to  the  Indians. — They  recommend  a  system  of  government  to  Massachusetts. — 
Establish  a  post-office,  and  appoint  Dr.  Franklin  postmaster-general. — Second  address  to  the  British  people,  and 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  and  of  Ireland. — Mr.  Dickinson  composes  the  masterly  petition  to  the  king. — Its 
contemptuous  reception  serviceable  to  the  cause  of  liberty. — Continued  apparent  loyalty  of  Congress. — Washing 
ton  appointed  chairman  of  all  the  committees  on  military  affairs. — Deliberations  and  consultations  on  the  ap 
pointment  of  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  armies. — A  difficult  point. — General  Ward's  claims. — Wash 
ington's  qualifications. — Strong  political  reasons  for  appointing  him. — John  Adams's  account  of  the  consulta 
tions. — John  Hancock's  pretensions. — Adams  alludes  to  Washington  in  open  debate. — Washington  is  nominated 
by  Thomas  Johnson  and  unanimously  chosen  commander-in-chief. — It  is  officially  announced  to  him  in  the 
House  on  the  ensuing  day. — His  reply  to  the  president. — He  receives  his  commission. — Other  generals  appointed. 
— Washington's  letters  to  Mrs.  Washington,  and  to  his  brother  John  Augustine  Washington. — He  hastens  to 
join  the  army. 


IT  has  already  been  mentioned,  that 
Congress,  previous  to  its  dissolution 
on  the  26th  of  October,  1774,  recom 
mended  the  colonies  to  choose  members 
for  another,  to  meet  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1775,  unless  the  redress  of  their  griev 
ances  should  previously  be  obtained. 
A  circular  letter  had  been  addressed  by 
Lord  Dartmouth  to  the  several  colonial 
governors,  requesting  their  interference 
to  prevent  the  meeting  of  this  second 
Congress ;  but  ministerial  requisitions 
had  lost  their  influence,  delegates  were 
elected,  not  only  for  the  twelve  colonies 
that  were  before  represented,  but  also 


for  the  parish  of  St.  John's,  in  Georgia, 
and,  in  July  following,  for  the  whole 
province. 

The  time  of  the  meeting  of  this 
second  Congress  was  fixed  at  so  dis 
tant  a  day,  that  an  opportunity  might 
be  afforded  for  obtaining  information  of 
the  plans  adopted  by  the  British  par 
liament  in  the  winter  of  1774-'75. 
Had  these  been  favorable,  the  dele 
gates  would  either  not  have  met,  or 
dispersed  after  a  short  session  ;  but  as 
the  resolution  was  then  fixed  to  compel 
the  submission  of  the  colonies,  and  hos 
tilities  had  already  commenced,  the 


328 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


meeting   of  Congress   on   the  10th  of 

o  o 

May,  which  was  at  first  eventual,  be 
came  fixed. 

On  their  meeting,  they  chose  Pey 
ton  Randolph   for  their   presi- 
.  '  dent,  and  Charles  Thomson  for 

1  7  7o» 

their  secretary.  On  the  next 
day,  Hancock  laid  before  them  a  va 
riety  of  depositions,  proving  that  the 
king's  troops  were  the  aggressors  in  the 
late  battle  at  Lexington,  together  with 
sundry  papers  relative  to  the  great 
events  which  had  lately  taken  place  in 
Massachusetts  :  whereupon  Congress  re 
solved  itself  into  a  committee  of  the 
whole,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
state  of  America.  They  proceeded  in 
the  same  line  of  moderation  and  firm 
ness  which  marked  the  acts  of  their 
predecessors  in  the  past  year. 

The  city  and  county  of  New  York 
having  applied  to  Congress  for  advice, 
how  they  should  conduct  themselves 
with  regard  to  the  troops  expected  to 
land  there,  they  were  advised  "  to  act 
on  the  defensive  so  long  as  might  be 
consistent  with  their  safety, — to  permit 
the  troops  to  remain  in  the  barracks  so 
long  as  they  behaved  peaceably,  but 
not  to  suffer  fortifications  to  be  erected, 
or  any  steps  to  be  taken  for  cutting  off 
the  communication  between  the  town 
and  country."  Congress  also  resolved, 
"  That  exportation  to  all  parts  of  British 
America,  which  had  not  adopted  their 
association,  should  immediately  cease  ;" 
and  that  "  no  provision  of  any  kind,  or 
other  necessaries,  be  furnished  to  the 
British  fisheries  on  the  American  coasts." 


And  "  that  no  bill  of  exchange,  draft,  or 
order,  of  any  officer  in  the  British  army 
or  navy,  their  agents  or  contractors,  be 
received  or  negotiated,  or  any  money 
supplied  them,  by  any  person  in  Arner 
ica, — that  no  provisions  or  necessaries 
of  any  kind  be  furnished  or  supplied,  to 
or  for  the  use  of  the  British  army  or 
navy,  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay, — that  no  vessel  employed  in  trans 
porting  British  troops  to  America,  or 
from  one  part  of  North  America  to 
another,  or  warlike  stores  or  provisions 
for  said  troops,  be  freighted  or  fur 
nished  with  provisions  or  any  necessa 


ries. 

These  resolutions  may  be  considered 
as  the  counterpart  of  the  British  acts 
for  restraining  the  commerce,  and  pro 
hibiting  the  fisheries  of  the  colonies. 
They  were  calculated  to  bring  distress 
on  the  British  islands  in  the  West  In 
dies,  whose  chief  dependence  for  sub 
sistence,  was  on  the  importation  of  pro 
visions  from  the  American  continent. 

They  also  occasioned  new  difficulties 
in  the  support  of  the  British  army  and 
fisheries.  The  colonists  were  so  much 
indebted  to  Great  Britain,  that  govern 
ment  bills  for  the  most  part  found 
among  them  a  ready  market.  A  war 
in  the  colonies  was  therefore  made  sub 
servient  to  commerce,  by  increasing  the 
sources  of  remittance.  This  enabled 
the  mother  country,  in  a  great  degree, 
to  supply  her  troops  without  shipping 
money  out  of  the  kingdom. 

From  the  operation  of  these  resolu 
tions,  advantages  of  this  nature  were 


ClTAP.    I.] 


WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


329 


not  only  cut  off,  but  the  supply  of  the 
British  army  rendered  both  precarious 
and  expensive.  In  consequence  of  the 
interdiction  of  the  American  fisheries, 
great  profits  were  expected  by  British 
adventurers  in  that  line.  Such  fre 
quently  found  it  most  convenient  to 
obtain  supplies  in  America  for  carrying 
on  their  fisheries  ;  but  as  Great  Britain 
had  deprived  the  colonists  of  all  bene 
fits  from  that  quarter,  they  now,  in  their 
turn,  interdicted  all  supplies  from  being 
furnished  to  British  fishermen.  To  ob 
viate  this  unexpected  embarrassment, 
several  of  the  vessels  employed  in  this 
business  were  obliged  to  return  home, 
to  bring  out  provisions  for  their  asso 
ciates.  These  restrictive  resolutions 
were  not  so  much  the  effect  of  resent 
ment  as  of  policy.  The  colonists  con 
ceived  that  by  distressing  the  British 
commerce,  they  would  increase  the 
number  of  those  who  would  interest 
themselves  in  their  behalf. 

The  new  Congress  had  convened  but 
a  few  days,  when  their  venerable  presi 
dent,  Peyton  Randolph,  was  under  a 
necessity  of  returning  home,  to  occupy 
his  place  as  speaker  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly.*  On  his  departure, 
John  Hancock  was  unanimous 
ly  chosen  his  successor.  The  objects 
of  deliberation  presented  to  this  new 
Congress  were,  if  possible,  more  im 
portant  than  those  of  the  preceding 
year.  The  colonists  had  now  experi 
enced  the  inefficacy  of  those  measures 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— 42 


from  which  relief  had  been  formerly 
obtained.  They  found  a  new  parlia 
ment  disposed  to  run  all  risks  in  en 
forcing  their  submission.  They  also  un 
derstood  that  administration  was  united 
against  them,  and  its  members  firmly 
established  in  their  places.  Hostilities 
were  commenced,  lleinforcements  had 
arrived,  and  more  were  daily  expected. 
Added  to  this,  they  had  information 
that  their  adversaries  had  taken  meas 
ures  to  secure  the  friendship  and  co 
operation  of  the  Indians,  and  also  ot 
the  Canadians. 

The  coercion  of  the  colonies  being  re 
solved  upon,  and  their  conquest  sup 
posed  to  be  inevitable,  the  British  min 
istry  judged  that  it  would  be  for  the 
interest  of  both  countries  to  proceed  in 
that  vigorous  course,  which  bid  fairest 
for  the  speediest  attainment  of  their 
object.  They  hoped  by  pressing  the 
colonists  on  all  quarters,  to  intimidate 
opposition,  and  ultimately  to  lessen  the 
effusion  of  human  blood. 

In  this  awful  crisis,  Congress  had  but 
a  choice  of  difficulties.  The  New  Eng 
land  States  had  already  organized  an 
army  and  blockaded  General  Gage. 
To  desert  them  would  have  been  con 
trary  to  plighted  faith  and  to  sound 
policy.  To  support  them  would  make 
the  war  general,  and  involve  all  the 
provinces  in  one  general,  promiscuous 
state  of  hostility. 

The  resolution  of  the  people  in  favor 
of  the  latter  was  fixed,  and  only  wanted 
public  sanction  for  its  operation.  Con 
gress  therefore  resolved,  "that  for  the 


330 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booit  IV. 


express  purpose  of  defending  and  se 
curing  the  colonies,  and  preserving 
them  in  safety,  against  all  attempts  to 
cany  the  late  acts  of  parliament  into 
execution,  by  force  of  arms,  they  be 
immediately  put  in  a  state  of  defence  ; 
but  as  they  wished  for  a  restoration  of 
the  harmony  formerly  subsisting  be 
tween  the  mother  country  and  the  colo 
nies,  to  the  promotion  of  this  most  de 
sirable  reconciliation,  an  humble  and 
dutiful  petition  be  presented  to  his 
majesty."  To  resist  and  to  petition 
were  coeval  resolutions.  As  freemen 
they  could  not  tamely  submit ;  but  as 
loyal  subjects,  wishing  for  peace  as  far 
as  was  compatible  with  their  rights, 
they  once  more,  in  the  character  of  pe 
titioners,  humbly  stated  their  griev 
ances  to  the  common  sovereign  of  the 
empire. 

To  dissuade  the  Canadians  from  co 
operating  with  the  British,  they  again 
addressed  them,  representing  the  perni 
cious  tendency  of  the  Quebec  act,  and 
apologizing  for  their  taking  Ticonde- 
roga  and  Crown  Point,  as  measures 
which  were  dictated  by  the  great  law 
of  self-preservation.  About  the  same 
time,  Congress  took  measures  for  ward 
ing  off  the  danger  that  threatened 

~  o 

their  frontier  inhabitants  from  Indians. 
Commissioners  to  treat  with  them  were 
appointed,  and  a  supply  of  goods  for 
their  use  was  ordered.  A  talk  was  also 
prepared  by  Congress,  and  transmitted 
to  them,  in  which  the  controversy  be 
tween  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies 
was  explained,  in  a  familiar  Indian 


1T75. 


style.  They  were  told  that  they  had 
no  concern  in  the  family  quarrel,  and 
were  urged  by  the  ties  of  ancient  friend 
ship  and  a  common  birth-place,  to  re 
main  at  home,  keep  their  hatchet  buried 
deep,  and  to  join  neither  side. 

The  novel  situation  of  Massachusetts 
made  it  necessary  for  the  ruling  powers 
of  that  province  to  ask  the  advice  of 
Congress  on  a  very  interesting 
subject— "The  taking  up  and 
exercising  the  powers  of  civil  govern 
ment."  For  many  months  they  had 
been  kept  together  in  tolerable  peace 
and  order  by  the  force  of  ancient  habits, 
under  the  simple  style  of  recommenda 
tion  and  advice  from  popular  bodies, 
invested  with  no  legislative  authority. 
But  as  war  now  raged  in  their  borders, 
and  a  numerous  army  was  actually 
raised,  some  more  efficient  form  of  gov 
ernment  became  necessary.  At  this 
early  day  it  neither  comported  with 
the  wishes  nor  the  designs  of  the  colo 
nists  to  erect  forms  of  government  in 
dependent  of  Great  Britain,  Congress 
therefore  recommended  only  such  regu 
lations  as  were  immediately  necessary, 
and  these  wrere  conformed  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  spirit  and  substance  "of 
the  charter,  and  were  only  to  last  till  a 
governor  of  his  majesty's  appointment 
would  consent  to  govern  the  colony  ac 
cording  to  its  charter. 

On  the  same  principles  of  necessity, 
another  assumption  of  new  powers  be 
came  unavoidable.  The  great  inter 
course  that  daily  took  place  throughout 
the  colonies,  pointed  out  the  propriety 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


531 


of    establishing    a    general    post-office. 

This    was    accordingly    done,    and    Dr. 

Franklin,  who  had  by  royal  authority 

been   dismissed   from   a  similar 

employment  about  three  years 

before,  was  appointed  by  his  country 

the  head  of  the  new  department. 

While  Congress  was  making  arrange 
ments  for  their  proposed  continental 
army,  it  was  thought  expedient  once 
more  to  address  the  inhabitants  of 
Great  Britain,  and  to  publish  to  the 
world  a  declaration  setting  forth  their 
reasons  for  taking  up  arms, — to  address 
the  speaker  and  gentlemen  of  the  As 
sembly  of  Jamaica,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  Ireland,  and  also  to  prefer  a  second 
humble  petition  to  the  king.  In  their 
address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  they  again  vindicated  themselves 
from  the  charge  of  aiming  at  independ 
ency,  professed  their  willingness  to  sub 
mit  to  the  several  acts  of  trade  and 
navigation  which  were  passed  before 
the  year  1763,  recapitulated  their  rea 
sons  for  rejecting  Lord  North's  concilia 
tory  motion,  stated  the  hardships  they 
suffered  from  the  operations  of  the  royal 
army  in  Boston,  and  insinuated  the  dan 
ger  the  inhabitants  of  Britain  would  be 
in  of  losing  their  freedom,  in  case  their 
American  brethren  were  subdued. 
In  their  declaration  setting  forth  the 

O 

causes  and  necessity  of  their  taking  up 
arms,  they  enumerated  the  injuries  they 
had  received,  and  the  methods  taken 
by  the  British  ministry  to  compel  their 
submission,  and  then  said  :  "  We  are  re 
duced  to  the  alternative  of  choosing  an 


unconditional  submission  to  the  tyranny 
of  irritated  ministers,  or  resistance  by 
force.  The  latter  is  our  choice.  We 
have  counted  the  cost  of  this  contest, 
and  find  nothing  so  dreadful  as  volun 
tary  slavery."  They  asserted  "that 
foreign  assistance  was  undoubtedly  at 
tainable."  This  was  not  founded  on 
any  private  information,  but  was  an 
opinion  derived  from  their  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  policy  by  which 
states  usually  regulate  their  conduct  to 
wards  each  other. 

In  their  address  to  the  speaker  and 
gentlemen  of  the  Assembly  of  Jamaica, 
they  dilated  on  the  arbitrary 
systems  of  the  British  ministry, 
and  informed  them  that  in  order  to  ob 
tain  a  redress  of  their  grievances,  they 
had  appealed  to  the  justice,  humanity, 
and  interest  of  Great  Britain.  They 
stated,  that  to  make  their  schemes  of 
non-importation  and  non-exportation 
produce  the  desired  effects,  they  were 
obliged  to  extend  them  to  the  islands. 
"From  that  necessity,  and  from  that 
alone,"  said  they,  "  our  conduct  has  pro 
ceeded."  They  concluded  with  saying, 
"The  peculiar  situation  of  your  island 
forbids  your  assistance,  but  Ave  have 


your 


good 


wishes  :     from    the   crood 


wishes  of  the  friends  of  liberty  and 
mankind  we  shall  always  derive  conso 
lation." 

In  their  address  to  the  people  of  Ire 
land  they  recapitulated  their  grievances, 
stated  their  humble  petitions,  and  the 
neglect  with  which  they  had  been 
treated.  "In  defence  of  our  persons 


332 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


and  properties  under  actual  violations," 
said  they,  "  we  have  taken  up  arms. 
When  that  violence  shall  be  removed, 
and  hostilities  cease  on  the  part  of  the 
aggressors,  they  shall  cease  on  our  part 
also." 

These  several  addresses  were  exe 
cuted  in  a  masterly  manner,  and  were 
well  calculated  to  make  friends  to  the 
colonies.  But  their  petition  to  the 
king,  which  was  drawn  up  at  the  same 
time,  produced  more  solid  advantages 
in  favor  of  the  American  cause  than 
any  other  of  their  productions.  This 
was,  in  a  great  measure,  carried  through 
Congress  by  John  Dickinson.  Several 
members,  judging  from  the  violence 
with  which  parliament  proceeded 
against  the  colonies,  were  of  opinion 
that  further  petitions  were  nugatory ; 
but  this  worthy  citizen,  a  friend  to 
both  countries,  and  devoted  to  a  recon 
ciliation  on  constitutional  principles, 
urged  the  expediency  and  policy  of 
trying  once  more  the  effect  of  an  hum 
ble,  decent,  and  firm  petition,  to  the 
common  head  of  the  empire.  The  high 
opinion  that  was  conceived  of  his  pat 
riotism  and  abilities  induced  the  mem 
bers  to  assent  to  the  measure,  though 

/  O 

they  generally  conceived  it  to  be  labor 
lost. 

The  petition  agreed  upon  was  the 
work  of  Dickinson's  pen.  In  this, 
among  other  tilings,  it  was  stated, 
"that  notwithstanding  their  sufferings, 
they  had  retained  too  high  a  regard 
for  the  kingdom  from  which  they  de 
rived  their  origin,  to  request  such  a 


reconciliation  as  might  in  any  manner 
be  inconsistent  with  her  dignity  and 
welfare.  Attached  to  his  majesty's  per 
son,  family,  and  government,  with  all 
the  devotion  that  principle  and  affec 
tion  can  inspire ;  connected  with  Great 
Britain  by  the  strongest  ties  that  can 
unite  society,  and  deploring  every  event 
that  tended  in  any  degree  to  weaken 
them,  they  not  only  most  fervently  de 
sired  the  former  harmony  between  her 
and  the  colonies  to  be  restored,  but  that 
a  concord  might  be  established  between 
them  upon  so  firm  a  basis  as  to  perpet 
uate  its  blessings,  uninterrupted  by  any 
future  dissensions,  to  succeeding  genera- 

o    O 

tious,  in  both  countries. 

"  They  therefore  besought  that  his 
majesty  would  be  pleased  to  direct 
some  mode  by  which  the  united  appli 
cations  of  his  faithful  colonists  to  the 
throne,  in  pursuance  of  their  common 
councils,  might  be  improved  into  a 
happy  and  permanent  reconciliation." 
By  this  last  clause  Congress  meant  that 
the  mother  country  should  propose  a 
plan  for  establishing  by  compact,  some 
thing  like  Magna  Charta  for  the  colo 
nies.  They  did  not  aim  at  a  total  ex 
emption  from  the  control  of  parliament, 
nor  were  they  unwilling  to  contribute, 
in  their  own  way,  to  the  expenses  of 
government ;  but  they  feared  the  hor 
rors  of  war  less  than  submission  to 
unlimited  parliamentary  supremacy. 
They  wished  for  an  amicable  compact, 
in  which  doubtful,  undefined  points, 
should  be  ascertained  so  as  to  secure 
that  proportion  of  authority  and  liberty 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IX-CHIEF. 


1  7 


which  would  be  for  the  general  good  of 
the  whole  empire.  They  fancied  them 
selves  in  the  condition  of  the  barons  at 
Rmmymede  ;  but  with  this  difference, 
that  in  addition  to  opposing  the  king, 
they  had  also  to  oppose  the  parliament. 
This  difference  was  more  nominal  than 
real,  for  in  the  latter  case  the  king  and 
parliament  stood  precisely  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  people  of  America, 
which  subsisted  in  the  former  between 
the  king  and  people  of  England.  In 
both,  popular  leaders  were  contending 
with  the  sovereign  for  the  privileges  of 
subjects. 

This  well-meant  petition  was  pre 
sented  on  September  1st,  by  Mr.  Penn 
and  Mr.  Lee,  and  on  the  4th, 
Lord  Dartmouth  informed  them, 
"  that  to  it  no  answer  would  be  given." 
This  slight  contributed  not  a  little  to 

O 

the  union  and  perseverance  of  the  colo 
nists.  When  pressed  by  the  calamities 
of  war,  a  doubt  would  sometimes  arise 
in  the  minds  of  scrupulous  persons,  that 
they  had  been  too  hasty  in  their  oppo 
sition  to  their  protecting  parent  state. 
To  such  it  was  usual  to  present  the 
second  petition  of  Congress  to  the  king, 
with  the  remark,  that  all  the  blood 
and  all  the  guilt  of  the  war  must  be 
charged  on  British,  and  not  on  Ameri 
can  councils.  Meantime  the  colonists 
were  accused  in  a  speech  from  the 
throne,  on  October  26th,  as  meaning 
only  "  to  amuse  by  vague  expressions 
of  attachment  to  the  parent  state,  and 
the  strongest  protestations  of  loyalty  to 
their  king,  while  they  were  preparing 


for  a  general  revolt,  and  that  their  re 
bellious  war  was  manifestly  carried  on 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  inde 
pendent  empire." 

Yet  at  that  time,  and  for  months 
after,  a  redress  of  grievances  was  their 
ultimate  aim.  Conscious  of  this  inten 
tion,  and  assenting  in  the  sincerity  of 
their  souls  to  the  submissive  language 

~         o 

of  their  petition,  they  illy  brooked  the 
contempt  with  which  their  joint  suppli 
cation  was  treated,  and  still  worse,  that 
they  should  be  charged  from  the  throne 
with  studied  duplicity. 

Nothing  contributes  more  to  the  suc 
cess  of  revolutions  than  moderation. 
Intemperate  zealots  overshoot  them 
selves,  and  soon  spend  their  force, 
while  the  calm  and  dispassionate  perse 
vere  to  the  end.  The  bulk  of  the  peo 
ple  in  civil  commotions  are  influenced 
to  a  choice  of  sides,  by  the  general  com 
plexion  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the 
respective  parties.  AVhen  these  appear 
to  be  dictated  by  justice  and  prudence, 
and  to  be  uninfluenced  by  passion,  am 
bition,  or  avarice,  they  are  disposed  to 
favor  them.  Such  was  the  effect  of  this 
second  petition,  through  a  long  and  try 
ing  war,  in  which  men  of  serious  reflec 
tion  were  often  called  upon  to  examine 
the  rectitude  of  their  conduct. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  when  the 
several  middle  and  southern  provinces 
were  required  definitively  to  resolve, 
and  unequivocally  to  declare,  whether 
they  would  make  common  cause  with 
the  New  England  provinces  in  actual 
war,  or,  abandoning  them  and  the  ob- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ject  for  which  they  had  all  so  long 
jointly  contended,  submit  to  the  abso 
lute  supremacy  of  the  British  parlia 
ment.  The  Congress,  as  we  have  just 
seen,  did  not  hesitate  which  part  of  the 
alternative  to  embrace,  but  had 

May  2O,       IT  •  i  T     , 

already    unanimously     determ- 

1 7  75.  •>  •> 

ined,  that  as  hostilities  had  ac 
tually  commenced,  and  large  reinforce 
ments  of  the  British  army  were  ex 
pected,  the  several  provinces  should  be 
immediately^^  in  a  state  of  defence. 

Accordingly,  the  necessary  commit 
tees  were  appointed  to  prepare  reports 
on  this  most  important  of  all  subjects. 
A  very  significant  token  that  the  real 
character  and  abilities  of  Washington 
were  understood  and  appreciated  by 
Congress,  is  afforded  in  the  fact  that  he 

O 

was  named  as  chairman  of  all  these 
committees.  One  of  them  was  to  desig 
nate  the  posts  to  be  occupied  in  New 
York  ;  another,  to  recommend  methods 
for  raising  ammunition  and  military 
stores ;  a  third,  to  estimate  the  amount 
of  money  necessary  to  be  raised  for  pur 
poses  of  defence ;  and  a  fourth,  to  pre 
pare  rules  and  regulations  for  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  army.* 

Congress  thus  very  properly  took  the 
whole  system  of  national  defence  into 
its  own  hands ;  and  thenceforward  the 
forces  under  its  direction  were  styled 
the  Continental  Army,  while  the  British 
forces  under  General  Gage  were  called 
the  Ministerial  Army. 

The  next  subject  which  received  the 

0  Sparks. 


attention  of  Congress,  was  the  appoint 
ment  of  a  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  armies.  This  was  a  matter 
of  great  difficulty  and  delicacy,  involv 
ing  not  only  personal  but  political  con 
siderations.  The  facts  that  war  was 
actually  raging  in  New  England,  that  a 
large  army  was  embodied  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Boston,  and  that  General 
Ward,  an  officer  of  experience  and 
ability,  was  in  command  of  it,  as  well 
as  the  leading  part  which  Massachusetts 
had  taken  since  the  opening  of  the  con 
test,  seemed  to  establish  the  propriety 
of  taking  a  commander-in-chief  from 
that  ]  art  of  the  country ;  and  that 
General  Ward  should  be  the  man.  His 
name  was  accordingly  among  the  first 
which  were  suggested  and  canvassed  by 

OO  «/ 

the  members,  in  their  private  consulta 
tions  on  the  subject.  In  fact,  to  super 
sede  him  in  the  command  of  the  army 
before  Boston,  where  the  commander- 
in-chief  would  necessarily  commence 
his  operations,  might  seem  uncourteous, 
and  might  even  give  offence  to  the 
army,  and  to  the  eastern  colonies. 

On  the  other  hand,  Washington,  from 
the  circumstance  of  his  having  taken  so 
active  a  part  in  the  first  Congress,  was 
personally  well  known  to  most  of  the 
members  of  the  second,  and  his  superior 
administrative  talents  could  not  have 
escaped  their  notice ;  while  his  great 
abilities  as  a  military  commander,  his 
courage,  coolness,  and  presence  of  mind 
in  great  emergencies,  were  known  to  all 
the  world.  lie  was  known  also  to  be  a 
man  of  large  fortune,  which  would  all 


CHAP.  I.J 


\VASIIIXGTOX  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


335 


be  staked  on  the  success  of  the  cause  of 
liberty. 

To  these  personal  qualities  in  his  fa 
vor,  were  added  certain  political  con 
siderations  of  no  ordinary  weight.  Vir 
ginia  was  a  large,  wealthy,  and  powerful 
State ;  she  had  ever  been  foremost  in 
sustaining  New  England  up  to  the  pres 
ent  stage  of  the  contest.  Her  generous 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty  had 
ever  been  conspicuous,  and  her  com 
manding  influence  had  carried  the  whole 
South  with  her.  The  far-sighted  New 
England  statesmen  saw  that  to  place 
her  favorite  at  the  head  of  the  armies 
would  be  a  master-stroke  of  policy; 
binding  her  and  the  other  southern 
colonies  most  firmly  to  the  cause. 

John  Adams,  in  his  diary,  informs  us 
that  there  was  a  southern  party  in  Con 
gress  opposed  to  giving  the  command 
to  any  New  England  officer. 

"  Whether  this  jealousy  was  sincere," 
writes  he,  "  or  whether  it  was  mere 
pride,  and  a  haughty  ambition  of  fur 
nishing  a  southern  general  to  command 
a  northern  army  I  cannot  say ;  but  the 
intention  was  very  visible  to  me,  that 
Colonel  Washington  was  their  object; 
and  so  many  of  our  stauchest  men  were 
in  the  plan,  that  we  could  carry  nothing 
without  conceding  to  it.  There  was 
another  embarrassment  which  was  never 
publicly  known,  and  which  was  care 
fully  concealed  by  those  who  knew  it ; 
the  Massachusetts  and  other  New  Ens;- 

O 

land  delegates  were  divided.     Mr.  Han- 

O 

cock  and  Mr.  Gushing  hung  back ;  Mr. 
Paine  did  not  come  forward,  and  even 


Mr.  Samuel  Adams  was  irresolute.  Mr. 
Hancock  himself  had  an  ambition  to  be 
appointed  commander-in-chief.  Whether 
lie  thought  an  election  a  compliment 
due  to  him,  and  intended  to  have  the 
honor  of  declining  it,  or  whether  he 
would  have  accepted  it,  I  know  not. 
To  the  compliment,  he  had  some  pre 
tensions  ;  for  at  that  time  his  exertions, 
sacrifices,  and  general  merits  in  the 
cause  of  his  country,  had  been  incom 
parably  greater  than  those  of  Colonel 
Washington.  But  the  delicacy  of  his 
health,  and  his  entire  want  of  experi 
ence  in  actual  service,  though  an  excel 
lent  militia  officer,  were  decisive  objec 
tions  to  him  in  my  mind." 

Adams,  after  ample  opportunities  of 
consultation  with  the  other  members 
from  the  north,  in  which  he  demonstra 
ted  the  true  policy  of  choosing  Wash 
ington,  considering  the  matter  in  a  po 
litical  point  of  view,  and  no  doubt  very 
fully  convinced  of  the  superiority  of  the 
Virginian  officer's  personal  claims,  at 
length  felt  sure  of  his  ground,  and  ven 
tured  to  allude  to  the  matter  in  open 
debate.  Accordingly,  while  discussions 
were  going  on  in  Congress  respecting 
military  preparations,  he  rose  in  his 
place,  and  moved  that  the  army  then 
besieging  the  British  troops  in  Boston, 
should  forthwith  be  adopted  by  Con 
gress  as  a  continental  army,  and  a  gen 
eral  appointed.  The  time  for  naming 
the  person,  he  said,  was  not  come. 

"  Yet,"  says  he,  "  as  I  had  reason  to 
believe  this  was  a  point  of  some  diffi 
culty,  I  had  no  hesitation  to  declare, 


336 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


that  I  had  but  one  gentleman  in  my 
mind  for  that  important  command,  and 
that  was  a  gentleman  from  Virginia, 
who  was  among  us,  and  very  well 
known  to  all  of  us  ;  a  gentleman  whose 
skill  and  experience  as  an  officer,  whose 
independent  fortune,  great  talents,  and 
excellent  universal  character,  would 
command  the  approbation  of  all  Amer 
ica,  and  unite  the  cordial  exertions  of 
all  the  colonies  better  than  any  other 
person  in  the  Union.  Mr.  Washington, 
who  happened  to  sit  near  the  door,  as 
soon  as  he  heard  me  allude  to  him, 
from,  his  usual  modesty,  darted  into  the 
library-room.  Mr.  Hancock,  who  was 
our  president,  which  gave  me  an  oppor 
tunity  to  observe  his  countenance  while 
I  was  speaking  of  the  state  of  the  colo 
nies,  the  army  at  Cambridge,  and  the 
enemy,  heard  me  with  visible  pleasure  ; 
but  when  I  came  to  describe  Wash 
ington  for  the  commander,  I  never  re- 

O  / 

marked  a  more  sudden  and  striking 
change  of  countenance.  Mortification 
and  resentment  were  expressed  as  forci 
bly  as  his  face  could  exhibit  them." 

When  the  subject  came  under  de 
bate,  several  delegates  opposed  the  ap 
pointment  of  Washington ;  not  from 
personal  objections,  but  because  the 
army  were  all  from  New  England,  and 
had  a  general  of  their  own,  General 
Artemas  Ward,  with  whom  they  ap 
peared  well  satisfied  ;  and  under  whose 
command  they  had  proved  themselves 
able  to  imprison  the  British  army  in 
Boston ;  which  was  all  that  was  to  be 
expected  or  desired. 


On  a  subsequent  day,  Washington 
was  nominated  by  Mr.  Thomas  John 
son,  of  Maryland ;  and  he  was  unan 
imously  chosen  by  ballot.  Im 
mediately  after  the  result  was 
declared,  the  House  adjourned. 
As  soon  as  the  session  was  opened  on 
the  following  day,  the  president  com 
municated  to  him  officially  the  notice  of 
his  appointment.  Washington  imme 
diately  rose  in  his  place,  and  made  the 
following  reply : 

"  ME.  PRESIDENT  : — Though  I  am 
truly  sensible  of  the  high  honor  done 
me  in  this  appointment,  yet  I  feel  great 
distress  from  a  consciousness  that  my 
abilities  and  military  experience  may 
not  be  equal  to  the  extensive  and  im 
portant  trust :  however,  as  the  Congress 
desire  it,  I  will  enter  upon  the  moment 
ous  duty,  and  exert  every  power  I  pos 
sess  in  their  service  and  for  support  of 
the  glorious  cause.  I  beg  they  will  ac 
cept  my  most  cordial  thanks  for  this 
distinguished  testimony  of  their  appro 
bation. 

"  But,  lest  some  unlucky  event  should 
happen  unfavorable  to  my  reputation, 
I  beg  it  may  be  remembered  by  every 
gentleman  in  the  room,  that  I  this  day 
declare  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  I  do 
not  think  myself  equal  to  the  command 
I  am  honored  with. 

"  As  to  pay,  sir,  I  beg  leave  to  assure 
the  Congress,  that  as  no  pecuniary  con 
sideration  could  have  tempted  me  to 
accept  this  arduous  employment,  at  the 
expense  of  my  domestic  ease  and  happi 
ness,  I  do  not  wish  to  make  any  profit 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


33Y 


from  it.  I  will  keep  an  exact  account 
of  my  expenses.  Those,  I  doubt  not, 
they  will  discharge,  and  that  is  all  I 
desire." 

A  special  commission*  was  drawn 
up  and  presented  to  him,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  unanimous  resolution  was 
adopted  by  Congress,  "  That  they  would 
maintain  and  assist  him,  and  adhere  to 
him  with  their  lives  and  fortunes,  in  the 
cause  of  American  liberty."  Instruc 
tions  were  also  given  him  for  his  gov 
ernment,  by  which,  after  reciting  vari 
ous  particulars,  he  was  directed  "  to 
destroy  or  make  prisoners  of  all  persons 
who  now  are,  or  who  hereafter  shall 
appear,  in  arms  against  the  good  people 
of  the  colonies ;"  but  the  whole  was 
summed  up  in  authorizing  him  "  to  or 
der  and  dispose  of  the  army  under  his 
command  as  might  be  most  advantage 
ous  for  obtaining  the  end  for  which  it 
had  been  raised,  making  it  his  special 
care  in  the  discharge  of  the  great  trust 
committed  to  him,  that  the  liberties 
of  America  received  no  detriment." 
About  the  same  time,  twelve  companies 
of  riflemen  were  ordered  to  be  raised  in 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia. 
The  men  to  the  amount  of  fourteen  hun 
dred  and  thirty  were  procured  and  for 
warded  with  great  expedition.  They 
had  to  march  from  four  hundred  to 
seven  hundred  miles,  and  yet  the  whole 
business  was  completed,  and  they  joined 
the  American  army  at  Cambridge,  in 
less  than  two  months  from  the  day  on 


0  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— 43 


17TS. 


which   the   first  resolution   for  raising 
them  was  agreed  to. 

Coeval  with  the  resolution  for  raising 
an  army,  on  June  22d,  was  another  for 
emitting  a  sum  not  exceeding 
two  millions  of  Spanish  milled 
dollars  in  bills  of  credit  for  the  de 
fence  of  America,  and  the  colonies  were 
pledged  for  the  redemption  of  them. 
This  sum  was  increased  from  time  to 
time  by  further  emissions.  The  colo 
nies,  having  neither  money  nor  reve 
nues  at  their  command,  were  forced  to 
adopt  this  expedient,  the  only  one 
which  was  in  their  power  for  support 
ing  an  army.  No  one  delegate  opposed 
the  measure.  So  great  had  been  the 
credit  of  the  former  emissions  of  paper 
in  the  greater  part  of  the  colonies,  that 
very  few  at  that  time  foresaw  or  appre 
hended  the  consequences  of  unfunded 
paper  emissions  ;  but  had  all  the  conse 
quences  which  resulted  from  this  meas 
ure  in  the  course  of  the  war  been  fore 
seen,  it  must,  notwithstanding,  have 
been  adopted,  for  it  was  a  less  evil 
that  there  should  be  a  general  wreck 
of  property,  than  that  the  essential 
rights  and  liberties  of  a  growing  coun 
try  should  be  lost.  A  happy  ignorance 
of  future  events,  combined  with  the  ar 
dor  of  the  times,  prevented  many  reflec 
tions  on  this  subject,  and  gave  credit 
and  circulation  to  these  bills  of  credit. 

Soon  after  General  Washington  was 
appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  army,  four  major-generals, 
one  adjutant-general,  with  the  rank  of 
a  brigadier,  and  eight  brigadier-gen- 


338 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


erals,  were  appointed  in  subordination 
to  liim,  which  were  as  follows  : 

1st,  Major-general  Artemas  Ward ; 
2d,  Charles  Lee ;  3d,  Philip  Schuyler ; 
4th,  Israel  Putnam ;  Adjutant-general, 
Horatio  Gates. 

The  eight  brigadiers  were  :  1st,  Seth 
Pomeroy  ;  2d,  Richard  Montgomery  ; 
3d,  David  Wooster  ;  4th,  William 
Heath ;  5th,  Joseph  Spencer ;  6th, 
John  Thomas ;  Tth,  John  Sullivan ; 
8th,  Nathaniel  Greene. 

We  forbear,  at  this  time,  to  comment 
upon  these  appointments,  more  espe 
cially  as  every  name  in  the  list  will 
hereafter  claim  the  reader's  attention  in 
connection  with  illustrious  actions  per 
formed  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Washington's  inmost  feelings  in  re 
gard  to  the  important  and  arduous  du 
ties  which  he  was  about  to  un 
dertake  as  commander-in-chief, 
are  expressed  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Washington  : 

"  MY  DEAREST  : — I  am  now  set  down 
to  write  to  you  on  a  subject  which  fills 
me  with  inexpressible  concern,  and  this 
concern  is  greatly  aggravated  and  in 
creased  when  I  reflect  upon  the  uneasi 
ness  I  know  it  will  give  you.  It  has 
been  determined  in  Congress,  that  the 
whole  army  raised  for  the  defence  of 
the  American  cause  shall  be  put  under 
my  care,  and  that  it  is  necessary  for  me 
to  proceed  immediately  to  Boston  to 
take  upon  me  the  command. 

"  You  may  believe  me,  my  dear 
Patsy,  when  I  assure  you  in  the  most 


1115. 


solemn  manner,  that,  so  far  from  seek 
ing  this  appointment,  I  have  used  every 
endeavor  in  my  power  to  avoid  it,  not 
only  from  my  unwillingness  to  part 
with  you  and  the  family,  but  from  a 
consciousness  of  its  being  a  trust  too 
great  for  my  capacity,  and  that  I 
should  enjoy  more  real  happiness  in 
one  month  with  you  at  home  than  I 
have  the  most  distant  prospect  of  find 
ing  abroad,  if  my  stay  were  to  be  seven 
times  seven  years.  But  as  it  has  been 
a  kind  of  destiny  that  has  thrown  me 
upon  this  service,  I  shall  hope  that  my 
undertaking  is  designed  to  answer  some 
good  purpose.  You  might,  and  I  sup 
pose  did,  perceive,  from  the  tenor  of 
my  letters,  that  I  was  apprehensive  I 
could  not  avoid  this  appointment,  as 
I  did  not  pretend  to  intimate  when  I 
should  return.  That  was  the  case.  It 
was  utterly  out  of  my  power  to  refuse 
this  appointment,  without  exposing  my 
character  to  such  censures  as  would 
have  reflected  dishonor  upon  myself, 
and  given  pain  to  my  friends.  This,  I 
am  sure,  could  not,  and  ought  not,  to 
be  pleasing  to  you,  and  must  have  less 
ened  me  considerably  in  my  own  es 
teem.  I  shall  rely,  therefore,  confi 
dently,  on  that  Providence,  which  has 
heretofore  preserved  and  been  bounti 
ful  to  me,  not  doubting  but  that  I  shall 
return  safe  to  you  in  the  fall.  I  shall 
feel  no  pain  from  the  toil  or  the  danger 
of  the  campaign  ;  my  unhappiness  will 
flow  from  the  uneasiness  I  know  yon 
will  feel  from  being  left  alone.  I  there 
fore  beg,  that  you  will  summon  your 


CHAP.  I.] 


WASHINGTON  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


330 


whole  fortitude  and  pass  your  time  as 
agreeably  as  possible.  Nothing  will 
give  me  so  much  sincere  satisfaction  as 
to  hear  this,  and  to  hear  it  from  your 
own  pen.  My  earnest  and  ardent  de 
sire  is,  that  you  would  pursue  any  plan 
that  is  most  likely  to  produce  content, 
and  a  tolerable  degree  of  tranquillity  ; 
as  it  must  add  greatly  to  my  uneasy 
feelings  to  hear  that  you  are  dissatis 
fied  or  complaining  at  what  I  really 
could  not  avoid." 

The  same  diffidence  of  his  ability  to 
discharge  the  arduous  duties  which  he 
had  assumed,  is  expressed  in  the  follow 
ing  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  brother 

O 

John  Augustine,  dated  at  Philadelphia, 
June  20th,  1775  : 

"  I  am  now  to  bid  adieu  to  you,  and 
to  every  kind  of  domestic  ease,  for  a 
while.  I  am  embarked  on  a  wide 
ocean,  boundless  in  its  prospect,  and  in 
which,  perhaps,  no  safe  harbor  is  to  be 
found.  I  have  been  called  upon  by 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  colonies  to 
take  the  command  of  the  continental 
army ;  an  honor  I  neither  sought  after 
nor  desired,  as  I  am  thoroughly  con 
vinced  that  it  requires  greater  abilities 


and  much  more  experience  than  I  am 
master  of,  to  conduct  a  business  so  ex 
tensive  in  its  nature  and  arduous  in  the 
execution.  But  the  partiality  of  the 
Congress,  joined  to  a  political  motive, 
left  me  without  a  choice ;  and  I  am 
now  commissioned  a  general  and  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  now 
raised,  or  to  be  raised,  for  the  defence 
of  the  united  colonies.  That  I  may  dis 
charge  the  trust  to  the  satisfaction  of 
my  employers,  is  my  first  wish ;  that  I 
shall  aim  to  do  it,  there  remains  little 
doubt.  How  far  I  may  succeed  is  an 
other  point ;  but  this  I  am  sure  of,  that 
in  the  worst  event,  I  shall  have  the  con 
solation  of  knowing,  if  I  act  to  the  best 
of  my  judgment,  that  the  blame  ought 
to  lodge  upon  the  appointers,  not  the 
appointed,  as  it  was  by  no  means  a 
thing  of  my  own  seeking,  or  proceed 
ing  from  any  hint  of  my  friends." 

After  receiving  his  commission  as 
eominander-in-chief,  Washington  lost  no 
time  in  ioiuinsr  the  army  be- 

«  •>  1 7  T  ^ 

fore  Boston  ;  but  before  follow 
ing  him  to  his  post,  it  is  necessary  to 
notice  the  important  events  which  had 
transpired  in  that  quarter,  during  the 
session  of  Congress. 


DOCUMENTS    ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  I. 


[A.] 

PEYTON  RANDOLPH. 

Soox  after  the  rising  of  the  Congress  of  1775, 
this  gentleman,  its  president,  died.  He  was  de 
scended  from  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  re 
spectable  families  in  Virginia,  of  which  colony 
he  Avas  attorney-general  as  early  as  1748.  In 
1756,  he  formed  a  company  of  a  hundred  gen 
tlemen,  who  engaged  as  volunteers  against  the 
Indians.  He  commanded  a  company  in  the 
regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Washington. 
In  1764,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses.  In  1766,  having  resigned  the 
office  of  attorney-general,  he  was  chosen  speaker 
of  the  Assembly,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all 
classes  of  his  fellow-citizens.  In  1769,  a  new 
Assembly  was  convened  by  Lord  Botetourt, 
who  had  lately  arrived  as  governor.  This  As 
sembly  proceeded  to  the  immediate  considera 
tion  of  a  new  grievance  which  was  about  to  fall 
on  the  colonies.  This  was  the  threatened  trans 
portation  to  England,  for  trial,  of  all  persons 
who  might  be  charged  with  treason  in  the 
province  of  Massachusetts ;  a  measure  which 
had  passed  both  houses  of  parliament.  The 
Assembly  of  Virginia  added  a  decided  protest 
to  the  measure,  and  a  copy  of  their  resolutions 
was  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  colonial  Assem 
blies  throughout  the  continent,  with  a  request 
that  they  would  concur  therein.  The  Assem 
bly  being  suddenly  dissolved  by  the  governor, 
the  members  convened  at  a  private  house, 
where,  having  chosen  Mr.  Randolph  as  moder 
ator,  they  entered  into  a  non-importation  agree 
ment,  the  articles  of  which  were  signed  by  every 
one  present ;  among  whom  were  Peyton  Ran 
dolph,  George  Washington,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
Patrick  Henry,  R.  C.  Nicholas,  and  many  others, 


second  to  those  only  in  the  remembrance  i>f 
their  country. 

Intelligence  of  the  act  of  parliament,  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston,  reached  Williamsburg 
on  the  26th  of  May.  The  House  of  Burgesses, 
then  in  session,  instantly  resolved,  that  the  first 
of  June,  the  day  on  which  the  act  was  to  go 
into  operation,  should  be  set  apart  as  a  day  of 
fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer ;  that  the  di 
vine  interposition  might  then  be  implored,  either 
to  avert  the  threatening  evils  of  civil  war,  or  to 
give  to  the  people  energy  and  union,  to  meet 
them  with  spirit  and  effect.  In  the  midst  of 
further  animated  debate,  the  Assembly  was  ab 
ruptly  dissolved  by  Lord  Dunmore.  But  the 
members,  soon  after,  met  as  private  citizens, 
and  their  late  speaker,  Mr.  Randolph,  presid 
ing,  they  unanimously  signed  an  address  to 
their  countrymen  ;  in  which,  after  recommend 
ing  to  them  to  abstain  from  the  purchase  or  use 
of  East  India  commodities,  they  declare,  that 
the  late  attack  on  the  rights  of  a  sister  colony, 
menaced  rum  to  the  rights  of  all,  unless  the 
united  wisdom  of  the  whole  should  be  applied  ; 
and  the  committee  of  correspondence,  of  which 
Mr.  Randolph  was  chairman,  were  therefore  in 
structed  to  communicate  with  the  other  colonies 
on  the  expediency  of  calling  a  general  congress 
of  delegates,  to  meet  annually,  for  the  purpose 
of  deliberating  on  those  general  measures,  which 
the  united  interests  of  America  might  from  time 
to  time  require.  It  may  be  necessary  to  re 
mark,  that  the  meeting  of  the  first  Congress  at 
Philadelphia,  in  the  September  following,  was  a 
consequence  of  this  recommendation. 

On  the  first  day  of  August,  the  convention  of 
deputies  elected  by  the  several  counties  of  Vir 
ginia,  assembled  at  Williamsburg,  and  Peyton 
Randolph  was  chosen  their  chairman.  The  first 


CHAP.  I] 


DOCUMENTS. 


341 


act  of  this  body  was  a  declaration  of  the  neces 
sity  of  a  general  congress,  in  order  that  redress 
might  be  procured  for  the  much  injured  prov 
ince  of  Massachusetts,  and  that  the  other  prov 
inces  might  be  secured  from  the  ravage  and 
ruin  of  ai'bitrary  taxes.  In  pursuance  of  this 
declaration,  on  the  fifth  of  the  same  month,  they 
chose  seven  of  their  most  distinguished  mem 
bers,  to  represent  the  colony  in  general  con 
gress  ;  among  these  were  Peyton  Randolph, 
George  Washington,  Edmund  Pendleton,  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee,  and  Patrick  Henry.  The  con 
vention,  however,  did  not  dissolve  itself,  until  it 
had  entered  into  a  solemn  agreement,  which  it 
also  recommended  to  the  people,  not  to  import 
British  merchandise  or  manufactures,  nor  to  im 
port  nor  even  use  the  article  of  tea ;  and  in  case 
the  American  grievances  were  not  redressed  be 
fore  the  tenth  of  the  next  August,  to  cease  the 
exportation  of  tobacco,  or  any  other  article  what 
ever,  to  Great  Britain. 

On  the  meeting  of  the  first  General  Congress 
at  Philadelphia,  on  the  fifth  day  of  September, 
1774,  Peyton  Randolph  was  called,  by  the 
united  voice  of  the  members,  to  preside  over 
their  deliberations.  The  character  and  pro 
ceedings  of  that  august  and  enlightened  assem 
bly  are  so  well  known  to  the  world,  that  to 
dwell  upon  them  here  would  be  superfluous. 
It  may  be  permitted,  however,  to  mention  a 
remarkable  occurrence  which  took  place  on  the 
opening  of  Congress,  regarding  as  it  does,  a  per 
sonage,  respecting  whom  even  trifles  become  in 
teresting.  It  is  related,  on  the  authority  of  the 
venerable  Chai'les  Thompson,  that,  upon  the 
House  being  summoned  to  prayers,  and  their 
chaplain  having  commenced  the  service,  it  was 
perceived,  that  of  all  the  members  present, 
George  Washington  was  the  only  one  who  was 
upon  his  knees.  A  striking  circumstance,  cer 
tainly,  and  adding  another  trait  to  the  character 
of  a  man,  who  seemed  destined  to  be,  in  every 
situation,  distinguished  from  his  fellow-mortals. 

The  severe  indisposition  of  Mr.  Randolph 
obliged  him  to  retire  from  the  chair  on  the  22d 
of  October  of  this  year,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  the  Honorable  Henry  Middleton  as  presi 
dent  of  Congress.  But  his  country  was  not  yet 
to  be  deprived  of  his  valuable  services  ;  on  the 


20th  of  March,  1775,  he  appeared  as  president 
of  the  convention  of  deputies,  convened  at  the 
town  of  Richmond,  and  was  again  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Congress  which  was  to 
be  held  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  10th  of  the  fol 
lowing  May.  But,  before  he  left  Virginia  a 
second  time,  he  had  more  than  one  occasion  of 
displaying  the  uncommon  moderation  of  his 
character.  About  the  middle  of  April,  the  con 
duct  of  Lord  Dunmore,  in  clandestinely  remov 
ing  on  board  a  ship-of-war  the  powder  of  the 
city,  together  with  his  violent  menaces  against 
Williamsburg,  had  necessarily  excited  the  re 
sentment  of  the  people ;  they  were  even  upon 
the  point  of  entering  his  house  in  an  armed 
body ;  and  nothing,  probably,  but  the  timely 
interference  of  their  venerated  townsman,  Ran 
dolph,  would  have  saved  the  governor  from 
their  violence.  A  considerable  number  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  upper  country  had  also  risen 
in  arms.  They  assembled  at  Fredericksburg, 
and  had  just  come  to  a  decision  to  march  to 
wards  Williamsburg,  when  Mr.  Randolph  ar 
rived  there  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia.  His 
advice,  joined  by  that  of  his  friend,  Edmund 
Pendleton,  had  its  usual  influence,  and  the  vol 
unteer  companies,  generally,  returned  to  their 
several  homes.  There  was,  however,  a  remark 
able  exception  to  this  acquiescence ;  a  small 
force,  commanded  by  the  warm  and  enthusias 
tic  Patrick  Henry,  actually  proceeded  to  within 
a  few  miles  of  Williamsburg ;  where  their  leader, 
before  he  would  disband  his  troops,  obtained, 
from  the  king's  receiver-general,  a  bill  for  the 
value  of  the  powder  in  question. 

A  few  days  after  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in 
May,  1775,  on  the  arrival  in  America  of  what 
was  called  Lord  North's  conciliatory  proposi 
tion,  Mr.  Randolph  again  quitted  the  chair  ot 
Congress  and  repaired  to  Williamsburg,  where 
Lord  Dunmore  had  summoned  the  House  of 
Burgesses  to  assemble  on  the  first  of  June,  in 
order  that  he  might  lay  before  them  the  propo 
sition  of  the  British  minister.  Mr.  Randolph 
resumed  his  situation  as  Speaker  of  the  House, 
and,  when  the  answer  to  Lord  North  was  to  be 
given,  anxious  that  its  tone  and  spirit  should  be 
such  as  to  have  an  effect  upon  those  of  the  other 
colonies  that  would  follow,  and  meet  the  feelings 


342 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


of  the  body  he  had  left,  he  requested  the  aid  of 
a  younger  and  more  ardent  pen  ;  and  it  is  to 
the  vigorous  conception  of  Jefferson  that  we 
owe  that  bold  and  masterly  production.  The 
opposition  to  it  was  but  feeble,  and  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  steadily  supported  and  carried  it  through 
the  House,  with  a  few  softenings  only,  which  it 
received,  in  its  course,  from  the  more  timid 
members. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses,  he  returned  to  the  Congress,  which  was 
still  sitting  at  Philadelphia.  It  was  generally 
expected  that  Mr.  Hancock,  who  had  succeeded 
him  as  president,  would  have  resigned  the  chair 
on  his  return.  Mr.  Randolph,  however,  took 
his  seat  as  a  member,  and  entered  readily  into 
all  the  momentous  proceedings  of  that  body. 
But  he  was  not  destined  to  witness  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  country  he  had  loved  and 
served  so  faithfully.  A  stroke  of  apoplexy  de 
prived  him  of  life  on  the  21st  of  October,  1775, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  He  had  accepted 
an  invitation  to  dine  with  other  company  near 
Philadelphia.  He  fell  from  his  seat,  and  imme 
diately  expired.  His  corpse  was  taken  to  Vir 
ginia  for  interment. 

Peyton  Randolph  was,  indeed,  a  most  excel 
lent  man,  and  no  one  was  ever  more  beloved 
and  respected  by  his  friends.  In  manner,  he 
was,  perhaps,  somewhat  cold  and  reserved  to 
wards  strangers,  but  of  the  sweetest  affability 
when  ripened  into  acquaintance ;  of  attic  pleas 
antry  in  conversation,  and  always  good-humored 
and  conciliatory.  He  was  liberal  in  his  ex 
penses,  but  so  strictly  correct,  also,  that  he 
never  found  himself  involved  in  pecuniary  em 
barrassment.  His  heart  was  always  open  to  the 
amiable  sensibilities  of  our  nature  ;  and  he  per 
formed  as  many  good  acts  as  could  have  been 
done  with  his  fortune,  without  injuriously  im 
pairing  his  means  of  continuing  them. 

As  a  lawyer,  he  was  well  read,  and  possessed 
a  strong  and  logical  mind.  His  opinions  were 
highly  regarded.  They  presented  always  a 
learned  and  sound  view  of  the  subject,  but  gen 
erally,  too,  betraying  an  unwillingness  to  go 
into  its  thorough  development.  For,  being 
heavy  and  inert  in  body,  he  was  rather  too  in 
dolent  and  careless  for  business,  which  occa 


sioned  him  to  have  a  smaller  portion  of  it  than 
his  abilities  would  have  otherwise  commanded. 
Indeed,  after  his  appointment  as  attorney-gen 
eral,  he  did  not  seem  to  court,  nor  scarcely  to 
welcome,  business.  It  ought,  however,  to  be 
said  of  him  to  his  honor,  that  in  the  discharge 
of  that  office  he  considered  himself  equally 
charged  with  the  rights  of  the  colony  as  with 
those  of  the  crown ;  and  that,  in  criminal  prose 
cutions,  exaggerating  nothing,  he  aimed  only  to 
arrive  at  a  candid  and  just  state  of  the  transac 
tion,  believing  it  more  a  duty  to  save  an  inno 
cent,  than  to  convict  a  guilty,  man. 

As  a  politician,  he  was  firm  in  his  principles, 
and  steady  in  his  opposition  to  foreign  usurpa 
tion  ;  but,  with  the  other  older  members  of  the 
Assembly,  generally  yielding  the  lead  to  the 
younger ;  contenting  himself  with  tempering 
their  extreme  ardor,  and  so  far  moderating 
their  pace,  as  to  prevent  their  going  too  much 
in  advance  of  public  sentiment.  He  presided  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  subsequently  in 
the  General  Congress,  with  uncommon  dignity  ; 
and,  although  not  eloquent,  yet  when  he  spoke, 
his  matter  was  so  substantial,  that  no  man  com 
manded  more  attention.  This,  joined  with  the 
universal  knowledge  of  his  worth,  gave  him  a 
weight  in  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  which  few 
ever  attained. 

He  left  no  issue,  and  his  fortune  Avas  be 
queathed  to  his  widow,  and  his  nephew,  Ed 
mund  Randolph. 


[B-] 

WASHINGTON'S  COMMISSION  FROM  THE  CONTI 
NENTAL  CONGRESS  OF  1775,  AS  COMMANDER- 
IN-CHIEF. 

The  delegates  of  the  united  colonies  of  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  the  counties  of  Newcastle,  Kent,  and 
Sussex  on  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  South  Carolina  : 

To  George  Washington,  Esq. 
We,  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in 
your  patriotism,  valor,  conduct,  and  fidelity,  do 
by  these  presents  constitute  and  appoint  you  to 


CHAP.  I.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


343 


be  general  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  army 
of  the  united  colonies,  and  of  all  the  forces  now 
raised,  or  to  be  raised  by  them,  and  of  all  others 
who  shall  voluntarily  offer  their  service,  and 
join  the  said  army  for  the  defence  of  American 
liberty,  and  for  repelling  every  hostile  invasion 
thereof;  and  you  are  hereby  invested  with  full 
power  and  authority  to  act  as  you  shall  think 
for  the  good  and  welfare  of  the  service. 

And  we  do  hereby  strictly  charge  and  require 
all  officers  and  soldiers  under  your  command,  to 
be  obedient  to  your  orders,  and  diligent  in  the 
exercise  of  their  several  duties. 

And  we  also  enjoin  and  require  you  to  be 


careful  in  executing  the  great  trust  reposed  in 
you,  by  causing  strict  discipline  to  be  observed 
in  the  army,  and  that  the  soldiers  be  duly  exer 
cised  and  provided  with  all  convenient  neces 
saries. 

And  you  are  to  regulate  your  conduct  in 
every  respect  by  the  rules  and  discipline  of 
war  (as  herewith  given  you),  and  punctually  to 
observe  and  follow  such  orders  and  directions 
from  time  to  time  as  you  shall  receive  from  this 
or  a  future  Congress  of  these  united  colonies,  or 
by  committee  of  Congress. 

This  commission  to  continue  in  force  until  re 
voked  by  us,  or  by  a  future  Congress. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1775, 

• 

BUNKER     HILL. 

State  of  public  sentiment. — Power  of  Great  Britain. — Habits  of  Europeans  and  Americans  as  it  respects  war. — The 
colonists  able  but  undisciplined. — Their  service  in  former  wars. — Martial  spirit  of  '75.— Danger  to  property. — 
Gadsden's  remark. — Revenues  of  Britain. — Scanty  resources  of  the  colonists  for  war. — Disadvantages  to  Britain 
arising  from  its  remoteness. — Enthusiasm  of  the  Americans  more  useful  than  money. — Exertions  of  professional 
men  and  the  press. — Fast-day  appointed. — Army  besieging  Boston. — Reinforcements  to  the  British  army  arrive 
from  England. — Gage's  offers  of  pardon. — Adams  and  Hancock  excepted. — Martial  law  proclaimed  by  Gage.— 
Preparations  for  occupying  Bunker's  Hill. — Colonel  Prescott,  with  one  thousand  men,  marches  from  Cambridge 
to  Charlestown,  and  throws  up  intrenchments  on  Breed's  Hill. — It  is  assailed  by  the  British  ships  in  Boston 
harbor. — Gage  detaches  Howe  and  Pigot  with  a  force  to  dislodge  the  Americans. — They  land  at  Moreton's  Point 
and  send  back  for  reinforcements. — The  Americans  are  also  reinforced.— General  attack  on  the  American  lines 
and  the  redoubt. — Repulsed  with  dreadful  slaughter. — Charlestown  burnt. — Second  attack  repulsed. — The  am 
munition  of  the  Americans  exhausted. — Third  attack. — Dreadful  encounter  with  bayonets  and  clubbed  muskets. — 
Lines  of  the  Americans  enfiladed  with  a  raking  fire. — Retreat  of  the  Americans  over  Charlestown  Neck. — Death 
of  General  Warren. — Moral  effect  of  the  battle. 


WHILE  Congress  was  in  session,  the 
march  of  public  sentiment  towards  the 
adoption  of  more  decisive  measures  of 
hostility  than  had  previously  been 
deemed  possible,  was  steady  and  con 
stant. 

From  a  variety  of  circumstances,  the 
Americans  had  good  reason  to  conclude 
that  hostilities  would  soon  be  carried  on 
vigorously  in  Massachusetts,  and  also  to 
apprehend  that,  sooner  or  later,  each 
province  would  be  the  theatre  of  war. 
"The  more  speedily,  therefore,"  said 
they,  "  we  are  prepared  for  that 
event,  the  better  chance  we  have 
for  defending  ourselves." 

Previous  to  this  period,  or,  rather,  to 
the  19th  of  April,  1775,  the  dispute  had 


1775. 


been  carried  on  by  the  pen,  or,  at  most, 
by  associations  and  legislative  acts ;  but 
from,  this  time  forward  it  was  conducted 
by  the  sword.  The  crisis  was  arrived 
when  the  colonies  had  no  alternative 
but  either  to  submit  to  the  mercy,  or  to 
resist  the  power  of  Great  Britain. 

An  unconquerable  love  of  liberty 
could  not  brook  the  idea  of  submission, 
while  reason,  more  temperate  in  her  de 
cisions,  suggested  to  the  people  their 
insufficiency  to  make  effectual  opposi 
tion.  They  were  fully  apprised  of  the 
power  of  Britain — they  knew  that  her 
fleets  covered  the  ocean,  and  that  her 
flag  had  waved  in  triumph  through  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe ;  but  the  ani 
mated  language  of  the  time  was,  "  It  is 


CHAP.  II.] 


BUNKER  HILL. 


345 


better  to  die  freemen,  than  to  live 
slaves."  Though  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  and  the  inspiration  of  liberty, 
gave,  in  the  opinion  of  disinterested 
judges,  a  superiority  to  the  writings  of 
Americans,  yet,  in  the  art  of  literary 
composition,  the  candid  among  them 
selves  acknowledged  an  inferiority. 
Their  form  of  government  was  defi 
cient  in  that  decision,  dispatch,  and 
coercion,  which  are  necessary  to  mili 
tary  operations. 

Europeans,  from  their  being  generally 
unacquainted  with  firearms,  are  less 
easily  taught  the  use  of  them  than 
Americans,  who  are,  from  their  youth, 
familiar  with  these  instruments  of  war ; 
yet,  on  other  accounts,  they  are  more 
susceptible  of  military  habits.  The 
proportion  of  necessitous  men  in  the 
New  World  is  small  to  that  in  the  Old. 

To  procure  subsistence  is  a  powerful 
motive  with  a  European  to  enlist,  and 
the  prospect  of  losing  it  makes  him 
afraid  to  neglect  his  duty ;  but  these  in 
citements  to  the  punctual  discharge  of 
military  services,  are  wanting  in  Amer 
ica.  In  old  countries,  the  distinction  of 
ranks  and  the  submission  of  inferiors  to 
superiors  generally  takes  place  ;  but  in 
the  New  World,  an  extreme  sense  of 
liberty  and  equality  indisposes  to  that 
implicit  obedience  which  is  the  soul  of 
an  army.  The  same  causes  which  nur 
tured  a  spirit  of  independence  in  the 
colonies,  were  hostile  to  their  military 
arrangements. 

It  was  not  only  from  the  different 
state  of  society  in  the  two  countries,  but 

VOL.  I.— 44 


from  a  variety  of  local  causes,  that  the 
Americans  were  not  able  to  contend  in 
arms,  on  equal  terms,  with  their  parent 
state.  From  the  first  settlement  of  the 
British  colonies,  agriculture  and  com 
merce,  but  especially  the  former,  had 
been  the  favorite  pursuits  of  the  inhab 
itants.  War  was  a  business  abhorrent 
from  their  usual  habits  of  life.  They 
had  never  engaged  in  it  from  their  own 
motion,  nor  in  any  other  mode  than  as 
appendages  to  British  troops,  and  under 
British  establishments.  By  these  means 
the  military  spirit  of  the  colonies  had 
no  opportunity  of  expanding  itself. 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities, 
the  British  troops  possessed  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  science  and  discipline  of 
war,  which  could  be  acquired  only  by 
a  long  course  of  application,  and  sub 
stantial  establishments.  Their  equip 
ments,  their  artillery,  and  every  other 
part  of  their  apparatus  for  war,  ap 
proached  perfection.  To  these  impor 
tant  circumstances  was  added  a  high 
national  spirit  of  pride,  which  had  been 
greatly  augmented  by  their  successes  in 
their  last  contest  with  France  and  Spain. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Americans 
were  undisciplined,  without  experienced 
officers,  and  without  the  shadow  of  mili 
tary  establishments.  In  the  wars  which 
had  been  previously  carried  on,  in  or 
near  the  colonies,  the  provincials  had 
been,  by  their  respective  legislatures, 
frequently  added  to  the  British  troops ; 
but  the  pride  of  the  latter  would  not 
consider  the  former,  who  were  without 
uniformity  of  dress,  or  the  pertness  ol 


340 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


military  airs,  to  be  their  equals.  The 
provincial  troops  were,  therefore,  for  the 
most  part,  assigned  to  services  which, 
though  laborious,  were  not  honorable. 

O  ' 

The  ignorance  of  British  generals, 
commanding  in  the  woods  of  America, 
sometimes  involved  them  in  difficulties 
from  which  they  had  been  more  than 
once  relieved  by  the  superior  local 
knowledge  of  the  colonial  troops.  These 
services  were  soon  forgotten,  and  the 
moment  the  troops  who  performed  them 
could  be  spared,  they  were  disbanded. 
Such  obstacles  had  hitherto  depressed 
military  talents  in  America,  but  they 
were  now  overcome  by  the  ardor  of 
the  people. 

In  the  year  1775,  a  martial  spirit  per 
vaded  all  ranks  of  men  in  the 
colonies.  They  believed  their 
liberties  to  be  in  danger,  and  were 
generally  disposed  to  risk  their  lives 
for  their  establishment.  Their  12:110- 

o 

ranee  of  the  military  art  prevented 
their  weighing  the  chances  of  war  with 
that  exactness  of  calculation  which,  if 
indulged,  might  have  damped  their 
hopes.  They  conceived  that  there  was 
little  more  to  do  than  fight  manfully 
for  their  country.  They  consoled  them 
selves  with  the  idea,  that  though  their 
first  attempt  might  be  unsuccessful, 
their  numbers  would  admit  of  a  repeti 
tion  of  the  experiment,  till  the  invaders 
were  finally  exterminated.  Not  consid 
ering,  that  in  modern  war,  the  longest 
purse  decides  oftener  than  the  longest 
sword,  they  feared  not  the  wealth  of 
Britain.  They  both  expected  and 


wished  that  the  whole  dispute  ,vould  be 
speedily  settled  in  a  few  decisive  en 
gagements. 

Elevated  with  the  love  of  liberty,  and 
buoyed  above  the  fear  of  consequences 
by  an  ardent  military  enthusiasm,  un 
abated  by  calculations  about  the  extent, 
duration,  or  probable  issue  of  the  war, 
the  people  of  America  seconded  the 
voice  of  their  rulers,  in  an  appeal  to 
heaven  for  the  vindication  of  their 
rights.  At  the  time  the  colonies  adopted 
these  spirited  resolutions,  they  possessed 
not  a  single  ship  of  war,  nor  so  much  as 
an  armed  vessel  of  any  kind.  It  had 
often  been  suggested  that  their  seaport 
towns  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  navy  of 
Great  Britain;  this  was  both  known 
and  believed,  but  disregarded.  The 
love  of  property  was  absorbed  in  the 
love  of  liberty. 

The  animated  votaries  of  the  equal 
rights  of  human  nature  consoled  them- 

O 

selves  with  the  idea,  that  though  their 
whole  sea-coast  should  be  laid  in  ashes, 
they  could  retire  to  the  western  wilder 
ness,  and  enjoy  the  luxury  of  being  free  ; 
on  this  occasion  it  was  observed  in  Con 
gress  by  Christopher  Gadsden,  one  of 
the  South  Carolina  delegates,  "  Our 
houses  being  constructed  of  brick,  stone, 
and  wood,  though  destroyed  may  be 
rebuilt,  but  liberty  once  gone  is  lost 
forever." 

The  sober  discretion  of  the  present 
age  will  more  readily  censure  than  ad 
mire,  but  can  more  easily  admire  than 
imitate,  the  fervid  zeal  of  the  patriots  of 
1775,  who  in  idea  sacrificed  property  in 


CHAP.  II] 


BUNKER  HILL. 


347 


1175. 


the  cause  of  liberty,  with,  the  ease  that 
they  now  sacrifice  almost  every  other 
consideration  for  the  acquisition  of  pro 
perty. 

The  revenues  of  Britain  were  im 
mense,  and  her  people  were  ha 
bituated  to  the  payment  of  large 
sums  in  every  form  which  contributions 
to  government  have  assumed ;  but  the 
American  colonies  possessed  neither 
money  nor  funds,  nor  were  their  people 
accustomed  to  taxes  equal  to  the  exi 
gencies  of  war.  The  contest  having 
begun  about  taxation,  to  have  raised 
money  by  taxes  for  carrying  it  on,  would 
have  been  impolitic.  The  temper  of 
the  times  precluded  the  necessity  of 
attempting  the  dangerous  expedient; 
for  such  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  day, 
that  the  colonists  gave  up  both  their 
personal  services  and  their  property  to 
the  public,  on  the  vague  promises  that 
they  should  at  a  future  time  be  reim 
bursed. 

Without  inquiring  into  the  solidity 
of  funds,  or  the  precise  period  of  pay 
ment,  the  resources  of  the  country  were 
commanded  on  general  assurances,  that 
all  expenses  of  the  war  should  ulti 
mately  be  equalized.  The  parent  state 
abounded  with  experienced  statesmen 
and  officers,  but  the  dependent  form  of 
government  exercised  in  the  colonies, 
precluded  their  citizens  from  gaining 
that  practical  knowledge  which  is  ac 
quired  from  being  at  the  head  of  pub 
lic  departments.  There  were  very  few 
in  the  colonies  who  understood  the  busi 
ness  of  providing  for  an  army,  and  still 


fewer  who  had  experience  and  knowl 
edge  to  direct  its  operations.  The  dis 
position  of  the  finances  of  the  country, 
and  the  most  effectual  mode  of  drawing 
forth  its  resources,  were  subjects  with 
which  scarce  any  of  the  inhabitants 
were  acquainted.  Arms  and  ammuni 
tion  were  almost  wholly  deficient ;  and 
though  the  country  abounded  with  the 
materials  of  which  they  are  manufac 
tured,  yet  there  was  neither  time  nor 
artists  enough  to  supply  an  army  with 
the  means  of  defence.  The  country  was 
destitute  both  of  fortifications  and  en 
gineers. 

Amidst  so  many  discouragements 
there  were  some  flattering  circumstances. 
The  war  could  not  be  carried  on  by 
Great  Britain  but  to  a  great  disadvan 
tage,  and  at  an  immense  expense.  It 
was  easy  for  ministers  at  St.  James's  to 
plan  campaigns,  but  hard  was  the  fate 
of  the  officer  from  whom  the  execution 
of  them,  in  the  woods  of  America,  was 
expected.  The  country  was  so  exten 
sive,  and  abounded  so  much  with  defiles, 
that  by  evacuating  and  retreating,  the 
Americans,  though  they  could  not  con 
quer,  yet  might  save  themselves  from 
being  conquered. 

The  authors  of  the  acts  of  parliament 
for  restraining  the  trade  of  the  colonies, 
were  most  excellent  recruiting  officers 
for  the  Congress.  They  imposed  a  ne 
cessity  on  thousands  to  become  soldiers. 
All  other  business  being  suspended,  the 
whole  resources  of  the  country  were  ap 
plied  in  supporting  an  army. 

Though  the  colonists  were  without 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  IV. 


discipline,  they  possessed  native  valor. 
Though  they  had  neither  gold  nor  silver, 
they  possessed  a  mine  in  the  enthusiasm 
of  their  people.  Paper,  for  upwards  of 
two  years,  produced  to  them  more  solid 
advantages  than  Spain  derived  from 
her  superabounding  precious  metals. 
Though  they  had  no  ships  to  protect 
their  trade  or  their  towns,  they  had 
simplicity  enough  to  live  without  the 
former,  and  enthusiasm  enough  to  risk 
the  latter,  rather  than  submit  to  the 
power  of  Britain.  They  believed  their 
cause  to  be  just,  and  that  Heaven  ap 
proved  their  exertions  in  defence  of 
their  rights.  Zeal,  originating  from  such 

O  7  O  O 

motives,  supplied  the  place  of  discipline, 
and  inspired  a  confidence  and  military 
ardor  which  overleaped  all  difficulties. 

Resistance  being  resolved  upon  by 
the  Americans,  the  pulpit — the  press— 
the  bench  and  the  bar,  severally  labored 
to  unite  and  encourage  them.  The 
clergy  of  New  England  were  a  numer 
ous,  learned,  and  respectable  body,  who 
had  a  great  ascendency  over  the  minds 
of  their  hearers.  They  connected  re 
ligion  and  patriotism,  and,  in  their  ser 
mons  and  prayers,  represented  the  cause 
of  America  as  the  cause  of  Heaven. 
The  synod  of  New  York  and  Phila 
delphia  also  sent  forth  a  pastoral  let 
ter,  which  was  publicly  read  in  their 
churches.  This  earnestly  recommended 
such  sentiments  and  conduct  as  were 
suitable  to  their  situation. 

Writers  and  printers  followed  in  the 
rear  of  the  preachers,  and  next  to  them 
had  the  greatest  hand  in  animating  their 


countrymen.  Gentlemen  of  the  bench 
and  of  the  bar  denied  the  charge  of  re 
bellion,  and  justified  the  resistance  of 
the  colonists.  A  distinction,  founded 
on  law,  between  the  king  and  his  min 
istry,  was  introduced.  The  former,  it 
was  contended,  could  do  no  wrong. 
The  ciime  of  treason  was  chargd  on  the 
latter,  for  using  the  royal  name  to  var 
nish  their  own  unconstitutional  meas 
ures.  The  phrase  of  a  ministerial  Avar 
became  common,  and  was  used  as  a 
medium  for  reconciling  resistance  with 
allegiance. 

Coeval  with  the  resolutions  for  organ 
izing  an  army,  was  one  appointing  the 
20th  day  of  July,  IT 75,  a  day  of  public 
humiliation,  fasting,  and  prayer,  to  Al 
mighty  God,  "  to  bless  their  rightful 
sovereign  King  George,  and  to  inspire 
him  with  wisdom  to  discern  and  pur 
sue  the  true  interest  of  his  subjects ;  and 
that  the  British  nation  might  be  in 
fluenced  to  regard  the  things  that  be 
longed  to  her  peace,  before  they  were 
hid  from  her  eyes — that  the  colonies 
might  be  ever  under  the  care  and  pro 
tection  of  a  kind  Providence,  and  be 
prospered  in  all  their  interests — that 
America  misfht  soon  behold  a  crac-ions 

O  O 

interposition  of  Heaven  for  the  redress 
of  her  many  grievances ;  the  restoration 
of  her  invaded  rights,  a  reconciliation 
with  the  parent  state  on  terms  constitu 
tional  and  honorable  to  both." 

The  forces  which  had  been  collected 
in  Massachusetts,  were  stationed  in  con 
venient  places  for  guarding  the  country 
from  further  excursions  of  the  regulars 


CHAP.  II.] 


BUNKER  HILL. 


340 


from  Boston.  Breastworks  were  also 
erected  in  different  places  for  the  same 
purpose.  While  both  parties  were  at 
tempting  to  carry  off  stock  from  the 
several  islands,  with  which  the  bay  of 
Boston  is  agreeably  diversified,  sundry 
skirmishes  took  place.  These  were  of 
real  service  to  the  Americans.  They 
habituated  them  to  danger ;  and  per 
haps  much  of  the  courage  of  old  soldiers 
is  derived  from  an  experimental  convic 
tion,  that  the  chance  of  escaping  unhurt 
from  engagements,  is  much  greater  than 
young  recruits  suppose. 

About  the  latter  end  of  May,  a  great 
part  of  the  reinforcements  or 
dered  from  Great  Britain  arrived 
at  Boston.  Three  British  generals, 
Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Clinton,  whose 
behavior  in  the  preceding  war  had 
gained  them  great  reputation,  also  ar 
rived  about  the  same  time.  General 
Gage,  thus  reinforced,  prepared  for  act 
ing  with  more  decision ;  but,  before  he 
proceeded  to  extremities,  he  conceived 
it  due  to  ancient  forms  to  issue  a  proc 
lamation,  holding  forth  to  the  inhabit 
ants  the  alternative  of  peace  or  war. 
He  therefore  offered  pardon,  in  the 
king's  name,  to  all  who  should  forthwith 
lay  down  their  arms,  and  return  to  their 
respective  occupations  and  peaceable 
duties ;  excepting  only  from  the  benefit 
of  that  pardon  "Samuel  Adams  and 
John  Hancock,  whose  offences  were  said 
to  1)6  of  too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit 
of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of 
condign  punishment."  He  also  pro 
claimed  that  not  only  the  persons  above 


named  and  excepted,  but  also  all  their 
adherents,  associates,  and  correspond 
ents,  should  be  deemed  guilty  of  trea 
son  and  rebellion,  and  treated  accord 
ingly. 

By  this  proclamation  it  was  also  de 
clared,  "that  as  the  courts  of  judicature 
were  shut,  martial  law  should  take 
place,  till  a  due  course  of  justice  should 
be  re-established." 

,  From  the  movements  visible  among 
the  British  troops,  and  their  apparent 
preparations  for  some  active 
enterprise,  the  Americans  were 
led  to  believe  that  Gage  designed  to 
issue  from  Boston  and  penetrate  into 
the  interior  of  Massachusetts ;  where 
upon,  with  a  view  to  anticipate  or  de 
range  the  supposed  project  of  attack, 
the  Provincial  Congress  suggested  to 
General  Ward,*  who  held  the  chief 
command  in  the  army  which  blockaded 
Boston,  that  measures  should  be  taken 
for  the  defence  of  Dorchester  Keck, 
and  that  a  part  of  the  American  force 
should  occupy  an  intrenched  position 
on  Bunker's  Hill,  which  ascends  from 
and  commands  the  entrance  of  the 
peninsula  of  Charlestown. 

Orders  were  accordingly  communi 
cated  to  Colonel-  Prescott,  with  a  de 
tachment  of  a  thousand  men,  to  take 
possession  of  that  eminence ;  but, 
through  some  misapprehension,  Breed's 
Hill,  instead  of  Bunker's  Hill,  was  made 
the  site  of  the  projected  intrenchment. 
By  his  conduct  of  this  perilous  enter- 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


LIFE  AND  TDIES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


prise,  and  the  heroic  valor  he  displayed 
in  the  conflict  that  ensued,  Prescott 
honorably  signalized  a  name  which  his 
descendants  have  further  adorned  with 
the  highest  trophies  of  forensic  and 
literary  renown. 

About  nine  o'clock  of  the  evening 
(June  16th),  the  detachment  moved 
from  Cambridge,  and,  silently  travers 
ing  Charlestown  Neck,  gained  the  sum 
mit  of  Breed's  Hill  unobserved.  This 
eminence  is  situated  at  the  extremity  of 
the  peninsula  nearest  to  Boston  ;  and  is 
so  elevated  as  to  overlook  every  part 
of  that  town,  and  so  near  it  as  to  be 
within  the  reach  of  cannon-shot. 

The  American  troops,  who  were  pro 
vided  with  intrenching  tools,  instantly 
commenced  their  work,  which  they  pur 
sued  with  such  diligence,  that,  before 
the  morning  arrived,  they  had  thrown 
up  a  redoubt  of  considerable  dimen 
sions,  and  with  such  deep  silence,  that, 
although  the  peninsula  was  nearly  sur 
rounded  by  British  ships  of  war  and 
transports,  their  operations  were  only 
first  disclosed  to  the  astonished  army  of 
Britain  by  the  dispersion  of  the  dark 
ness  of  night,  under  whose  shade  they 
had  been  conducted. 

At  break  of  day '(June  l*7th),  the 
alarm  was  communicated  at  Boston  by 
a  cannonade,  which  the  Lively  sloop-of- 
war  promptly  directed  against  the  in- 
trenchments  and  embattled  array  of 
the  Americans.  A  battery  of  six  guns 
was  soon  after  opened  upon  them  from 
Copp's  Hill,  at  the  north  end  of  Boston. 
Under  an  incessant  shower  of  bullets 


and  bombs,  the  Americans  firmly  and 
indefatigably  persevered  in  their  labor, 
until  they  completed  a  small  breast 
work,  extending  from  the  east  side  of 
the  redoubt  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
towards  the  river  Mystic. 

We  have  remarked  the  mistake  that 
occasioned  a  departure  from  the  origi 
nal  plan  of  the  American  enterprise, 
and  led  to  the  assumption  of  Breed's 
Hill  instead  of  the  other  eminence 
which  it  was  first  proposed  to  occupy. 
By  a  corresponding  mistake,  the  mem 
orable  engagement  which  ensued  has 
received  the  name  of  The  Battle  of 
Bunker's  Hill, —  a  name  which  only 
vanity  or  pedantry  can  now  hope  or 
desire  to  divest  of  its  long-retained  ce 
lebrity,  and  its  animating  influence  on 
the  minds  of  men.  It  would  be  wiser, 
perhaps,  to  change  the  name  of  an  in 
significant  hill  than  of  a  glorious  battle, 
in  which  the  prize  contested  was  the 
freedom  of  North  America. 

Gage,  perceiving  the  necessity  of  dis 
lodging  the  Americans  from  the  posi 
tion  they  had  so  suddenly  and  daringly 
assumed,  detached,  about  noon,  on  this 
service,  the  generals  Howe  and  Pigot, 
with  ten  companies  of  grenadiers,  ten 
of  light-infantry,  and  a  suitable  propor 
tion  of  field-artillery.  These  troops, 
crossing  the  narrow  bay  which  lies  be 
tween  Boston  and  the  American  posi 
tion,  landed  at  Moreton's  Point,  and 
immediately  formed  in  order  of  battle  ; 
but  perceiving  that  the  Americans,  un 
daunted  by  this  demonstration,  and 
with  spirit  excited  to  the  utmost  height. 


Johnaou.  Fry  S:  0°  l^ihlinhnr1   .  Ti.  v/T' >rV 


CHAP,  n.] 


BUNKER  HILL. 


353 


the  apparent  danger,  the  retreat  was 
accomplished  with  inconsiderable  loss. 

The  British  troops  were  too  much  ex 
hausted,  and  had  suffered  too  severely, 
to  improve  their  dear-bought  victory 
by  more  than  a  mere  show  of  pursuit. 
They  had  brought  into  action  three 
thousand  men,  and  their  killed  and 
wounded  amounted  to  one  thousand 
and  fifty-four.  The  number  of  Ameri 
cans  engaged  was  fifteen  hundred,  and 
their  killed,  wounded,  and  missing 
amounted  to  four  hundred  and  fifty- 
three.  They  lost  some  gallant  officers, 
of  whom  the  most  generally  known  and 
lamented  was  General  Warren,*  who, 
having  ably  and  successfully  animated 


°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— 45 


his  countrymen  to  resist  the  power  of 
Britain,  now  gallantly  fell  in  the  first 
battle  that  their  resistance  produced. 
And  thus  ended  a  day  that  showed 
too  late  to  the  infatuated  politicians  of 
Britain  how  greatly  they  had  under 
rated  the  arduous  difficulties  of  the 
contest  they  provoked,  and  how  egre- 
giously  those  men  had  deceived  them 
who  confidently  predicted  that  the 
Americans  would  not  fight.  No  other 
imaginable  result  of  the  conflict  could 
have  been  more  unfavorable  to  the 
prospects  of  Britain,  whose  troops, 
neither  exhilarated  by  brilliant  victory 
nor  exasperated  by  disgraceful  defeat, 
were  depressed  by  a  success  of  which 
it  was  evident  that  a  few  more  such 
instances  would  prove  their  ruin. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  II. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  ARTEMAS  WARD,  WASHINGTON'S  PRE 
DECESSOR  IN  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY 
BEFORE  BOSTON. 

THIS  gentleman  was  the  first  major-general  in 
the  American  army ;  and,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  he  was  considered  an  officer  of  merit  suffi 
cient  to  have  his  name  respectfully  mentioned 
among  the  members  of  Congress  as  a  candidate 
for  commander-in-chief,  in  opposition  to  the 
claims  urged  by  the  friends  of  Washington.  His 
life,  however,  considering  the  high  position 
which  he  held  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution, 
was  singularly  barren  of  events.  "  He  gradu 
ated,"  say  his  biographers,  "at  Harvard  Col 
lege  in  1743,  and  was  afterwards  a  representa 
tive  in  the  Legislature,  a  member  of  the  Council, 
and  a  justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for 
Worcester  county,  Massachusetts.  When  the 
war  commenced  with  Great  Britain,  he  was  ap 
pointed  by  Congress  first  major-general,  June 
17,  1775.  After  the  arrival  of  Washington,  in 
July,  when  disposition  was  made  of  the  troops 
for  the  siege  of  Boston,  the  command  of  the 
right  wing  of  the  army  at  Roxbury  was  in 
trusted  to  General  Ward.  He  resigned  his  com 
mission  in  April,  1776,  though  he  continued 
some  time  longer  in  command  at  the  request  of 
Washington.  He  afterwards  devoted  himself 
to  the  duties  of  civil  life.  He  was  a  member  of 
Congress  both  before  and  after  the  adoption  of 
the  present  constitution.  After  a  long  decline, 
in  which  he  exhibited  the  most  exemplary  pa 
tience,  he  died  at  Shrewsbury,  October  28,  1800, 
aged  seventy-three  years.  He  was  a  man  of  in 
corruptible  integrity.  So  fixed  and  unyielding 
were  the  principles  which  governed  him,  that 


his  conscientiousness  in  lesser  concems  was  by 
some  ascribed  to  bigotry." 


[B.] 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JOSEPH  WARREN. 

This  Revolutionary  hero,  who  fell  glorioiisly 
fighting  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  has  left  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  names  in  the  history  of 
the  country.  He  was  born  in  Roxbury,  a  town 
which  adjoins  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1740. 
In  1755  he  entered  college,  where  he  sustained 
the  character  of  a  youth  of  talents,  fine  manners, 
and  of  a  generous,  independent  deportment, 
united  to  great  personal  courage  and  persever 
ance.  An  anecdote  will  illustrate  his  fearless 
ness  and  determination  at  that  age  when  char 
acter  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  formed.  Several 
students  of  Warren's  class  shut  themselves  in  a 
room  to  arrange  some  college  affairs,  in  a  way 
which  they  knew  was  contrary  to  his  wishes,  and 
barred  the  door  so  effectually  that  he  could  not, 
without  great  violence,  force  it ;  but  he  did  not 
give  over  the  attempt  of  getting  among  them, 
for  perceiving  that  the  window  of  the  room  in 
which  they  were  assembled  was  open,  and  near 
a  spout  which  extended  from  the  roof  of  the 
building  to  the  ground,  he  went  to  the  top  of 
the  house,  slid  down  the  eaves,  seized  the  spout, 
and  when  he  had  descended  as  far  as  the  win 
dow,  threw  himself  into  the  chamber  among 
them.  At  that  instant  the  spout,  which  was 
decayed  and  very  weak,  gave  way  and  fell  to 
the  ground.  He  looked  at  it  without  emotion, 
said  it  had  served  his  purpose,  and  began  to 
take  part  in  the  business.  He  was  educated  at 
Harvard  College,  and  received  his  first  degree 


CHAP.  II.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


355 


in  1759.  Directing  his  attention  to  medical 
studies,  he,  in  a  few  years,  became  one  of  the 
most  eminent  physicians  in  Boston.  But  he 
lived  at  a  period  when  greater  objects  claimed 
his  attention  than  those  which  related  particu 
larly  to  his  profession.  His  country  needed  his 
efforts,  and  his  zeal  and  courage  would  not  per 
mit  him  to  shrink  from  any  labors  or  dangers. 
His  eloquence,  and  his  talents  as  a  writer,  were 
displayed  on  many  occasions  from  the  year  in 
which  the  stamp-act  was  passed  to  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war.  He  was  a  bold  politician. 
While  many  were  wavering  with  regard  to  the 
measures  which  should  be  adopted,  he  contended 
that  every  kind  of  taxation,  whether  exter 
nal  or  internal,  was  tyranny,  and  ought  imme 
diately  to  be  resisted,  and  he  believed  that  Amer 
ica  was  able  to  withstand  any  force  that  could 
be  sent  against  her.  From  the  year  17G8,  he 
was  a  principal  member  of  the  secret  meeting 
or  caucus  in  Boston,  which  had  great  influence 
on  the  concerns  of  the  country.  With  all  his 
boldness,  and  decision,  and  zeal,  he  was  circum 
spect  and  wise.  In  this  assembly  the  plans  of 
defence  were  matured.  After  the  destruction 
of  the  tea  it  was  no  longer  kept  a  secret.  He 
was  twice  chosen  the  public  orator  of  the  town 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  massacre,  and  his  ora 
tions  breathed  the  energy  of  a  great  and  daring 
rnind.  It  was  he  who,  on  the  evening  before 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  obtained  information 
of  the  intended  expedition  against  Concord. 

At  six  in  the  evening  of  the  18th  April,  he 
was  at  a  meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  at  West  Cambridge;  at  eight  he  had 
returned  home,  ascertained  that  the  British 
troops  were  to  move  on  Lexington  that  night 
to  capture  the  stores,  and  dispatched  Mr.  Dawes 
to  give  the  patriots  warning ;  at  nine,  he  was 
quietly  standing  on  the  Common  watching  the 
embarkation  of  the  troops ;  at  ten,  he  was  giv 
ing  his  final  instructions  to  Colonel  Revere,  who 
set  out  that  night  for  Lexington  by  way  of 
Charlestown.  Next  morning,  as  usual,  he  was 
in  his  place  at  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
at  West  Cambridge.  When  the  retreating 
force  under  Lord  Percy  approached  the  place, 
Warren  was  one  of  the  first  to  turn  out  to  meet 
them;  seeming  to  take  a  pleasure  in  exposing 


himself,  and  actually  losing  a  lock  of  his  hair  by 
a  musket-ball. 

So  at  the  struggle  in  June.  On  the  16th,  he 
spent  the  day  in  presiding  over  the  Congress 
which  sat  at  Watertown.  When  it  adjourned, 
much  public  business  remained  to  be  transacted, 
and  after  a  hasty  meal,  Warren  spent  the  whole 
night  in  writing  and  giving  instructions.  At 
daybreak  he  rode  to  Cambridge,  and  being 
thoroughly  worn  out,  threw  himself  on  a  bed. 
He  had  hardly  lain  down  when  a  message  ar 
rived  that  the  enemy  were  moving  against 
Charlestown  Heights.  In  yielding  to  the  ma 
jority  of  the  Council  in  reference  to  the  occupa 
tion  of  these  heights,  he  had  declared  his  deter 
mination  to  take  part  personally  in  their  defence; 
the  moment  he  received  the  message  he  rose 
from  his  bed,  declared  he  was  quite  well,  and 
assembled  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety.  He 
was  again  urged  by  the  members  of  the  Com 
mittee  not  to  risk  his  valuable  life  in  the  coming 
battle ;  but  he  spurned  the  warning.  The  Coun 
cil  broke  up,  he  mounted  his  horse,  and  rode 
towards  Charlestown  Neck.  The  first  man  he 
met  near  the  American  works  was  General  Put 
nam. 

"  General  Warren,"  said  the  veteran,  saluting 
him  ceremoniously,  "  I  take  your  orders." 

"  General  Putnam,  I  have  none  to  give.  I 
am  here  as  a  volunteer.  Where  can  I  be  use 
ful  ?» 

"  Go  to  the  redoubt,  then ;  you  will  be  cov 
ered  there." 

"  I  come  not  to  be  covered,"  exclaimed  the 
young  man,  impetuously ;  "  tell  me  where  the 
action  will  be  hottest." 

"  If  the  redoubt  can  be  kept,  the  day  is  ours." 

At  the  redoubt,  a  similar  conversation  took 
place  between  him  and  Colonel  Prescott,  who, 
like  General  Putnam,  offered  to  take  his  orders, 
and  was  told  that  all  the  young  man  wanted 
was  a  musket. 

Of  the  incidents  of  that  memorable  day,  it 
would  be  quite  out  of  place  to  enlarge  here. 
That  is  a  touching  anecdote,  however,  which 
Sparks  tells  in  his  biography  of  the  English 
major,  Small.  In  happier  times,  he  had  been 
intimate  with  many  of  the  American  officers ; 
had  served  at  Louisburg  and  in  Canada  with 


356 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Putnam  and  many  others.  After  the  battle  of 
Lexington,  he  had  met  Putnam  to  interchange 
prisoners,  and  the  staff  who  accompanied  the 
latter  asserted  that  the  enemies  rushed  into  each 
other's  arms,  and  embraced  each  other  like 
brothers.  At  the  attack  on  the  redoubt,  this 
same  Major  Small  was  in  his  place  leading  on 
his  men ;  at  the  second  discharge,  when  the 
smoke  cleared  away,  he  was  seen  standing  quite 
alone,  every  officer  and  man  near  him  having 
been  swept  down  by  the  deadly  fire  of  the 
American  riflemen.  Of  course  he  was  a  con 
spicuous  mark ;  and  in  an  instant  half  a  dozen 
rifles  were  aimed  at  him,  as  he  stood  confused, 
and  seemingly  staggered  by  his  position.  A 
single  chance  revealed  him  to  Putnam.  With 
a  bound  he  was  on  the  wall  of  the  redoubt — a 
more  conspicuous  mark  for  the  English  sharp 
shooters  than  the  Major  had  been  for  the  Amer 
ican  riflemen. 

"  Don't  fire,  men,  for  God's  sake,  don't  fire !" 
the  old  man  shouted,  in  his  homely  phrase, 
"  that  man's  my  friend." 

Every  muzzle  was  lowered  at  the  request  of 
the  beloved  veteran ;  Major  Small,  waving  his 
sword  in  acknowledgment  of  the  service,  walked 
down  the  hill. 

Later  in  the  day,  when  the  enemy  at  length 
forced  his  way  into  the  redoubt  and  all  was 
lost,  Warren,  who  had  fought  heroically  as  a 
common  soldier,  was  one  of  the  last  to  retreat, 
and  kept  turning  round  every  few  moments  and 
facing  the  foe,  shouting  to  the  men,  "  Come, 
men,  one  charge  more !"  They  had  no  powder 
left,  poor  fellows !  and  nothing  but  the  cold  steel 
to  trust  to. 

As  Warren  and  the  last  of  the  Americans  re 
treated,  the  English  pressed  on  their  heels, 
Major  Small,  among  others,  at  their  head.  As 
Warren  turned  for  the  last  time,  with  rasre  in 

'  O 

his  face,  he  stood  almost  alone,  and  a  dozen  sol 
diers  took  aim  at  him.  Major  Small  instantly 
recognized  him,  and  perceiving  that  he  had  an 
opportunity  of  requiting  the  kindness  that  had 
been  shown  to  himself,  he  ran  in  advance  of  the 
soldiers,  threw  up  the  muskets  of  one  or  two,  and 
ordered  the  others  not  to  fire,  calling  on  General 
Warren  to  surrender. 

It  was  too  late.     A  soldier,  perhaps  little 


thinking  what  he  was  doing,  had  taken  cool 
aim,  and  pulled  the  trigger.  The  ball  struck 
the  gallant  Warren  fair  in  the  forehead,  and 
killed  him  on  the  spot. 

It  is  known  that  when  General  Howe  was  told 
that  General  Warren  was  among  the  dead,  he 
declared  that  it  was  impossible ;  a  person  of  so 
high  rank  would  never  have  exposed  himself,  he 
said,  in  such  a  battle.  When  he  dis(  overed  his 
error,  he  very  justly  remarked  that  the  death  ot 
Warren  balanced  the  loss  of  five  hundred  men. 

Of  the  honors  which  have  been  paid  to  the 
memory  of  General  Warren,  our  school-books 
tell  us.  His  sons  were  educated,  his  family 
aided  by  a  grateful  country  ;  even  the  ball  which 
killed  him  has  become  a  historical  relic,  highly 
prized  by  its  fortunate  possessor.  The  street 
where  stood  the  house  where  he  was  born  has 
been  named  after  him ;  and  all  good  Americans 
see,  with  due  respect  and  veneration,  the  birth 
place  of  one  of  the  truest  heroes  their  country 
ever  owned. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  in  1857,  a  marble  statue  was  inaugurated 
with  imposing  ceremonies  to  the  memory  of 
Warren,  in  Boston.  Massachusetts  never  per 
formed  a  service  which  was  better  earned ;  nor 
does  Boston  boast  of  any  monument  more  hon 
orably  creditable  than  the  statue  of  General 
Joseph  Warren. 

There  are  few  names  in  the  annals  of  Amer 
ican  patriotism  more  dearly  cherished  by  the 
brave  and  good  ;  few  that  will  shine  with  more 
increasing  lustre,  as  the  obscurity  of  time  grows 
darker,  than  that  of  General  Warren.  He  will 
be  the  personal  representative  of  those  brave 
citizens,  who,  with  arms  hastily  collected,  sprang 
from  their  peaceable  homes  to  resist  aggression, 
and  on  the  plains  of  Lexington  and  the  heights 
of  Charlestown,  cemented  with  their  blood  the 
foundation  of  American  liberty. 

He  was  endowed  with  a  clear  and  vigorous 
understanding,  a  disposition  humane  and  gener 
ous  ;  qualities  which,  graced  by  manners  affable 
and  engaging,  rendered  him  the  idol  of  the 
army  and  of  his  friends.  His  powers  of  speech 
and  reasoning  commanded  respect.  His  pro 
fessional  as  well  as  political  abilities  were  of  the 
highest  order.  He  had  been  an  active  volunteer 


CHAP.  II.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


357 


in  several  skirmishes  Avhich  had  occurred  since 
the  commencement  of  hostilities,  in  all  of  which 
he  gave  strong  presages  of  capacity  and  distinc 
tion  in  the  profession  of  arms.  But  the  fond 
hopes  of  his  country  were  to  be  closed  in  death  ; 
not,  however,  until  he  had  sealed  with  his  blood 
the  charter  of  our  liberties ;  nor  until  he  had 
secured  that  permanence  of  glory  with  which 
we  encircle  the  memory,  whilst  we  cherish  the 
name  of  WARREN. 

The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was,  in  many  re 


spects,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  conflicts  that 
has  moistened  the  earth  with  human  blood. 
No  spirit  of  prophecy  is  required  to  foretell,  that 
from  the  consequences  with  which  it  is  con 
nected,  and  which  it  may  be  said  to  have  guar 
anteed,  after  ages  will  consider  it  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  all  battles,  and  that  it  will 
be  hallowed  by  the  gratitude  of  mankind,  as 
among  the  most  precious  and  beneficent  con 
tests  ever  waged  in  behalf  of  human  rights  and 
human  happiness. 


CHAPTER    III. 

1775, 

WASHINGTON  TAKES   COMMAND   OF  THE  ARMY. 

Washington  sets  out  from  Philadelphia  to  join  the  army  before  Boston,  accompanied  by  Schuyler  and  Lee. — News 
from  Bunker  Hill.—  Reception  at  New  York. — At  Springfield. — At  Watertown. — At  Cambridge.— His  headquar 
ters  at  the  Craigie  House. — He  examines  the  state  of  the  army,  and  reports  it  in  detail  to  Congress. — Alarming 
want  of  gunpowder. — Supplies  obtained. — Dissatisfaction  about  commissions. — Want  of  system  in  all  the  depart 
ments,  and  general  disorderly  state  of  the  army. — Washington  commences  a  reform.— Divisions  of  the  army,  and 
their  positions  around  Boston. — General  Gates's  services. — Washington's  military  family. — Rules  and  regulations 
of  the  army. — Washington's  intercourse  with  the  Continental  Congress,  and  with  the  provincial  authorities. — 
Applications  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  for  detachments  from  the  army  to  protect  the  sea-coast. — Wash 
ington  points  out  the  danger  of  such  a  measure,  and  declines  to  furnish  detachments. — A  good  rule  thus  estab 
lished. — Gage's  force  in  Boston. — His  antecedents.— Former  friendship  for  Washington. — His  bad  treatment  of 
American  prisoners  in  Boston. — Washington  remonstrates. — Gage's  insolent  letter. — Washington's  dignified 
reply.— Arrival  of  the  riflemen  from  the  South  in  the  camp  at  Cambridge. 


1775. 


EVERY  necessary  arrangement  with 
Congress  having  been  completed,  Wash 
ington  departed  from  Philadel 
phia  June  21st  to  join  the  army 
before  Boston.  The  journey  was  per 
formed  on  horseback,  and  he  was  es 
corted  as  far  as  Kingsbridge,  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  New  York  island, 
by  a  volunteer  company  of  light  cav 
alry,  composed  of  gentlemen,  styled 
the  First  Troop.*  The  companions  of 
his  journey  were  General  Lee  and  Gen 
eral  Schuyler. 

General  Lee  was  an  original  genius, 

0  This  company  of  volunteers,  one  of  the  most  re 
spectable  in  Philadelphia,  still  retains  its  organization 
arid  performs  regular  duty.  It  appears  to  hold  the  same 
position  there  as  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company  does  in  Boston.  When  forming  Washington's 
escort  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  the  First  Troop 
was  commanded  by  Captain  Markoe. 


possessing  the  most  brilliant  talents, 
great  military  powers,  and  extensive  in 
telligence  and  knowledge  of  the  world  ; 
but  he  was  eccentric  and  even  cynical 
in  his  habits.  He  had  seen  consider 
able  active  service  in  Europe ;  had 
quarrelled  with  the  British  ministry. 
He  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  dispute 
between  this  country  and  Great  Britain, 
being,  of  course,  on  the  side  of  the  colo 
nists.  Coming  over  to  this  country  in 
November,  1773,  he  had  travelled  rap 
idly  through  the  colonies,  animating  the 
people,  both  by  conversation  and  his 
eloquent  pen,  to  a  determined  and  per 
severing  resistance  to  British  tyranny. 

His  enthusiasm  in  favor  of  the  rights 
of  the  colonies  was  such,  that,  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  he  accepted,  as  we 
have  seen,  a  major-general's  commission 


CHAP.  HI.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


359 


in  the  American  army  ;  though  his  am 
bition  had  been  thought  to  aim  at  the 
post  of  commander-in-chief.  Previous 
to  this,  however,  he  resigned  the  com 
mission  which  he  had  till  then  retained 
in  the  British  service,  and  relinquished 
his  half-pay.  This  he  did  in  a  letter  to 
the  British  secretary  at  war,  in  which 
he  expressed  his  disapprobation  of  the 
oppressive  measures  of  parliament,  de 
claring  them  to  be  so  actually  subver 
sive  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  every 
individual  subject,  so  destructive  to  the 
whole  empire  at  large,  and,  ultimately, 
so  ruinous  to  his  majesty's  own  person, 
dignity,  and  family,  that  he  thought 
himself  obliged  in  conscience,  as  a  citi 
zen,  an  Englishman,  and  soldier  of  a 
free  estate,  to  exert  his  utmost  to  de 
feat  them. 

Lee's  devotion  to  the  cause  of  free 
dom  was  apparently  sincere ;  but  his 
rashness  and  violent  temper  were  des 
tined  to  darken  the  close  of  his  career. 

Washington's  other  companion  on  the 
journey  was  a  more  genial  and  amiable 
as  well  as  a  far  more  exalted  character. 

General  Schuyler  was  a  native  of 
New  York,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
most  respectable  families  in  that  State, 
and  highly  merits  the  character  of  an 
intelligent  and  meritorious  officer.  As 
a  private  gentleman,  he  was  dignified 
but  courteous,  his  manners  urbane,  and 
his  hospitality  unbounded.  He  was 
justly  considered  as  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  champions  of  liberty,  and 
his  noble  mind  soared  above  despair, 
even  at  a  period  when  he  experienced 


injustice  from  the  public,  and  when 
darkness  and  gloom  overspread  the 
land.  He  was  able,  prompt,  and  de 
cisive,  and  his  conduct,  in  every  branch 
of  duty,  marked  his  active  industry  and 
rapid  execution. 

With  such  companions  as  these  two 
officers,  who,  as  well  as  Washington, 
had  both  served  in  the  old  French  war, 
the  journey  of  Washington  must  have 
been  enlivened  by  conversation  of  the 
most  interesting  and  agreeable  kind. 

Before  they  had  proceeded  many 
miles  from  Philadelphia,  they  were 
met  by  a  messenger  from  the  army 
before  Boston  bearing  dispatches  to 
Congress,  containing  the  news  of  the 
battle  of  Bunker's  Hill.  To  Washing 
ton's  eager  inquiry,  how  the  militia  had 
behaved  in  the  battle,  he,  of  course,  re 
ceived  the  most  satisfactory  an 
swer  ;  he  exclaimed,  on  hearing 
it,  "The  liberties  of  the  country  are 
safe  ! "  The  moral  effect  of  that  battle 
was  not  confined  to  his  estimate  of  its 
importance.  It  was  felt  through  the 
whole  country  during  the  war. 

As  the  cavalcade  passed  through  the 
towns  of  New  Jersey,  great  demonstra 
tions  of  respect  and  enthusiastic  greet 
ings  everywhere  met  the  new  com 
mander-in-chief.  His  fine  martial  fig 
ure,  and  the  grave  and  commanding 
presence  which  distinguished  him 
through  life,  inspired  at  once  a  high 
degree  of  awe  and  of  confidence  ;  while 
the  splendid  appearance  of  the  First 
Troop,  and  the  attendance  of  the  fa 
mous  and  popular  generals  who  accom 


1T75. 


360 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


panied  him,  rendered  the  spectacle  still 
more  attractive  and  imposing. 

At  Newark,  he  was  met  by  a  com 
mittee  from  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  York,  who  were  sent  forward  to 
attend  him  to  the  city,  where  the  Con 
gress  was  then  in  session.  His  arrival, 
however,  was  somewhat  embarrassing 
to  the  Congress,  as  they  were  hourly 
expecting  the  return  of  the  royal  gov 
ernor,  Try  on,  from  England,  who  was 
also  to  be  greeted  with  a  public  recep 
tion.  This  embarrassment  is  sufficiently 
apparent  in  the  non-committal  address 
of  the  president,  Van  Burgh  Livingston : 

"  Confiding  in  you,  sir,"  he  said,  "  and 
in  the  worthy  generals  immediately  un 
der  your  command,  we  have  the  most 
flattering  hopes  of  success  in  the  glo 
rious  struggle  for  American  liberty,  and 
the  fullest  assurances  that  whenever 
this  important  contest  shall  be  decided 
by  that  fondest  wish  of  every  Ameri 
can  soul,  an  accommodation  with  our 
mother  country,  you  will  cheerfully  re 
sign  the  important  deposit  committed 
into  your  hands,  and  reassume  the  char 
acter  of  our  worthiest  citizen." 

Washington,  in  his  reply,  after  de 
claring  his  gratitude  for  the  regard 
shown  him,  added,  "Be  assured  that 
every  exertion  of  my  worthy  colleagues 
and  myself,  will  be  extended  to  the  re- 
establishment  of  peace  and  harmony 
between  the  mother  country  and  these 
colonies.  As  to  the  fatal  but  necessary 
operations  of  war,  when  we  assumed 
the  soldier  we  did  not  lay  aside  the 
citizen,  and  we  shall  most  sincerely  re 


joice  with  you  in  that  happy  hour, 
when  the  re-establishment  of  American 
liberty,  on  the  most  firm  and  solid  foun 
dations,  shall  enable  us  to  return  to  our 
private  stations,  in  the  bosom  of  a  free, 
peaceful,  and  happy  country." 

Washington  had  already  decided  that 
General  Schuyler  was  to  remain  in  New 
York,  to  direct  the  military  operations 
in  that  quarter.  His  knowledge  of  the 
colony,  his  extensive  influence  among 
its  inhabitants,  his  high  position  and 
well-known  character  for  military  skill 
and  experience,  peculiarly  fitted  General 
Schuyler  for  taking  the  command  at 
this  important  post.  The  presence  of 
Governor  Try  on,  who  arrived  just  at 
this  juncture,  and  the  great  number  of 
adherents  to  the  royal  cause  who  were 
residing  in  various  parts  of  the  colony, 
and  were  watching  for  an  opportunity 
to  embarrass  the  operations  of  Con 
gress  and  of  the  patriotic  party,  render 
ed  General  Schuyler's  task  one  of  great 
difficulty,  requiring  sound  judgment  and 
policy  as  well  as  military  skill. 

After  giving  General  Schuyler  his 
instructions,  Washington,  still 
accompanied  by  General  Lee, 
and  escorted  by  successive  companies 
of  volunteers,  pursued  his  journey 
through  Connecticut  till  he  arrived  at 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  one  hundred 
miles  from  Boston.  Here  he  was  met 
by  a  committee  from  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  Massachusetts,  who  had 
been  directed  to  provide  escorts,  and  tc 
attend  him  in  person  during  the  re 
mainder  of  the  route. 


17T5. 


\v 


CHAP.  III.]                          TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY.                                      363 

wish  to  extend  to  the  utmost  of  their 

town.      Three   floating-batteries   lie  in 

power,  to   facilitate    and   succeed    the 

Mystic    River    near    their    camp,    and 

operations    of    the    war."       In    conse 

one  twenty-gun  ship  below  the  ferry- 

quence  of  this  hint,  General  Lee,  in  a 

place,    between    Boston    and    Charles- 

'  note  to  General  Burgoyne,  declined  to 

town.      They  have  also  a  battery  on 

meet    him.      The    correspondence    be 

Copp's  Hill,  on  the  Boston  side,  which 

tween  the  two  generals  was  published, 

much  annoyed  our  troops  in  the  late 

and  was  commented  on  in  the  journals.* 

attack.*      Upon  the  Neck,  they  have 

Washington's  first  care,  on  taking  the 

also    deeply   intrenched   and    fortified. 

command,  was  to  ascertain  the   actual 

These  advanced  guards,  till  last  Satur 

condition  arid  position  of  the  army,  and 

day  morning,  occupied  Brown's  houses, 

to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  numbers 

about  a  mile  from  Roxbury  meeting 

and  designs  of  the  enemy.     This,  with 

house,  and  twenty  rods  from  their  lines  ; 

his  usual  activity  and  perseverance,  he 

but,  at  that  time,  a  party  from  General 

had  accomplished  in  a  week  to  such  an 

Thomas's    camp    surprised    the    guard, 

extent  as  to  make  the  following  report 

drove  them  in,  and  burned  the  houses. 

to  the  President  of  Congress  : 

The  bulk  of  their  army,  commanded  by 

General  Howe,  lies  on  Bunker's  Hill, 

"CAMP  AT  CAMBRIDGE,  July  10,  1775. 

and  the  remainder  on  Roxbury  Neck, 

"  SIR  :  —  I  arrived  safe  at  this  place 

except  the  light-horse,  and  a  few  men 

on  the  third   instant,  after  a  journey 

in  the  town  of  Boston. 

attended  with  a  good  deal  of  fatigue, 

"  On  our  side,  we  have  thrown  up  in- 

and  retarded  by  necessary  attentions  to 

trenchnients  on  Winter  and   Prospect 

the  successive   civilities  which    accom 

Hills,  —  the  enemy's  camp  in  full  view, 

panied  me  in  my  whole  route. 

at    the    distance   of  little    more    than 

"  Upon   my    arrival,    I    immediately 

a  mile.      Such  intermediate   points  as 

visited  the  several  posts  occupied  by 

would  admit  a  landing,   I  have  since 

our  troops  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  weather 

my  arrival   taken   care   to   strengthen 

permitted,  reconnoitered  those  of  the 

down  to  Sewall's  farm,  where  a  strong 

enemy.     I  found  the  latter  strongly  in 

intrenchment  has  been  thrown  up.     At 

trenched  on  Bunker's  Hill,  about  a  mile 

Roxbury,  General  Thomas  has  thrown 

from  Charlestown,  and  advanced  about 

up  a  strong  work  on  the  hill,  about 

half  a  mile  from  the  place  of  the  late 

two  hundred  yards  above  the  meeting 

action,   with    their    sentries    extended 

house  ;   which,  with  the  brokenness  of 

about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  on 

the   ground,    and   a   great   number   of 

this  side  of  the  narrowest  part  of  the 

rocks,  has  made  that  pass  very  secure. 

neck  leading  from  this  place  to  Charles- 

The  troops  raised  in  New  Hampshire, 

°  Fvothingham,  Siege  of  Boston. 

«  At  Bunker's  Hill. 

364 


LIKE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


with  a  regiment  from  llhode  Island, 
occupy  Winter  Hill ;  a  part  of  those 
from  Connecticut,  under  General  Put 
nam,  are  on  Prospect  Hill.  The  troops 
in  this  town  are  entirely  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  ;  the  remainder  of  the  llhode 
Island  men  are  at  Se wall's  farm.  Two 
regiments  of  Connecticut,  and  nine  of 
the  Massachusetts,  are  at  Roxbury. 
The  residue  of  the  army,  to  the  num 
ber  of  about  seven  hundred,  are  posted 
in  several  small  towns  along  the  coast, 
to  prevent  the  depredations  of  the 
enemy. 

"  Upon  the  whole,  I  think  myself  au 
thorized  to  say,  that,  considering  the 
great  extent  of  line,  and  the  nature  of 
the  ground,  we  are  as  well  secured  as 
could  be  expected  in  so  short  a  time, 
and  under  the  disadvantages  we  labor. 
These  consist  in  a  want  of  engineers  to 
construct  proper  works  and  direct  the 
men,  a  want  of  tools,  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  man  the  works  in 
case  of  an  attack.  You  will  observe, 
by  the  proceedings  of  the  council  of 
war,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose, 
that  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion,  to 
hold  and  defend  these  works  as  long 
as  possible.  The  discouragement  it 
would  give  the  men,  and  its  contrary 
effects  on  the  ministerial  troops,  thus  to 
abandon  our  encampment  in  their  face, 
formed  with  so  much  labor,  added  to 
the  certain  destruction  of  a  consider 
able  and  valuable  extent  of  country, 
and  our  uncertainty  of  finding  a  place 
in  all  respects  so  capable  of  making  a 
stand,  are  leading  reasons  for  this  de 


termination.  At  the  same  time,  we  are 
very  sensible  of  the  difficulties  which 
attend  the  defence  of  lines  of  so  great 
extent,*  and  the  dangers  which  may 
ensue  from  such  a  division  of  the  army. 

"  My  earnest  wish  to  comply  with 
the  instructions  of  the  Congress  in  mak 
ing  an  early  and  complete  return  of  the 
state  of  the  army,  has  led  into  an  invol 
untary  delay  of  addressing  you  ;  which 
has  given  me  much  concern.  Having 
given  orders  for  this  purpose  immedi 
ately  on  my  arrival,  and  unapprised  of 
the  imperfect  obedience  which  had 
been  paid  to  those  of  the  like  nature 
from  General  Ward,  I  was  led  from 
day  to  day  to  expect  they  would  come 
in,  and  therefore  detained  the  messen 
ger.  They  are  not  now  so  complete  as 
I  could  wish  ;  but  much  allowance  is  to 
be  made  for  inexperience  in  forms,  and 
a  liberty  which  had  been  taken  (not 
given)  on  this  subject.  These  reasons, 
I  flatter  myself,  will  no  longer  exist ; 
and,  of  consequence,  more  regularity 
and  exactness  will  in  future  exist. 
This,  with  a  necessary  attention  to  the 
lines,  the  movements  of  the  ministerial 
troops,  and  our  immediate  security, 
must  be  my  apology,  which  I  beg  you 
to  lay  before  Congress  with  the  utmost 
duty  and  respect. 

"  We  labor  under  great  disadvantages 
for  want  of  tents ;  for,  though  they 
have  been  helped  out  by  a  collection 
of  now  useless  sails  from  the  seaport 
towns,  the  number  is  far  short  of  our 

°  Twelve  miles. 


CHAP.  III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


365 


necessities.  The  colleges  and  houses 
of  this  town  are  necessarily  occupied 
by  the  troops ;  which  affords  another 
reason  for  keeping  our  present  situa 
tion.  But  I  most  sincerely  wish  the 
whole  army  was  properly  provided  to 
take  the  field,  as  I  am  well  assured, 
that  (besides  greater  expedition  and 
activity  in  case  of  alarm)  it  would 
highly  conduce  to  health  and  discipline. 
As  materials  are  not  to  be  had  here, 
I  would  beg  leave  to  recommend  the 
procuring  a  further  supply  from  Phila 
delphia  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  I  should  be  extremely  deficient  in 
gratitude  as  well  as  justice,  if  I  did  not 
take  the  first  opportunity  to  acknowl 
edge  the  readiness  and  attention  which 
the  Provincial  Congress  and  different 
committees  have  shown,  to  make  every 
thing  as  convenient  and  agreeable  as 
possible.  But  there  is  a  vital  and  in 
herent  principle  of  delay  incompatible 
with  military  service,  in  transacting 
business  through  such  numerous  and 
different  channels.  I  esteem  it,  there 
fore,  my  duty  to  represent  the  incon 
venience  which  must  unavoidably  en 
sue  from  a  dependence  on  a  number  of 
persons  for  supplies ;  and  submit  it  to 
the  consideration  of  Congress,  whether 
the  public  service  will  not  be  best  pro 
moted  by  appointing  a  commissary-gen 
eral  for  these  purposes.  We  have  a 
striking  instance  of  the  preference  of 
such  a  mode  in  the  establishment  of 
Connecticut,  as  their  troops  are  ex 
tremely  well-provided  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Mr.  Trumbull,  and  he  has  at 


different  times  assisted  others  with  va 
rious  articles.  Should  my  sentiments 
happily  coincide  with  those  of  your 
honors  on  this  subject,  I  beg  leave  to 
recommend  Mr.  Trumbull  as  a  very 
proper  person  for  this  department.  In 
the  arrangement  of  troops  collected  un 
der  such  circumstances,  and  upon  the 
spur  of  immediate  necessity,  several  ap 
pointments  are  omitted,  which  appear 
to  be  indispensably  necessary  for  the 
good  government  of  the  army, — par 
ticularly  a  quartermaster-general,  a  com 
missary  of  musters,  and  a  commissary 
of  artillery.  These  I  must  earnestly 
recommend  to  the  notice  and  provision 
of  the  Congress. 

"  I  find  myself  already  much  embar 
rassed  for  want  of  a  military  chest. 
The  embarrassments  will  increase  every 
day ;  I  must  therefore  request  that 
money  may  be  forwarded  as  soon  as  pos 
sible.  The  want  of  this  most  necessary 
article  will  (I  fear)  produce  great  in 
conveniences,  if  not  prevented  by  an 
early  attention.  I  find  the  army  in 
general,  and  the  troops  raised  in  Mas 
sachusetts  in  particular,  very  deficient 
in  necessary  clothing.  Upon  inquiry, 
there  appears  no  probability  of  obtain 
ing  any  supplies  in  this  quarter ;  and, 
on  the  best  consideration  of  this  matter 
I  am  able  to  form,  I  am  of  opinion  that 
a  number  of  hunting-shirts  (not  less 
than  ten  thousand),  would,  in  a  great 
degree,  remove  this  difficulty  in  the 
cheapest  and  quickest  manner.  I  know 
nothing,  in  a  speculative  view,  more 
trivial,  yet,  if  put  in  practice,  would 


366 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


have  a  happier  tendency  to  unite  the 
men,  and  abolish  those  provincial  dis 
tinctions  which  lead  to  jealousy  and 
dissatisfaction. 

"  In  a  former  part  of  this  letter,  I 
mentioned  the  want  of  engineers.  I 
can  hardly  express  the  disappointment 
I  have  experienced  on  this  subject,— 
the  skill  of  those  we  have  being  very 
imperfect,  and  confined  to  the  mere 
manual  exercise  of  cannon ;  whereas 
the  war  in  which  we  are  engaged  re 
quires  a  knowledge  comprehending  the 
duties  of  the  field  and  fortification.  If 
any  persons  thus  qualified  are  to  be 
found  in  the  southern  colonies,  it  would 
be  of  great  public  service  to  forward 
them  with  all  expedition. 

"  Upon  the  article  of  ammunition  I 
must  re-echo  the  former  complaints  on 
this  subject.  We  are  so  exceedingly 
destitute,  that  our  artillery  will  be  of 
little  use  without  a  supply  both  large 
and  seasonable.  What  we  have  must 
be  reserved  for  the  small-arms,  and 
that  managed  with  the  utmost  frugal 
ity.  *  *  * 

"  The  state  of  the  army  you  will  find 
ascertained  with  tolerable  precision  in 
the  returns  which  accompany  this  let 
ter.  Upon  finding  the  number*  of  men 
to  fall  so  far  short  of  the  establishment, 
and  below  all  expectation,  I  immedi 
ately  called  a  council  of  the  general 
officers,  whose  opinion  (as  to  the  mode 
of  filling  up  the  regiments,  and  provid 
ing  for  the  present  exigency)  I  have 

°  The  actual  number  at  this  time  was  fourteen  thou 
sand  five  hundred. 


the  honor  of  inclosing,  together  with 
the  best  judgment  we  are  able  to  form 
of  the  ministerial  troops.  From  the 
number  of  boys,  deserters,  and  negroes, 
that  have  been  enlisted  in  the  troops  of 
this  province,  I  entertain  some  doubts 
whether  the  number  required  can  be 
raised  here  ;  and  all  the  general  officers 
agree,  that  no  dependence  can  be  put 
on  the  militia  for  a  continuance  in  camp, 
or  regularity  and  discipline  during  the 
short  time  they  may  stay.  This  un 
happy  and  devoted  province  has  been 
so  long  in  a  state  of  anarchy,  and  the 
yoke  has  been  laid  so  heavily  on  it, 
that  great  allowances  are  to  be  made 
for  troops  raised  under  such  circum 
stances.  The  deficiency  of  numbers, 
discipline,  and  stores,  can  only  lead  to 
the  conclusion,  that  their  spirit  has 
exceeded  their  strength.  But,  at  the 
same  time,  I  would  humbly  submit  to 
the  consideration  of  Congress  the  pro 
priety  of  making  some  further  provision 
of  men  from  the  other  colonies.  If 
these  regiments  should  be  completed  to 
their  establishment,  the  dismission  of 
those  unfit  for  duty  on  account  of  their 
age  and  character  would  occasion  a  con 
siderable  reduction  ;  and,  at  all  events, 
they  have  been  enlisted  upon  such 
terms,  that  they  may  be  disbanded 
when  other  troops  arrive.  But  should 
my  apprehensions  be  realized,  and  the 
regiments  here  not  filled  up,  the  public 
cause  would  suffer  by  an  absolute  de 
pendence  upon  so  doubtful  an  event, 
unless  some  provision  is  made  against 
such  a  disappointment. 


CHAP.  III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


367 


u  It  requires  no  military  skill  to  judge 
of  the  difficulty  of  introducing  proper 
discipline  and  subordination  into  an 
army,  while  we  have  the  enemy  in 
view,  and  are  in  daily  expectation  of 
an  attack  ;  but  it  is  of  so  much  impor 
tance,  that  every  effort  will  be  made 
which  time  and  circumstances  will  ad 
mit.  In  the  mean  time  I  have  a  sin 
cere  pleasure  in  observing,  that  there 
are  materials  for  a  good  army, — a  great 
number  of  able-bodied  men,  active,  zeal 
ous  in  the  cause,  and  of  unquestionable 
courage.  *  *  * 

"  Generals  Gates  and  Sullivan  have 
both  arrived  in  good  health. 

"  My  best  abilities  are  at  all  times  de 
voted  to  the  service  of  my  country ;  but 
I  feel  the  weight,  importance,  and  va 
riety  of  my  present  duties  too  sensibly, 
not  to  wish  a  more  immediate  and  fre 
quent  communication  with  the  Con 
gress.  I  fear  it  may  often  happen  in 
the  course  of  our  present  operations, 
that  I  shall  need  that  assistance  and  di 
rection  from  them  which  time  and  dis 
tance  will  not  allow  me  to  receive."* 

We  have  copied  nearly  the  whole  of 
this  letter,  in  order  not  only  to  give  the 
details  of  the  condition  of  the  army  at 
this  time  on  Washington's  own  author 
ity,  but  also  to  show  the  style  which  he 
then  thought  proper  to  adopt  in  his 
communications  to  Congress.  At  a  later 
period  less  deference  was  expressed, 
from  the  necessity  of  the  case. 

In  his   letter   above  quoted,  Wash- 

.*  Washington's  Official  Letters. 


ington  by  no  means  exaggerated  the 
disorderly  and  destitute  condition  of 
the  army.  Though  the  rolls 

,    J  1TT5. 

showed  seventeen  thousand 
men,  including  the  sick  and  absent, 
the  number  present  fit  for  duty  was 
only  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred ; 
so  that  new  recruits  had  to  be  sought 
from  the  governments  of  the  New 
England  colonies.  The  irregularities 
in  dress  were  soon  remedied,  in  part, 
by  the  adoption  of  the  hunting-shirt, 
as  recommended  by  Washington  in  his 
letter.  The  want  of  a  system  for 
obtaining  supplies  was  severely  felt. 
The  troops  from  Connecticut  had  a 
proper  commissariat,  under  Mr.  Trum- 
bull's  direction,  as  we  have  seen ;  but 
those  who  came  from  the  other  colonies 
were  not  so  well  furnished.  Individuals 
brought  to  camp  their  own  provisions 
on  their  own  horses.  In  some  parts 
committees  of  supplies  were  appointed, 
who  purchased  necessaries  at  the  public 
expense,  sent  them  on  to  camp,  and  dis 
tributed  them  to  such  as  were  in  want, 
without  any  regularity  or  system ;  the 
country  afforded  provisions,  and  nothing 
more  was  wanting  to  supply  the  army 
than  proper  systems  for  their  collection 
and  distribution. 

Other  articles,  though  equally  neces 
sary,  were  almost  wholly  deficient,  and 
could  not  be  procured  but  with  diffi 
culty.  On  the  4th  of  August  the  whole 
stock  of  powder  in  the  American  camp, 
and  in  the  public  magazines  of  the  four 
New  England  provinces,  would  make 
but  little  more  than  nine  rounds  a  man. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


The  continental  army  remained  in 
this  destitute  condition  for  a  fortnight 
or  more.  This  was  generally  known 
among  themselves,  and  was  also  com 
municated  to  the  British  by  a  deserter ; 
but  they,  suspecting  a  plot,  would  not 
believe  it. 

A  supply  of  a  few  tons  was  sent  on  to 
them  from  the  committee  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  but  this  was  done  privately,  lest 
the  adjacent  inhabitants,  who  were 
equally  destitute,  should  stop  it  for  their 
own  use.  The  public  rulers  in  Massa 
chusetts  issued  a  recommendation  to  the 
inhabitants,  not  to  fire  a  gun  at  beast, 
bird,  or  mark,  in  order  that  they  might 
husband  their  little  stock  for  the  more 
necessary  purpose  of  shooting  men.  A 
supply  of  several  thousand  pounds 
weight  of  powder  was  soon  after  ob 
tained  from  Africa,  in  exchange  for 
New  England  rum.  This  was  managed 
with  so  much  address,  that  every  ounce 
for  sale  in  the  British  forts  on  the  Af 
rican  coasts,  was  purchased  up  and 
brought  off  for  the  nse  of  the  Amer 
icans. 

Embarrassments  from  various  quar 
ters  occurred  in  the  formation  of  a  con 
tinental  army.  The  appointment  of 
general  officers  made  by  Con 
gress,  was  not  satisfactory.  En 
terprising  leaders  had  come  forward 
with  their  followers  on  the  commence 
ment  of  hostilities,  without  scrupulous 
attention  to  rank.  When  these  were 
all  blended  together,  it  was  impossible 
to  assign  to  every  officer  the  station 
which  his  services  merited,  or  his  vanity 


1TT5. 


demanded.  Materials  for  a  good  army 
were  collected.  The  husbandmen  who 
flew  to  arms  were  active,  zealous,  and 
of  unquestionable  courage ;  but  to  intro 
duce  discipline  and  subordination  among 
freemen,  who  were  habituated  to  think 
for  themselves,  was  an  arduous  labor. 

The  want  of  system  and  of  union, 
under  proper  heads,  pervaded  every  de 
partment.  From  the  circumstance  that 
the  persons  employed  in  providing  ne 
cessaries  for  the  army  were  unconnected 
with  each  other,  much  waste  and  un 
necessary  delays  were  occasioned.  The 
troops  of  the  different  colonies  came 
into  service  under  variant  establish 
ments — some  were  enlisted  with  the  ex 
press  condition  of  choosing  their  officers. 
The  rations  promised  by  the  local  legisla 
tures  varied  both  as  to  quantity,  quality, 
and  price.  To  form  one  uniform  mass 
of  these  discordant  materials,  and  to 
subject  the  licentiousness  of  independent 
freemen  to  the  control  of  military  dis 
cipline,  was  a  delicate  and  difficult  busi 
ness. 

Washington,    however,   not   discour- 

O  '  ' 

aged  by  the  arduous  nature  of  the  task, 
at  once  began  to  mature  his  plans  for 
bringing  order  out  of  confusion.  He 
arranged  the  army  into  six  brigades,  of 
six  regiments  each,  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  troops  from  the  same  colony 
should  be  brought  together,  as  far  as 
practicable,  and  act  under  a  commander 
from  that  colony.*  The  whole  force 
was  thrown  into  three  grand  divisions. 

*  Sparks,  Life  of  Washington,  p.  136. 


CHAP.  III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


369 


General  Ward  commanded  the  right 
wing  at  Roxbury;  General  Lee,  the 
left  at  Winter  Hill ;  and  the  centre 
was  commanded  by  General  Putnam. 
General  Washington,  from  his  head-quar 
ters  at  Cambridge,  directed  the  whole. 
Method  and  punctuality  were  in 
troduced.  The  officers  and  privates 
were  taught  to  know  their  respective 
places,  and  to  have  the  mechanism  and 
movements  as  well  as  the  name  of  an 
army. 

Gates,  who  had  served  with  Wash 
ington  in  the  unfortunate  expedition  of 
Braddock,  and  had  been  appointed  by 
Congress  adjutant-general,  was  now  per 
forming  excellent  service  in  disciplining 
the  army,  and  accustoming  the  soldiers 
to  habits  of  order  and  regularity.  He 
was  a  Briton  by  birth,  and  since  the 
French  war  had  resided  in  Virginia, 
where  he  owned  an  estate.  He  had 
been  a  frequent  visitor  at  Mount  Ver- 
non,  but  had  recently  adopted  habits 
of  distance  and  reserve  towards  Wash 
ington. 

Among  the  members  of  Washington's 
military  family  were  his  first  aid,  Colonel 
Mifflin,  of  Philadelphia,  recently  ap 
pointed;  his  second  aid,  John  Trum- 
bull,  son  of  the  governor  of  Connecti 
cut;  and  Joseph  Reed,  his  secretary,  a 
lawyer  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  re 
ceived  a  part  of  his  education  in  Eng 
land,  had  taken  an  early  part  in  the 
revolutionary  controversy,  and  exerted 
much  influence  on  the  patriotic  side. 
On  these  gentlemen  devolved  a  principal 
part  of  the  duty  of  entertaining  the 

VOL.  I.— 4*7 


numerous  visitors  who  resorted  to  the 
head-quarters  of  the  commander-in-chief 
at  Craigie  House.  Washington  cared 
little  for  the  convivialities  of  the  table, 
and  it  was  his  habit,  after  remaining  at 
it  a  short  time,  to  leave  the  company 
with  his  aids  and  secretary,  and  retire 
to  his  private  apartment,  where  the 
labor  of  thinking  and  writing  on  the 
immense  and  complicated  business  of 
his  station  awaited  him. 

He  had  already  planted  the  "  original 
germ  of  the  continental  army,"  and  was 
carefully  fostering  its  growth.  The 
officers  were  commissioned  anew  by 
Congress,  and  the  system  of  uniform 
organization  was  gradually  acquiring 
form  and  consistency.  When  the  rules 
and  regulations  prescribed  by  Congress 
were  presented  to  the  soldiers,  they 
objected  to  them  as  inconsistent  with 
the  terms  of  their  original  enlistment. 
Washington  reasoned  with  them,  but 
wisely  abstained  from  coercion,  leaving 
it  optional  with  the  men  to  subscribe 
the  articles  or  not ;  but  making  the  sub 
scription  a  necessary  condition  with  all 
new  recruits. 

His  intercourse  with  the  Continental 
Congress  was  a  more  difficult 

1TT5. 

affair.  This  body  possessed  very 
limited  powers.  Unlike  the  present 
Congress,  it  had  no  direct  control  over 
the  people  ;  and  could  only  obtain  men, 
money,  and  supplies,  by  recourse  to  the 
provincial  legislatures,  whose  compliance 
with  its  requisitions  depended  on  their 
resources,  and  their  attachment  to  the 
cause  of  liberty.  Still  it  had  the  su 


370 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


preme  disposal  of  affairs,  and  its  direc 
tions  were  never  openly  resisted.  The 
members  of  Congress,  however,  were  at 
this  time  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the 
means  of  obtaining  redress  for  those 
grievances  which  were  the  cause  of  the 
war.  Some  were  timid,  and  longed  for 
returning  peace  on  any  reasonable  terms ; 
but  the  majority  were  resolute  in  oppo 
sition  to  the  mother  country.  Most  of 
the  members  were  distrustful  of  military 
power,  as  dangerous  to  the  very  liber 
ties  for  which  they  were  contending. 

Washington  perceived  this  feeling  in 
Congress,  and  respected  it  for  its  motive. 
It  interfered  with  the  active  and  com 
prehensive  measures  which  he  desired 
to  pursue ;  but  it  caused  no  relaxation 
in  his  efforts  for  the  general  welfare ; 
nor  was  any  feeling  on  this  delicate  sub 
ject  ever  permitted  to  appear  in  his  con 
versation  or  correspondence. 

The  formation  of  the  whole  military 
system  of  the  country  devolved  upon 
him.  His  correspondence  with  Con 
gress  shows  that  almost  invariably  im 
portant  measures  originated  with  him, 
were  suggested  by  him,  and  were  sanc 
tioned  and  aided  by  them.  His  letters 
were  read  to  the  House  when  in  session, 
and  almost  every  important  resolution 
respecting  the  army  was  the  result  of 
his  recommendation.  Every  attentive 
reader  of  American  history  is  acquainted 
with  this  fact.  But  although  conscious 
of  power,  Washington  was  conscien 
tiously  scrupulous  in  its  exercise.  He 
referred  every  thing  to  Congress  01 
which  it  was  proper  for  them  to  take 


17T5. 


action ;  and  was  careful  to  avoid  the 
slightest  appearance  of  usurping  powers 
not  belonging  properly  to  his  office.  It 
often  happened,  therefore,  that  the  ser 
vice  was  embarrassed,  and  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  greatly  perplexed,  by 
the  distance  of  Congress  from  the  scene 
of  action  and  the  slowness  of  its  move 
ments  even  in  times  of  great  danger  and 
emergency. 

In  addition  to  his  intercourse  with 
Congress,  Washington  corresponded 
with  the  local  authorities  of  the 
several  colonies,  in  whom  was 
lodged,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the 
real  power  of  aiding  his  operations  by 
furnishing  men  and  supplies.  This  in 
tercourse  with  the  different  governors, 
legislatures,  conventions,  and  commit 
tees  of  safety,  however,  made  him  well 
acquainted  with  the  actual  condition  of 
the  country  in  all  its  details,  and  en 
abled  him  to  apply  his  own  admirable 
administrative  talents  with  precision  and 
effect,  as  well  as  to  make  his  real  charac 
ter  and  noble  designs  thoroughly  known 
to  the  people,  in  whose  cause  he  was 
laboring  with  so  much  zeal,  assiduity, 
and  effect.  "  They  saw  that  he  was  the 
very  man  whom  the  exigencies  of  the 
service  and  the  country  demanded ;  and 
they  felt  safe  in  listening  to  counsels, 
and  obeying  commands,  which  evidently 
proceeded  from  one  whose  spirit  was 
as  just,  and  enlightened,  and  candid,  as 
it  was  noble  and  majestic,  and  in  which 
moderation,  wisdom,  and  firmness  of  the 
highest  order,  were  harmoniously  com 
bined  with  the  deepest  and  most  glow- 


CHAP.  III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


371 


ing  enthusiasm  of  the  patriot  and  the 
hero."* 

One  of  the  earliest  instances  of  Wash 
ington's  correspondence  with  the  pro 
vincial  authorities  took  place  soon  after 
his  taking  the  command  at  Cambridge  ; 
and  it  was  in  an  affair  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  coun 
try.  The  legislature  of  Massachusetts 
and  the  governor  of  Connecticut  ap 
plied  to  him  for  detachments  from  the 
army  for  the  protection  of  such  parts  of 
their  sea-coast  as  were  exposed  to  pred 
atory  attacks  from  the  British  cruisers. 
This  brought  up  the  question  as  to  the 
whole  system  on  which  the  war  was  to 
be  conducted.  Should  the  army  be 
liable  to  have  detachments  taken  from 
it,  and  distributed  over  the  country,  on 
application  from  the  local  authorities, 
or  should  it  be  retained  in  one  com 
pact  body,  always  ready  for  attack  or 
defence. 

Washington  at  once  perceived  the 
fatal  consequences  of  establishing  so 
bad  a  precedent  in  the  outset  of  the 
contest,  as  that  which  was  desired  by 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  ;  and  the 
following  answer  which  he  addressed  to 

the  speaker  of  the  General  As- 
^ly  °f  Massachusetts  evinces 

that,  as  usual,  he  was  equal  to 
the  occasion  : 

"  SIR  :  —  I  have  considered  the  appli 
cation  made  to  me  yesterday  from  the 
General  Court,  with  all  the  attention 

c  C.  W.  Upliam,  Life  of  General  Washington. 


'    ' 


due  to  the  situation  of  the  people  in 
whose  behalf  it  is  made,  and  the  respect 
due  to  such  a  recommendation.  Upon 
referring  to  my  instructions,  and  con 
sulting  with  those  members  of  Congress 
who  are  present,  as  well  as  the  general 
officers,  they  all  agree  that  it  would 
not  be  consistent  with  my  duty  to  de 
tach  any  part  of  the  army  now  here 
on  any  particular  provincial  service.  It 
has  been  debated  in  Congress  and  set 
tled,  that  the  militia,  or  other  internal 
strength  of  each  province,  is  to  be  ap 
plied  for  defence  against  those  small 
and  particular  depredations,  which  were 
to  be  expected,  and  to  which  they  were 
supposed  to  be  competent.  This  will 
appear  the  more  proper,  when  it  is  con 
sidered  that  every  town,  and  indeed 
every  part  of  our  sea-coast,  which  is  ex 
posed  to  these  depredations,  would  have 
an  equal  claim  upon  this  army. 

"  It  is. the  misfortune  of  our  situation 
wThich  exposes  us  to  these  ravages,  and 
against  which,  in  my  judgment,  no  such 
temporary  relief  could  possibly  secure 
us.  The  great  advantage  the  enemy 
have  of  transporting  troops,  by  being 
masters  of  the  sea,  will  enable  them  to 
harass  us  by  diversions  of  this  kind  ; 
and  should  we  be  tempted  to  pursue 
them  upon  every  alarm,  the  army  must 
either  be  so  weakened  as  to  expose  it 
to  destruction,  or  a  great  part  of  the 
coast  be  still  left  unprotected.  Nor, 
indeed,  does  it  appear  to  me  that  such 
a  pursuit  would  be  attended  with  the 
least  effect.  The  first  notice  of  such  an 
excursion  would  be  its  actual  execution : 


372 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


and,  long  before  any  troops  could  reach 
the  scene  of  action,  the  enemy  would 
have  an  opportunity  to  accomplish  their 
purpose  and  retire.  It  would  give  me 
great  pleasure  to  have  it  in  my  power 
to  extend  protection  and  safety  to  every 
individual ;  but  the  wisdom  of  the  Gen 
eral  Court  will  anticipate  me  in  the  ne 
cessity  of  conducting  our  operations  on 
a  general  and  impartial  scale,  so  as  to 
exclude  any  just  cause  of  complaint  and 
jealousy. 

"  I  beg,  sir,  you  will  do  me  the  honor 
to  communicate  these  sentiments  to  the 
General  Court,  and  to  apologize  for  my 
involuntary  delay,  as  we  were  alarmed 
this  morning  by  the  enemy,  and  my 
time  was  taken  up  in  giving  the  neces 
sary  directions. 

"  I  shall  be  happy  in  every  opportu 
nity  of  showing  my  very  great  respect 
and  regard  for  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  am,  sir,  <fec." 

This  letter  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  satisfactory  to  Massachusetts  and 
the  whole  country.  It  settled  the  ques 
tion,  and  established  the  precedent 
which  was  followed  throughout  the 
war.  "  It  was  established  as  a  rule, 
that  attacks  of  the  enemy  at  isolated 
points  along  the  coast  must  be  repelled 
by  the  militia  in  the  vicinity,  except 
when  the  continental  army  was  in  a 
condition  to  make  detachments  without 
jeoparding  the  common  cause.1'* 

The  necessity  of  keeping  the  army 

0  Sparks,  Life  of  Washington. 


unbroken  by  detachments  was  suffi 
ciently  apparent,  at  this  time,  from  the 
really  formidable  force  opposed  to  it. 
General  Gage's  army  in  Boston  num 
bered  full  eleven  thousand  regular 
troops*  in  fine  condition,  burning  for 
action  ;  and  he  was  assisted  by  generals 
Howe,  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne,  who  were 
justly  regarded  as  among  the  ablest  offi 
cers  in  the  service  of  Great  Britain. 

General  Gage  had  served  as  a  colonel 
in  Braddock's  expedition ;  and  there 
had  subsisted  between  him  and  Wash 
ington  a  warm  friendship,  until  the  re 
cent  active  part  which  both  had  taken 
on  opposite  sides  in  the  revolutionary 
contest,  had  thrown  them  widely  apart. 
An  incident  of  the  siege  estranged  them 
forever. 

Certain  officers  and  men,  taken  by 
the  British  in  the  battle  of  Bunker's 
Hill,  had  been  thrown  into  the  prison 
for  common  felons  in  Boston,  and,  as 
report  said,  very  ill-treated.  When  in- 


nis. 


telligence  of  this  affair  reached 
Washington,    August  llth,    he 
promptly  transmitted  the  following  let 
ter  to  General  Gage : 

°  In  the  last  week  in  July,  the  number  of  inhabitants 
was  stated  at  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-three  ; 
the  number  of  troops,  with  their  dependents,  women, 
and  children,  at  thirteen  thousand  six  hundred.  The 
town  became  sickly,  both  among  the  people  and  the 
troops,  for  neither  had  been  accustomed  to  live  on  salt 
provisions.  "  We  are  in  the  strangest  state  in  the 
world,"  a  lady  writes,  August  10th,  "  surrounded  on  all 
sides.  The  whole  country  is  in  arms,  and  intrenched. 
We  are  deprived  of  fresh  provisions,  subject  to  continual 
alarms  and  cannonadings,  the  provincials  being  very 
audacious,  and  advancing  near  to  our  lines,  since  the 
arrival  of  generals  Washington  and  Lee  to  command 
them."—  Frothingham,  Siege  of  Boston. 


CHAP.  III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


373 


"  SIR  : — I  understand  that  the  officers 
engaged  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
their  country,  who,  by  the  fortune  of 
war,  have  fallen  into  your  hands,  have 
been  thrown,  indiscriminately,  into  a 
common  jail,  appropriated  for  felons ; 
that  no  consideration  has  been  had  for 
those  of  the  most  respectable  rank, 
when  languishing  with  wounds  and 
sickness ;  and  that  some  have  been 
amputated  in  this  unworthy  situation. 

"  Let  your  opinion,  sir,  of  the  princi 
ples  which  actuate  them,  be  what  it 
may,  they  suppose  that  they  act  from 
the  noblest  of  all  principles,  a  love  of 
freedom  and  their  country.  But  politi 
cal  principles,  I  conceive,  are  foreign  to 
this  point.  The  obligations  arising  from 
the  right  of  humanity,  and  claims  of 
rank,  are  universally  binding  and  ex 
tensive,  except  in  case  of  retaliation. 
These,  I  should  have  hoped,  would 
have  dictated  a  more  tender  treatment 
of  those  individuals,  whom  chance  of 
war  had  put  in  your  power.  Nor  can 
I  forbear  suggesting  its  fatal  tendency 
to  widen  that  unhappy  breach,  which 
you,  and  those  ministers  under  whom 
you  act,  have  repeatedly  declared  your 
wish  is  to  see  forever  closed. 

"  My  duty  now  makes  it  necessary  to 
apprise  you,  that,  for  the  future,  I  shall 
regulate  all  my  conduct  towards  those 
gentlemen  who  are,  or  may  be,  in  our 
possession,  exactly  by  the  rule  you  shall 
observe  towards  those  of  ours,  now  in 
your  custody. 

"  If  severity  and  hardship  mark  the 
line  of  your  conduct,  painful  as  it  may 


be  to  me,  your  prisoners  will  feel  its 
effects.  But  if  kindness  and  humanity 
are  shown  to  ours,  I  shall  with  pleasure 
consider  those  in  our  hands  as  only  un 
fortunate,  and  they  shall  receive  from 
me  that  treatment  to  which  the  unfor 
tunate  are  ever  entitled. 

"  I  beg  to  be  favored  with  an  an 
swer  as  soon  as  possible,  and  am,  sir, 
your  very  humble  servant." 


General  Gage  replied  to  this  carefully 
>rded  communication  in  the 
insolent  and  insulting  terms  • 


worded  communication  in  the  following 

o 


"  SIR  : — To  the  glory  of  civilized  na 
tions,  humanity  and  war  have  been 
compatible,  and  humanity  to  the  sub 
dued  has  become  almost  a  general  sys 
tem.  Britons  are  pre-eminent  in  mercy, 
have  outgrown  common  examples,  and 
overlooked  the  criminal  in  the  captive. 
Upon  these  principles  your  prisoners, 
whose  lives,  by  the  law  of  the  land,  are 
destined  to  the  cord,  have  hitherto 
been  treated  with  care  and  kindness, 
and  more  comfortably  lodged  than  the 
king's  troops,  in  the  hospitals ;  indis 
criminately,  it  is  true,  for  I  acknowl 
edge  no  rank  that  is  not  derived  from 
the  king. 

"  My  intelligence  from  your  army 
would  justify  some  recriminations.  I 
understand  there  are  of  the  king's  faith 
ful  subjects,  taken  some  time  since  by 
the  rebels,  laboring  like  negro  slaves 
to  gain  their  daily  subsistence,  or  re 
duced  to  the  wretched  alternative  to 
perish  by  famine,  or  take  arms  against 


374 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


their  king  and  country.  Those  who 
have  made  the  treatment  of  the  pris 
oners  in  my  hands,  or  of  your  other 
friends  in  Boston,  a  pretence  for  such 
measures,  found  barbarity  upon  false 
hood. 

"  I  would  willingly  hope,  sir,  that  the 
sentiments  of  liberality,  which  I  have 
always  believed  you  possess,  will  be  ex 
erted  to  correct  these  misdoings.  Be 
temperate  in  political  disquisition  ;  give 
free  operation  to  truth,  and  punish  those 
who  deceive  and  misrepresent ;  and  not 
only  the  effects,  but  the  cause  of  this 
unhappy  conflict,  will  be  removed. 
Should  those,  under  whose  usurped  au 
thority  you  act,  control  such  a  disposi 
tion,  and  dare  to  call  severity  retalia 
tion,  to  God,  who  knows  all  hearts, 
be  the  appeal  of  the  dreadful  conse 
quences,"  &c. 

Washington's  indignation  at  the  re 
ceipt  of  this  letter  must  have  been  great. 
His  reply,  however,  is  strictly  consistent 
with  his  usual  calmness  and  dignity : 

"  I  addressed  you,"  he  writes,  "  on 
the  llth  instant,  in  terms  which  gave 
the  fairest  scope  for  humanity  and  po 
liteness,  which  were  supposed  to  form 
a  part  of  your  character.  I  remon 
strated  with  you  on  the  unworthy 
treatment  shown  to  the  officers  and 
citizens  of  America,  whom  the  fortune 
of  war,  chance,  or  a  mistaken  confidence 
had  thrown  into  your  hands.  Whether 
British  or  American  mercy,  fortitude, 
and  patience  are  most  pre-eminent ; 
whether  our  virtuous  citizens,  whom 


the  hand  of  tyranny  has  forced  into 
arms  to  defend  their  wives,  their  chil 
dren,  and  their  property,  or  the  mer 
cenary  instruments  of  lawless  domina 
tion,  avarice,  and  revenge,  best  deserve 
the  appellation  of  rebels,  and  the  pun 
ishment  of  that  cord,  which  your  af 
fected  clemency  has  forborne  to  inflict ; 
whether  the  authority  under  which  I 
act  is  usurped,  or  founded  upon  the 
genuine  principles  of  liberty,  were  alto 
gether  foreign  to  the  subject.  I  pur 
posely  avoided  all  political  disquisition ; 
nor  shall  I  now  avail  myself  of  those 
advantages,  which  the  sacred  cause  of 
my  country,  of  liberty,  and  of  human 
nature,  give  me  over  you;  much  less 
shall  I  stoop  to  retort  and  invective ; 
but  the  intelligence  you  say  you  have 
received  from  our  army  requires  a  re 
ply.  I  have  taken  time,  sir,  to  make  a 
strict  inquiry,  and  find  it  has  not  the 
least  foundation  in  truth.  Not  only 
your  officers  and  soldiers  have  beeL. 
treated  with  the  tenderness  due  to  fel 
low-citizens  and  brethren,  but  even 
those  execrable  parricides,  whose  coun 
sels  and  aid  have  deluged  their  country 
with  blood,  have  been  protected  from 
the  fury  of  a  justly-enraged  people. 
Far  from  compelling  or  permitting 
their  assistance,  I  am  embarrassed  with 
the  numbers  who  crowd  to  our  camp, 
animated  with  the  purest  principles  of 
virtue  and  love  to  their  country. 

"  You  affect,  sir,  to  despise  all  rank, 
not  derive  1  from  the  same  source  with 
your  own.  I  cannot  conceive  one  more 
honorable  than  that  which  flows  from 


CHAP    III.] 


TAKES  COMMAND  OF  THE  ARMY. 


375 


the  uncorrupted  choice  of  a  brave  and 
free  people,  the  purest  source,  and  orig 
inal  fountain,  of  all  power.  Far  from 
making  it  a  plea  for  cruelty,  a  mind  of 
true  magnanimity  and  enlarged  ideas 
would  comprehend  and  respect  it. 

"  What  may  have  been  the  ministe 
rial  views  which  have  precipitated  the 
present  crisis,  Lexington,  Concord,  and 
Charlestown  can  best  declare.  May 
that  God,  to  whom  you  then  appeal, 
judge  between  America  and  you.  Un 
der  his  providence,  those  who  influence 
the  councils  of  America,  and  all  the 
other  inhabitants  of  the  united  colonies, 
at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  are  deter 
mined  to  hand  down  to  posterity  those 
just  and  invaluable  privileges  which 
they  received  from  their  ancestors. 

"  I  shall  now,  sir,  close  my  corre 
spondence  with  you,  perhaps  forever. 
If  your  officers,  our  prisoners,  receive  a 
treatment  from  me  different  from  that 
which  I  wished  to  show  them,  they  and 
you  will  remember  the  occasion  of  it." 

General  Gage  must  have  felt,  on 
reading  this  letter,  his  own  utter  little 
ness  in  comparison  with  his  correspond 
ent.  His  conduct  was  as  impolitic  as  it 
was  insolent.  By  setting  at  naught  all 
the  rules  of  honorable  warfare,  and  inti 
mating  that  the  highest  American  offi 
cers  would  be  treated  as  criminals,  he 
made  retaliation  indispensable.  Wash 
ington,  therefore,  gave  orders  that  the 
British  prisoners  in  his  hands  should 
receive  the  same  treatment  as  was 
known  to  be  practised  on  the  Ameri 
can  prisoners  in  Boston.  They  were 


accordingly  marched  off.  to  Northamp 
ton,  to  be  closely  confined  in  jail.  This 
was  in  strict  compliance  with  the  laws 
of  war.  But  Washington,  unwilling  to 
punish  the  innocent  for  the  crime  of  the 
guilty,  countermanded  the  order  for 
their  close  confinement  before  they 
reached  Northampton,  and  directions 
were  sent  by  Colonel  Reed,  his  secre 
tary,  that  they  should  be  at  liberty  to 
go  abroad  on  their  parole,  and  should 
have  every  indulgence  consistent  with 
their  security. 

Soon  after  this  affair,  the  companies 
of  riflemen  from  Virginia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Maryland,  raised  by  order  of  Con 
gress,  arrived  at  the  camp  in  Cam 
bridge.  Dr.  Thatcher  thus  describes 
them  in  his  Military  Journal : 

"  Several  companies  of  riflemen, 
amounting,  it  is  said,  to  more  than  four 
teen  hundred  men,  have  arrived  here 
from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  a  dis 
tance  of  from  five  hundred  to  seven 
hundred  miles.  They  are  remarkably 
stout  and  hardy  men ;  many  of  them 
exceeding  six  feet  in  height.  They  are 
dressed  in  white  frocks,  or  rifle  shirts, 
and  round  hats.  These  men  are  re 
markable  for  the  accuracy  of  their  aim, 
striking  a  mark  with  great  certainty  at 
two  hundred  yards  distance.  At  a  re 
view,  a  company  of  them,  while  on  a 
quick  advance,  fired  their  balls  into  ob 
jects  of  seven  inches  diameter,  at  the 
distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards. 
They  are  now  stationed  on  our  lines, 
and  their  shot  have  frequently  proved 
fatal  to  British  officers  and  soldiers,  who 


376 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


expose  themselves  to  view,  even  at 
more  than  double  the  distance  of  com 
mon  inusket-shot."* 

0  The  British  officers,  about  this  time,  were  much  an 
noyed  at  the  success  of  the  American  sentinels  in  dis 
persing  handbills  among  their  rank  and  file.  One  was 
framed,  entitled,  "  An  address  to  the  soldiers  ;"  another 
contained  the  following  comparison  : 


Bunker's  Hill. 

1.  Three  pence  a  day. 

2.  Rotten  salt  pork. 

3.  The  scurvy. 

4.  Slavery,    beggary,    and 

want. 


Prospect  Hill. 

1.  Seven  dollars  a  month. 

2.  Fresh  provisions,  and  in 

plenty. 

3.  Health. 

4.  Freedom,  ease,  affluence, 

and  a  good  farm. 
"  These  bills,"  says  a  letter,  July  24,  "  are  blown  into 
their  camp,  and  get  into  the  hands  of  their  soldiers, 
without  the  officers  being  able  to  prevent  it.  Major 
Bruce  complained,  at  an  interview  the  other  day,  of  such 
usage.  We  retorted  his  decoying  our  sentries  from  their 
posts,  two  rascals  having  left  us  a  day  or  two  before,  by 


One  of  these  companies  was  com 
manded  by  Daniel  Morgan,  who  was 
subsequently  so  much  distinguished  as  a 
general.  His  men  were  so  serviceable 
in  the  war,  that  the  mention  of  "  Mor 
gan's  riflemen"  has  long  been  familiar 
to  the  readers  of  the  revolutionary  his 
tory. 

In  addition  to  this  seasonable  ad 
dition  to  his  force,  Washington  was  now 
receiving  reinforcements  of  militia  from 
the  New  England  colonies. 

his  or  some  other  officer's  means.  Colonel  Reed  also 
sent  to  General  Gage  a  copy  of  the  declaration  of  the 
united  colonies,  who  pronounced  its  contents  to  be  '  as 
replete  with  deceit  and  falsehood  as  most  of  their  (the 
Americans')  publications.'  " — Frothingham,  Siege  of  Boston. 


CHAPTER    IY. 


1775,  1776, 

WASHINGTON     SENDS      A     DETACHMENT     TO      CANADA. 

Proposed  invasion  of  Canada. — General  Schiiyler  authorized  to  advance  to  St.  John's  and  Montreal. — Washington 
proposes  to  co-operate  with  him  by  sending  a  detachment  through  Maine  to  Quebec. — He  writes  to  General 
Schiiyler  explaining  his  plan. — Report  to  Congress. — Congress  anxious  to  secure  the  Canadians. — Attack  on  St. 
John's. — Repulsed.— General  Schuyler  is  taken  ill  and  retires. — General  Montgomery  succeeds  him. — Capture  of 
Fort  St.  John. — Of  Fort  Chamblee. — General  Carleton  defeated. — Ethan  Allen  taken  prisoner. — General  Carleton 
quits  Montreal,  which  is  taken  by  Montgomery. — Surrender  of  the  fugitives. — Munitions  of  war  obtained. — Escape 
of  Carleton.- — Situation  of  Montgomery. — Arnold  advances  through  the  wilderness  of  Maine. — Defection  of  Enos. — 
Arrival  at  Quebec. — Indian  treachery. — Arnold  crosses  the  river  St.  Lawrence  and  lands  near  Wolfe's  Cove. — 
His  imprudence. — He  marches  to  Point  aux  Trembles. — Carleton  arrives  in  Quebec. — General  Montgomery  before 
Quebec. — Assault. — Death  of  Montgomery. — Arnold  chosen  commander.— Reinforcement  from  Massachusetts. — 
Bad  conduct  towards  the  Canadians. — Small-pox  in  the  army. — Arrival  of  General  Thomas. — Retreat. —Pursuit 
by  Carleton. — Battle  of  the  Cedars. — Arnold  attempts  to  recover  the  Cedars. — Fails. — Cartel  signed. — Great  in 
crease  of  the  British. — Capture  of  General  Thompson. — Arnold  abandons  Montreal  and  retreats  to  Crown  Point. 


WHILE  the  events  which  we  have  just 
related  were  passing  in  the  camp  before 
Boston,  General  Schuyler,  who,  it  will 
be  recollected,  had  been  intrusted  with 
the  military  command  of  the  province 
of  New  York,  had  been  preparing  to 
enter  Canada.  A  resolution  of  Con 
gress  had  authorized  him  to  take  pos 
session  of  St.  John's  and  Montreal  as 
soon  as  he  should  find  it  practicable ; 
and  he  had  written  to  Washington,  from 
Ticonderoga,  on  the  31st  of  July,  in 
forming  him  of  his  preparations  for 
crossing  the  lake. 

Washington  proposed  to  aid  him  by 
sending  a  detachment  from  the 

1775. 

army     at     Cambridge,     which 

VOL.  L— 48 


should  inarch  through  Maine  to  attack 
Quebec.  This  plan  is  described  in  the 
following  extract  from  his  letter  to  Gen 
eral  Schuyler,  of  the  20th  of  August : 

"  The  design  of  this  express  is  to 
communicate  to  you  a  plan  of  an  expe 
dition,  which  has  engaged  my  thoughts 
for  several  days.  It  is  to  penetrate  into 
Canada,  by  way  of  Kennebec  River, 
and  so  to  Quebec,  by  a  route  ninety 
miles  below  Montreal.  I  can  very  well 
spare  a  detachment  for  this  purpose  of 
one  thousand  or  twelve  hundred  men, 
and  the  land-carriage  by  the  route  pro 
posed  is  too  inconsiderable  to  make  an 
objection. 

If  you  are  resolved  to  proceed,  which 


378 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


I  gather  from  your  last  letter  is  your 
intention,  it  would  make  a  diversion  that 
would  distract  Carleton,  and  facilitate 
your  views.  He  must  either  break  up 
and  follow  this  party  to  Quebec,  by 
which  he  will  leave  you  a  free  passage, 
or  he  must  suffer  that  important  place 
to  fall  into  our  hands — an  event  that 
would  have  a  decisive  effect  and  in 
fluence  on  the  public  interests.  There 
may  be  some  danger  that  such  a  sudden 
incursion  might  alarm  the  Canadians, 
and  detach  them  from  that  neutrality 
which  they  have  hitherto  observed ;  but 
I  should  hope,  that,  with  suitable  pre 
cautions  and  a  strict  discipline,  any  ap 
prehensions  and  jealousies  might  be 
removed.  The  few  whom  I  have  con 
sulted  upon  it,  approve  it  much ;  but 
the  final  determination  is  deferred  until 
I  hear  from  you.  You  will,  therefore, 
by  the  return  of  this  messenger,  inform 
me  of  your  ultimate  resolution.  If  you 
mean  to  proceed,  acquaint  me  as  par 
ticularly  as  you  can  with  the  time  and 
force,  what  late  accounts  you  have  had 
from  Canada,  and  your  opinion  as  to  the 
sentiments  of  the  inhabitants,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  Indians,  upon  a  penetration 
into  their  country;  what  number  of 
troops  are  at  Quebec,  and  whether  any 
men-of-war  ;  with  all  other  circum 
stances  which  may  be  material  in  the 
consideration  of  a  step  of  such  impor 
tance.  Not  a  moment's  time  is  to  be 
lost  in  the  preparations  for  this  enter 
prise,  if  the  advices  received  from  you 
favor  it.  With  the  utmost  expedition, 
the  season  will  be  considerably  ad 


vanced,  so  that  you  will  dismiss  the  ex 
press  as  soon  as  possible."* 

A  mouth  later  he  writes  to  Congress 
an  account  of  the  starting  of  the  expe 
dition,  and  its  design. 

"  I  am  now  to  inform  the  honorable 
Congress,"  he  says,  "that,  encouraged 
by  the  repeated  declarations  of  the  Ca 
nadians  and  Indians,  and,  urged  by 
their  requests,  I  have  detached  Colonel 
Arnold,  with  a  thousand  men,  to  pene 
trate  into  Canada  by  way  of  Kennebec 
River,  and,  if  possible,  to  make  himself 
master  of  Quebec.  By  this  manoeuvre, 
I  proposed,  either  to  divert  Carleton 
from  St.  John's,  which  would  leave  a 
free  passage  to  General  Schuyler ;  or,  if 
this  did  not  take  effect,  Quebec,  in  its 
present  defenceless  state,  must  fall  into 
his  hands  an  easy  prey.  I  made  all 
possible  inquiry  as  to  the  distance,  the 
safety  of  the  route,  and  the  danger  of 
the  season  being  too  far  advanced ;  but 
found  nothing  in  either  to  deter  me 
from  proceeding,  more  especially  as  it 
met  with  very  general  approbation  from 
all  whom  I  consulted  upon  it.  But, 
that  nothing  might  be  omitted  to  en 
able  me  to  judge  of  its  propriety  and 
probable  consequences,  I  communicated 
it  by  express  to  General  Schuyler,  who 
approved  of  it  in  such  terms,  that  I  re- 


°  Your  excellency's  letter,  of  the  8th  instant,  I  re 
ceived  yesterday.  I  am  happy  to  learn  that  the  troops 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Arnold  were  to  march  so 
soon.  I  hope  our  people  will  commit  no  depredations  in 
Canada;  all  possible  care  will  be  taken  of  it;  but  yet  I 
have  many  feara  on  that  score,  as  they  stole  thirty-two 
sheep  at  Isle  aux  Noix,  contrary  to  the  most  pointed 
orders.—  Sparks,  Correspondence  of  the  Revolution. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


SENDS  A  DETACHMENT  TO  CANADA. 


379 


solved  to  put  it  in  immediate  execution. 
They  have  now  left  this  place  seven 
days ;  and,  if  favored  with  a  good  wind, 
I  hope  soon  to  hear  of  their  being  safe 
in  Kennebec  River." 

In  order  to  understand  thoroughly 
the  object  and  the  history  of  this  expe 
dition  of  Arnold  to  Quebec,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  give  a  general  sketch  of  the 
joint  operations  of  the  expedition  sent 
from  New  York  about  the  same  time, 
which  was  intended  to  co-operate  with 
him  in  occupying  Canada. 

Congress  had  early  turned  its  atten 
tion  towards  Canada,  and  endeavored 
to  gain  the  co-operation,  or,  at  least,  to 
secure  the  neutrality  of  the  inhabitants 
in  its  dispute  with  Great  Britain.  The 
Congress  of  the  preceding  year  had  cir 
culated  an  address  to  the  Canadians, 
evidently  intended  to  render  them  dis 
affected  to  the  British  administration, 
and  to  make  them  enter  into  the  senti 
ments  and  measures  of  the  other  prov 
inces.  Although  that  address  did  not 
make  on  the  minds  of  the  Canadians  all 
that  impression  which  was  intended  and 
desired,  yet  it  was  not  altogether  with 
out  effect ;  for  the  great  body  of  the 
people  wished  to  remain  neutral  in  the 
contest. 

Congress  mistook  the  reluctance  of 
the  Canadians  to  engage  in  active  ope 
rations  against  them,  for  a  decided  par 
tiality  to  their  cause ;  and  resolved  to 
anticipate  the  British  by  striking  a  de 
cisive  blow  in  that  quarter.  In 
this  purpose  they  were  encour 
aged  by  the  easy  success  of  the  enter 


prise  against  the  forts  on  the  lakes,  and 
by  the  small  number  of  troops  then 
in  Canada.  They  appointed  General 
Schuyler  commander  of  the  expedi 
tion,  with  General  Montgomery  under 
him. 

Early  in  September,  those  officers, 
with  about  one  thousand  men,  made  an 
attempt  on  Fort  St.  John,  situated  on 
the  river  Sorel,  which  flows  from  Lake 
Champlain  and  joins  the  St.  Lawrence ; 
but  found  it  expedient  to  retire  to  Isle 
aux  Noix,  at  the  entrance  of  the  lake, 
about  twelve  miles  above  the  fort,  and 
wait  for  reinforcements. 

Meanwhile,  General  Schuyler  was 
taken  ill,  and  returned  to  Albany,  leav 
ing  the  command  in  the  hands  of  Gen 
eral  Montgomery,  witli  instructions  to 
prosecute  the  enterprise  on  receiving 
the  expected  reinforcements.  The  re 
inforcements  arrived  :  the  attack  on 
Fort  St.  John  was  renewed ;  and,  after 
a  vigorous  defence,  it  surrendered  about 
the  middle  of  November.  In  it  the 
Americans  found  a  considerable  number 
of  brass  and  iron  cannon,  howitzers,  and 
mortars,  a  quantity  of  shot  and  small 
shells,  about  eight  hundred  stand  of 
small-arms,  and  some  naval  stores;  but 
the  powder  and  provisions  were  nearly 
exhausted. 

During  the  siege  of  Fort  St.  John, 
Fort  Chaniblee  had  been  taken,  which 
furnished  General  Montgomery  with 
a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions,  of  which 
he  stood  greatly  in  need.  General 
Carleton,  who  was  on  his  way  from 
Montreal  to  relieve  the  garrison,  had 


380 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


been  defeated  ;  and  Colonel  Ethan 
Allen,  who  had  made  an  unauthorized 
attack  on  Montreal,  was  overcome  and 
taken  prisoner. 

On  the  fall  of  Fort  St.  John,  General 
Montgomery  advanced  against  Mon 
treal,  which  was  in  no  condition  to  re 
sist  him.  Governor  Carleton,  sensible 
of  his  inability  to  defend  the  town, 
quitted  it,  and  next  day  General  Mont 
gomery  entered  the  place.  A  body  of 
provincials,  under  Colonel  Easton,  took 
post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  and,  by 
means  of  an  armed  vessel  and  floating 
batteries,  commanded  the  navigation  of 
the  St.  Lawrence.  The  British  force 
svhich  had  retreated  down  the  river 
from  Montreal,  consisting  only  of  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  soldiers,  with 
several  officers,  under  General  Prescott, 
and  accompanied  by  Governor  Carle- 
ton,  in  eleven  vessels,  seeing  it  imprac 
ticable  to  force  the  passage,  surrendered 
by  capitulation.  The  vessels  contained 
a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions, 
arms,  and  ammunition,  which  fur 
nished  a  seasonable  supply  to  the 
Americans.  About  midnight  of  the 
day  before  the  capitulation,  Governor 
Carleton  escaped  down  the  river  in  a 
boat  with  muffled  oars,  and  safely 
reached  Quebec. 

It  was  now  the  19th  of  November, 
and  the  severe  weather  which  had  set 
in  was  very  unfavorable  to  military 
operations.  General  Montgomery,  a 
young  man  of  superior  talents  and  high 
spirit,  found  himself  in  extremely  un 
pleasant  circumstances.  He  was  at  the 


head  of  a  body  of  men,  many  of  whom 
were  not  deficient  in  personal  courage, 
but  were  strangers  to  military  subordi 
nation.  The  term  of  service  for  which 
numbers  of  them  were  engaged  was 
near  an  end ;  and,  already  weary  of  the 
hardships  of  war,  they  clamorously  de 
manded  a  discharge.  Hitherto  his 
career  had  been  successful,  and  he  was 
ambitious  of  closing  the  campaign  by 
some  brilliant  achievement,  which  might 
at  once  elevate  the  spirits  of  the  Amer 
icans  and  humble  the  pride  of  the  Brit 
ish  ministry.  With  these  views,  even 
at  that  rigorous  season  of  the  year,  he 
hastened  towards  Quebec,  although  he 
found  it  necessary  to  weaken  his  little 
army,  which  had  never  exceeded  two 
thousand  men,  by  discharging  such  of 
his  followers  as  had  become  weary  of 
the  service. 

About  the  middle  of  September,  the 
detachment  of  eleven  hundred  men, 
under  Colonel  Arnold,  which  was  sent, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  the  camp  at  Cam 
bridge,  by  Washington,  with  orders  to 
proceed  across  the  country  against  Que 
bec,  by  a  route  which  had  not  been  ex 
plored,  and  was  little  known.  The 
party  embarked  at  Newbury,  steered 
for  the  Kennebec,  and  ascended  that 
river.  But  their  progress  was 
impeded  by  rapids,  by  an  almost 
impassable  wilderness,  by  bad  weather, 
and  by  want  of  provisions.  They  sepa 
rated  into  several  divisions.  After  en 
countering  many  difficulties,  the  last  di 
vision,  under  Colonel  Enos,  was  unwil 
ling  to  proceed,  and  returned  to  the 


17T5. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


SENDS  A  DETACHMENT  TO  CANADA. 


381 


camp  at  Cambridge.*  But  the  other 
divisions,  under  Arnold,  pressed  for 
ward  amidst  incredible  hardships  and 
privations,  and  triumphed  over  obstacles 
nearly  insuperable.  For  a  month  they 
toiled  through  a  rou^h,  barren,  and  un- 

O  O       I  I 

inhabited  wilderness,  without  seeing  a 
human  habitation,  or  the  face  of  an  in 
dividual,  except  those  of  their  own 
party,  and  with  very  scanty  provisions. 
At  length,  on  the  9th  of  November, 
Arnold,  with  his  force  much  diminished, 
arrived  at  Point  Levi,  opposite  Quebec. 
His  appearance  was  not  unexpected  ; 
for  the  lieutenant-governor  had  been  for 
some  time  apprised  of  his  march.  In 
the  early  part  of  his  progress,  Arnold 
had  met  an  Indian,  to  whom,  although 
a  stranger,  he  had  imprudently  intrusted 
a  letter  to  General  Schuyler,  under  cover 
to  a  friend  in  Quebec.  The  Indian,  in 
stead  of  faithfully  delivering  the  letter 
according  to  the  directions  which  he 
had  received,  carried  it  to  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  who,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
Americans  from  passing  the  river,  im 
mediately  removed  all  the  canoes  from 
Point  Levi,  and  began  to  put  the  city  in 
a  posture  of  defence,  which  before  might 
easily  have  been  surprised.  On  discov 
ering  the  arrival  of  Arnold  at  Point 
Levi,  the  British  commander  stationed 
two  vessels  of  war  in  the  river  to  guard 
the  passage ;  and,  at  that  interesting 


*  Enos,  on  his  arrival  at  the  camp,  was  put  under  arrest 
l>y  Washington's  order.  He  was  afterwards  tried  for  his 
defection,  and  acquitted.  He  then  resigned  his  commis 
sion  and  retired  to  Vermont. — Sparks,  Writings  of  Wash 
ington. 


crisis,  Colonel  McLean,  who  had  re 
treated  before  Montgomery,  arrived 
from  the  Sorel  with  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  newly-raised  troops,  to  as 
sist  in  the  defence  of  the  place. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  vigilance  of 
the  British,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of 
November,  Arnold  crossed  the  river 
with  five  hundred  men,  in  thirty-five 
canoes,  and  landed  unperceived  near  the 
place  where  the  brave  and  enterprising 
Wolfe  had  landed  about  sixteen  years 
before,  thence  named  Wolfe's  Cove. 
He  had  provided  scaling-ladders,  but 
was  unable  to  carry  them  over  the  river 
along  with  his  troops,  and  consequently 
was  not  in  a  condition  to  make  an 
immediate  attempt  on  the  town.  In 
stead,  however,  of  concealing  himself 
till  he  could  bring  forward  his  scaling- 
ladders,  and  then  make  a  sudden  and 
unexpected  attack  by  night,  he  marched 
part  of  his  troops  in  military  parade 
in  sight  of  the  garrison,  and  so  put  the 
British  fully  on  their  guard.  He  wished 
to  summon  them  to  surrender ;  but  they 
fired  on  his  flag  of  truce,  and  refused  to 
hold  any  intercourse  with  him.  He, 
therefore,  on  the  19th  of  the  month, 
turned  his  back  on  Quebec,  and  marched 
to  Point  aux  Trembles,  about  twenty 
miles  above  the  city,  where  General 
Montgomery,  with  the  force  under  his 
command,  joined  him  on  the  1st  of  De 
cember. 

Soon  after  Arnold's  retreat,  Governor 
Carleton  arrived  in  Quebec,  and  made 
every  exertion  to  put  the  place  in  a 
state  of  defence.  Having  brought  the 


I     I 


382 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


scaling-ladders  across  the  river,  General 
Montgomery,  with  the  whole  of  the 
American  force,  appeared  before  Que 
bec  on  the  5th  of  December.  The  gar 
rison  was  then  more  numerous  than  the 
army  which  came  to  take  the  place. 
So  greatly  was  the  American  force  re 
duced,  that  it  scarcely  amounted  to  one 
thousand  men ;  while  General  Carleton 
had  about  fifteen  hundred  soldiers, 
militia,  seamen,  and  volunteers,  under 
his  command. 

General  Montgomery  sent  a  flag  of 
truce  to  summon  the  garrison  to  surren 
der  ;  but  it  was  fired  upon,  as  that  of 
Arnold  had  been.  He  therefore,  in  the 
depth  of  a  Canadian  winter,  and  in  the 
most  intense  cold,  erected  batteries ; 
.but  his  artillery  was  too  light  to  make 
any  impression  on  the  fortifications. 
He  now  determined  to  storm  the  town ; 
and  the  assault  was  made  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  31st  of  December. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in 
the  midst  of  a  violent  storm  of  snow, 
two  feints  and  two  real  attacks 
were  simultaneously  made.  The 
real  attacks  were  conducted  by  Mont 
gomery  and  Arnold.  Montgomery,  ad 
vancing  at  the  head  of  about  two  hun 
dred  men,  fell  by  the  first  discharge  of 
grape-shot  from  the  works.  Several  of 
his  best  officers  being  killed,  his  division 
retreated.  Arnold,  at  the  head  of  about 
three  hundred  men,  in  a  different  quar 
ter,  maintained  a  fierce  and  obstinate 
conflict  for  some  time  ;  but  was  at  last 
wounded  and  repulsed.  The  death  of 
Montgomery  was  the  subject  of  much 


1775. 


regret,  as  he  had  been  universally  loved 
and  esteemed.  On  assembling  after  the 
assault,  the  Americans  could  not  muster 
many  more  than  four  hundred  effect 
ive  men,  who  chose  Arnold  their  com 
mander  ;  and,  in  the  hope  of  receiving 
reinforcements,  resolved  to  remain  in 
the  vicinity  of  Quebec. 

Carleton,  the  governor,  whether  from 
policy  or  humanity,  treated  the  prison 
ers  with  kindness.* 

The  Americans  were  not  ignorant 
of  their  own  great  inferiority  in  point 
of  numbers  to  the  garrison,  and  were 
not  without  apprehensions  of  being  at 
tacked  ;  but,  although  the  garrison  was 
three  times  more  numerous  than  the 
blockading  army,  yet  it  was  of  such 
a  mixed  and  precarious  nature,  that 
Carleton  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to 
march  out  against  the  enemy. 

A  small  reinforcement  from  Massa 
chusetts  reached  the  American  camp, 
and  all  the  troops  that  could  be  spared 
from  Montreal  marched  to  join  their 
countrymen  before  Quebec ;  but  the 
month  of  February  was  far  advanced 
before  the  army  amounted  to  nine  hun 
dred  and  sixty  men.  Arnold,  however, 
resumed  the  siege  ;  but  his  artillery  was 
inadequate  to  the  undertaking,  and 
made  no  impression  on  the  works.  Al 
though  unsuccessful  against  the  town, 
he  defeated  a  body  of  Canadians  who 
advanced  to  relieve  it. 

When  the  Americans  entered  the 
province,  many  of  the  inhabitants  were 

0  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  chap,  i.,  Book  IV. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


SENDS  A  DETACHMENT  TO  CANADA. 


383 


well-disposed  towards  them ;  but  by 
their  ill-behavior  they  forfeited  the 
good-will  and  provoked  the  hostility 
of  the  Canadians.  They  compelled  the 
people,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  to 
furnish  them  with  articles  below  the 
current  prices  ;  gave  illegal  or  unsigned 
certificates  for  goods  which  they  had 
received,  and,  in  consequence,  many 
<>f  the  certificates  were  rejected  by 
the  quartermaster-general ;  they  made 
promises  and  did  not  perform  them ; 
and  they  insulted  and  abused  the  peo 
ple  when  they  demanded  payment  of 
their  just  debts.  By  such  unworthy 
conduct  they  alienated  the  affections  of 
the  Canadians,  who  considered  Congress 
as  bankrupt,  and  their  army  as  a  band 
of  plunderers. 

On  hearing  of  such  scandalous  mis 
conduct,  Congress  ordered  justice  to  be 
done  to  the  Canadians,  and  the  strictest 
military  discipline  to  be  observed.  But 
in  Canada  the  tide  of  popular  sentiment 
and  feeling  was  turned  against  the 
Americans,  who,  by  their  dishonorable 
practices,  had  awakened  a  spirit  of  in 
dignation  and  hostility,  which  all  the 
policy  of  Governor  Carleton  had  been 
unable  to  excite. 

While  the  American  army  lay  before 
Quebec,  the  troops  caught  the  small 
pox  from  a  woman  who  had  been  a 
nurse  in  a  hospital  of  the  city  ;  and  the 
loathsome  disease  spread  rapidly  among 
them.  In  order  to  mitigate  the  ravages 
of  this  destructive  malady,  many  of  the 
men  inoculated  themselves,  regardless 
of  orders  to  the  contrary.  The  rein 


forcements,  which  were  daily  arriving, 
had  recourse  to  the  same  practice  ;  and 
so  general  wras  the  infection,  that,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  although  the  army 
amounted  to  two  thousand  men,  riot 
more  than  nine  hundred  wrere  fit  for 
duty.  In  this  diseased  state  of  the 
troops,  medicines  and  every  thing  neces 
sary  for  the  sick  were  wanting.  The 
men  were  also  scattered  for  want  of 
barracks.  Major-general  Thomas,  who 
had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  American  army  in  Canada,  arrived 
in  camp  on  the  1st  of  May.  He  found 
the  troops  enfeebled  by  disease,  ill-sup 
plied  with  provisions,  and  with  only  a 
small  quantity  of  ammunition.  The 
river  was  opening  below ;  and  he  was 
well  aware  that  as  soon  as  ships  could 
force  their  way  through  the  ice,  the 
garrison  would  be  reinforced.  On  the 
5th  of  May,  therefore,  he  resolved  to 
retreat  towards  Montreal ;  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  he  received 
certain  information  that  a  British  fleet 
was  in  the  river.  Next  morning,  some 
of  the  ships,  by  great  exertion  and 
with  much  danger,  pressed  through  the 
ice  into  the  harbor,  and  landed  some 
troops. 

The  Americans  were  preparing  to  re 
tire  :  General  Carleton  marched  out  to 
attack  them ;  but,  instead  of  waiting 
his  approach,  they  made  a  precipitate 
retreat,  leaving  behind  them  their  sick, 
baggage,  artillery,  and  military  stores. 
Many  of  those  who  were  ill  of  the  small 
pox  escaped  from  the  hospitals  and  con 
cealed  themselves  in  the  country,  where 


384 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BooK  IV. 


they  were  kindly  entertained  by  the 
Canadians  till  they  recovered,  and  were 
able  to  follow  their  countrymen.  Gen 
eral  Carleton  could  not  overtake  the 
American  army ;  but  he  took  about 
one  hundred  sick  prisoners,  whom  he 
treated  with  his  characteristic  human- 
ity. 

The  Americans  retreated  about  forty- 
five  miles,  and  then  halted  a  few  days  ; 
but  afterwards  proceeded  to  Sorel,  in  a 
deplorable  condition,  and  encamped 
there.  In  this  interval  some  reinforce 
ments  arrived ;  but  General  Thomas 
was  seized  with  the  small-pox,  and 
died.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  com 
mand  by  General  Sullivan. 

The  British  had  several  military  posts 
in  Upper  Canada ;  and  the  Americans 
established  one  at  the  Cedars,  a  point 
of  land  which  projects  into  the  St. 
Lawrence,  about  forty  miles  above 
Montreal.  Captain  Forster,  who  had 
marched  from  Oswegatchie,  appeared 
before  this  post  with  a  company  of  reg 
ulars  and  a  considerable  number  of  In 
dians  ;  and  the  American  commanding 
officer  surrendered  the  place  after  a 
short  resistance.  An  American  party 
of  about  one  hundred  men,  under  Ma 
jor  Sherburne,  left  Montreal  to  assist 
their  countrymen  at  the  Cedars ;  but 
as  they  approached  that  place,  on  the 
day  after  the  surrender,  and  ignorant 
of  that  event,  they  were  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  attacked  by  a  body  of  In 
dians  and  Canadians.  After  defending 
themselves  for  some  time,  the  Ameri 
cans  were  overpowered,  and  many  of 


them  fell  under  the  tomahawks  of  the 
Indians.  The  rest  were  made  pris 
oners.* 

Arnold,  who,  in  the  month  of  Janu 
ary,  had  been  raised  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  and  who  then  com 
manded  at  Montreal,  was  desirous  of 
recovering  the  Cedars,  and  of  relieving 
the  prisoners  there  ;  and  for  these  pur 
poses  marched  towards  that  place,  at 
the  head  of  about  eight  hundred  men. 
But,  on  his  approach,  Captain  Forster 
gave  him  notice,  that  unless  he  agreed 
to  a  cartel,  which  had  already  been 
signed  by  Major  Sherburne  and  some 
other  officers,  the  Indians  would  put  all 
the  prisoners  to  death.  In  these  cir 
cumstances,  Arnold  reluctantly  signed 
the  cartel,  and  retired.  Congress  long 
hesitated  and  delayed  to  sanction  this 
agreement. 

Before  the  end  of  May,  the  British 
force  in  Canada  was  greatly  increased  ; 
and,  including  the  German  mercenaries, 
was  estimated  at  thirteen  thousand  men. 
That  force  was  widely  dispersed ;  but 
Three  Elvers,  about  ninety  miles  above 
Quebec  and  as  much  below  Montreal, 
was  the  general  point  of  rendezvous. 
A  considerable  detachment,  under  Gen 
eral  Frazer,  had  already  arrived  there. 
That  detachment  General  Sullivan 
wished  to  surprise ;  and  appointed 
General  Thompson  to  command  the 
troops  in  the  expedition  sent  out  for 
that  purpose.  The  enterprise  failed  ; 
Thompson  was  made  prisoner,  and  his 

0  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


SENDS  A  DETACHMENT  TO  CANADA. 


385 


detachment  dispersed,  but  without  any 
great  loss. 

The  royal  military  and  naval  forces 
having  been  collected  at  Three  Rivers, 
a  long  village  so  named  from  its  con 
tiguity  to  a  river  which  empties  itself 
into  the  St.  Lawrence  by  three  mouths, 
advanced  by  land  and  water  towards 
the  Sorel.  General  Sullivan  had  re 
treated  up  that  river ;  and  General 
Bnrgoyne,  who  had  left  Boston  and 
joined  Carleton,  was  ordered  cautious 
ly  to  pursue  him.  On  the  15th  of 
June,  General  Arnold  quitted  Mon 
treal,  crossed  the  river  at  Lon^ueille, 

O 

marched  on  Chamblee,  and  conducted 

VOL.  I.— 49 


the  army  to  Crown  Point,  with  little 
loss  in  the  retreat.  Thus  terminated 
the  invasion  of  Canada,  in  which  the 
American  army  endured  great  hard 
ships,  and  sustained  considerable  loss, 
without  any  apparent  advantage  to  the 
cause  in  which  it  was  engaged. 

It  is  certain,  nevertheless,  that  Wash 
ington  acted  with  his  usual  good  judg 
ment  in  sending  out  the  expedition  un 
der  Arnold.  It  came  very  near  cap 
turing  Quebec ;  and  only  failed  un 
der  a  combination  of  unfortunate  cir 
cumstances,  against  the  occurrence  of 
which  no  human  foresight  could  pro 
vide. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  MONTGOMERY. 

RICHARD  MONTGOMERY,  a  major-general  in 
the  army  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  war,  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ire 
land  in  the  year  1737.  He  possessed  an  excel 
lent  genius,  which  was  matured  by  a  fine  edu 
cation.  Entering  the  army  of  Great  Britain, 
he  successfully  fought  her  battles  with  Wolfe  at 
Quebec,  1759,  and  on  the  very  spot  where  he 
was  doomed  to  fall,  when  fighting  against  her 
under  the  banners  of  freedom.  After  his  return 
to  England,  he  quitted  his  regiment  in  1772, 
though  in  a  fair  way  to  preferment.  He  had 
imbibed  an  attachment  to  America,  viewing  it 
as  the  rising  seat  of  arts  and  freedom.  After 
his  arrival  in  this  country  he  purchased  an  es 
tate  in  New  York,  about  a  hundred  miles  from 
the  city,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  Liv 
ingston.  He  now  considered  himself  as  an 

O 

American.  When  the  struggle  with  Great 
Britain  commenced,  as  he  was  known  to  have 
an  ardent  attachment  to  liberty,  and  had  ex 
pressed  his  readiness  to  draw  his  sword  on  the 
side  of  the  colonies,  the  command  of  the  conti 
nental  forces  in  the  northern  department  was 
intrusted  to  him  and  General  Schuyler,  in  the 
fall  of  1775.  By  the  indisposition  of  Schuyler, 
the  chief  command  devolved  upon  him  in  Octo 
ber.  He  reduced  Fort  Chamblee,  and  on  the 
third  of  November  captured  St.  Johns.  On 
the  12th  he  took  Montreal.  Leaving  a  few 
troops  in  Montreal,  he  dispatched  several  de 
tachments  into  the  province,  encouraging  the 
Canadians  to  forward  on  provisions,  and  pro 
ceeded  with  expedition  to  Quebec.  He  formed 
i  junction  at  Point-aux-Trembles  with  Colonel 


Arnold,  who  had  been  dispatched  through  the 
Avilderness  with  a  body  of  troops  from  the 
American  army  at  Cambridge.  The  combined 
forces  commenced  the  siege  of  the  capital  on 
the  1st  of  December,  prior  to  which  General 
Montgomery  sent  in  a  summons  to  Governor 
Carleton  to  surrender,  in  order  to  avoid  tlie  hor 
rors  of  an  assault.  The  flag  was  fired  upon,  and 
returned.  Means,  however,  were  devised  by 
which  the  summons  was  conveyed  to  the  inhab 
itants,  but  Carleton  evinced  astonishing  inflexi 
bility  and  firmness  of  mind  on  this  trying  occa 
sion.  The  bombardment  was  soon  after  begun 
from  five  small  mortars,  but  with  very  little 
effect.  In  a  few  days,  General  Montgomery 
opened  a  six-gun  battery,  about  seven  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  walls,  but  his  pieces  were 
of  too  small  calibre  to  make  any  impression. 
Convinced  that  the  siege  must  soon  be  raised, 
or  the  place  be  stormed,  the  general  decided  on 
the  latter,  although  he  esteemed  success  but 
barely  within  the  grasp  of  possibility.  He  was 
induced  to  adopt  this  measure  in  order  to  meet 
the  expectations  of  the  whole  colonies,  who 
looked  up  to  him  for  the  speedy  reduction  of 
that  province,  which  would  be  completed  by 
the  capture  of  the  capital.  The  upper  town 
was  strongly  fortified,  the  access  to  which  from 
the  lower  town  was  very  difficult  on  account  of 
its  almost  perpendicular  steepness.  His  confi 
dence  in  the  ardor  of  his  troops,  and  a  thirst  for 
glory,  induced  him  to  make  the  assault,  or  per 
ish  in  the  attempt.  The  garrison  of  Quebec 
consisted  of  about  fifteen  hundred  and  twenty 
men  ;  viz.  eight  hundred  militia,  four  hundred 
and  fifty  seamen,  and  the  remainder  marines 
and  regulars.  The  Americans  consisted  of  only 
eight  hundred. 


<  t%& possessi 


CHAP.  IV.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


389 


The  intrepidity  of  Captain  M'Kinstry,  as  a  par 
tisan  officer,  to  which  we  have  alluded  above, 
had  rendered  him  alike  the  object  of  their  fears, 
and  of  their  unforgiving  resentment.  The  Brit 
ish  officers  were  too  much  in  dread  of  their 
savage  allies,  on  account  of  their  vast  superiority 
of  numbers,  to  risk  an  interposition  of  their  au 
thority  to  prevent  a  horrid  sacrifice  they  saw 
preparing :  already  had  the  victim  been  bound 
to  the  tree,  and  surrounded  by  the  fagots  in 
tended  for  his  immolation  ;  hope  had  fled,  and 
in  the  agony  of  despair  he  had  uttered  that 
mystic  appeal  which  the  brotherhood  of  Masons 
never  disregard ;  when,  as  if  heaven  had  inter 
posed  for  his  preservation,  the  warrior  Brandt 
understood  him  and  saved  him. 

Brandt  had  been  educated  in  Europe,  and 
had  there  been  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
freemasonry.  The  advantages  of  education, 


and  his  native  strength  of  mind,  gave  him  an 
ascendency  over  the  uncultured  sons  of  the 
forest  that  few  other  chiefs  possessed.  Situated 
as  he  was,  the  impending  danger  of  a  brother 
must  have  forcibly  brought  to  mind  his  obliga 
tion  to  support  him  in  the  time  of  peril.  His 
utmost  endeavors  were  accordingly  used,  and 
they  were  happily  successful  in  obtaining  for 
him  an  immediate  respite  and  eventual  ran 
som. 

After  the  settlement  of  peace  he  retired  to  the 
cultivation  of  his  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Hudson, 
sustaining  an  unblemished  reputation,  and  en 
joying  the  reward  of  his  toils  and  sufferings,  in 
the  respect  which  was  accorded,  as  well  to  the 
rectitude  of  his  private  life,  as  to  the  patriotic 
services  he  had  rendered  his  country. 

He  died  in  the  town  of  Livingston,  New 
York,  in  the  year  1822. 


CHAPTER    Y. 

1775—1776, 


WASHINGTON  EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 

Gage's  revised  opinion  of  the  rebels. — He  is  tired  of  Boston,  and  wishes  to  remove  the  seat  of  war  to  New  York. — 
He  is  recalled,  and  succeeded  by  General  Howe.— His  views  and  policy. — Washington's  situation. — Council  of 
war  decides  not  to  attack. — Washington's  description  of  the  bad  state  of  the  army. — Soldiers'  term  of  service 
about  to  expire. — Committee  of  Congress,  in  convention  with  Washington  and  his  officers,  make  arrangements 
for  organizing  a  new  army. — Washington  confers  freely  with  the  committee  on  affairs. — Washington  sends  out 
a  portion  of  his  men  in  armed  schooners,  who  capture  the  store-ships  of  the  enemy. — He  thus  lays  the  foundation 
of  the  American  navy.— Prizes  brought  in. — Affair  at  Gloucester. — Burning  of  Falmouth. — Treason  of  Dr. 
Church. — Washington's  account  of  his  trouble  in  arranging  the  new  army. — Its  destitute  condition.— Skirmish. 
— Putnam  fortifies  Cobble  Hill. — Washington's  critical  situation. — He  fortifies  Lechmere's  Point. — Mrs.  Wash 
ington  arrives  at  head-quarters. — Defection  of  the  Connecticut  troops. — Convention  called. — Five  thousand 
minute-men  raised  by  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  to  man  Washington's  lines. — Slow  progress  of  recruit 
ing  for  the  continental  army. — Great  reduction  of  force  at  the  end  of  the  year  1775. — Washington's  account  of 
his  position. — His  reserve  as  to  his  utter  destitution. — His  noble  sentiments  and  conduct. — His  various  prepara 
tions  for  attacking  the  enemy. — Council  of  war. — Resolve  of  Congress  permitting  him  to  destroy  Boston  if  he 
should  deem  it  necessary. — Washington's  answer. — Council  of  war,  with  Adams  and  Warren  present. — Reserve 
militia  called  in. — Assault  intended.— Notice. — Washington's  remarks  addressed  to  Congress  respecting  the 
assault. — Washington  recommends  a  permanent  army. — His  forcible  reasoning  on  the  subject. — His  account  of 
the  different  kinds  of  soldiers. — Congress  disregards  his  opinion,  and  persists  in  the  system  of  short  enlistments. 
— Dorchester  Heights  occupied. — Advantages  of  the  position. — The  British  preparing  to  depart. — Bombardment. 
— Consternation  of  the  British. —  Force  sent  to  dislodge  the  troops  at  Dorchester  Heights  prevented  from  attach 
ing  by  a  storm. — Washington's  plan  of  operations  in  case  the  attack  had  been  made. — Confusion  in  Boston.— 
Admiral  Shuldham  apprises  General  Howe,  that  the  harbor  is  no  longer  tenable  for  his  ships. — Informal  applica 
tion  to  Washington  to  let  the  British  depart  if  they  would  not  burn  the' town. — Their  final  departure. — Embarka 
tion.- — Voyage  to  Halifax. — Effects  of  the  evacuation  of  Boston. — The  Massachusetts  Assembly  addresses  thanks 
to  Washington.— His  answer.- — Congress  votes  thanks  and  a  gold  medal  to  Washington. — John  Adams's  letter. 
— Hancock's  official  letter  from  Congress. — Washington's  reply. 


CONSIDERING  the  strength,  of  the 
British  army  in  Boston,  it  might  be 
matter  of  surprise  that  General  Gage 
had  made  no  serious  attack  upon  the 
besieging  army ;  but  his  experience  of 
the  valor  and  determination  of  the  col 
onists,  as  well  as  of  the  formidable  mode 
of  warfare  adopted  in  the  battles  of  Lex 
ington  and  Bunker  Hill,  had  taught  him 
to  respect  them  as  soldiers.  Writing 


to  Lord  Dartmouth,  he  says :  "  The 
trials  we  have  had,  show  the  rebels  are 
not  the  despicable  rabble  too  many 
have  supposed  them  to  be  ;  and  I  find 
it  owing  to  a  military  spirit  encouraged 
among  them  for  a  few  years  past,  joined 
with  an  uncommon  degree  of  zeal  and 
enthusiasm,  that  they  are  otherwise." 

Gage  was  desirous  of  occupying  New 
York ;  but  would  not  venture  to  evac- 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


391 


uate  Boston  without  express  orders 
from  the  government.  He  therefore 
determined  to  winter  in  Boston,  and 
began  to  make  preparations  for  occupy 
ing  the  houses  in  the  town  as  barracks 
for  the  soldiery. 

While  this  was  going  forward,  he  re 
ceived  a  summons  from  the  government 
commanding  his  return  to  Eng- 

Sept.  26,  -IT,,-  -i  .         ,  . 

1715  land,  "in  order  to  give  his  maj 
esty  exact  information  of  every 
thing  that  it  may  be  necessary  to  pre 
pare,  as  early  as  possible,  for  the  opera 
tions  of  next  year,  and  to  suggest  to  his 
majesty  such  matters  in  relation  there 
to,  as  his  knowledge  and  experience  of 
the  service  enable  him  to  furnish." 

In  replying  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  Oc 
tober  1st,  General  Gage  recommended 
the  measure,  which  the  ministry  adopt 
ed  in  the  ensuing  year,  of  abandon 
ing  New  England  and  occupying  New 
York.  "I  am  of  opinion,"  he  wrote, 
"that  no  offensive  operations  can  be 
carried  on  to  advantage  from  Boston. 

O 

On  the  supposition  of  a  certainty  of 
driving  the  rebels  from  their  intrench- 
ments,  no  advantage  would  be  gained 
but  reputation  ;  victory  could  not  be 
improved,  through  the  want  of  every 
necessary  to  march  into  the  country. 
The  loss  of  men  would  probably  be 
great,  and  the  rebels  be  as  numerous  in 
a  few  days  as  before  their  defeat ;  be 
sides,  the  country  is  remarkably  strong, 
and  adapted  to  their  way  of  fighting." 

General  Gage  now  prepared  to  de 
part  for  England,  expecting  to  return 
after  the  king  and  the  ministry  should 


have  obtained  the  "  exact  information" 
which  they  so  much  desired,  and  in 
which  they  had,  sooth  to  say,  been  wo- 
fully  deficient  ever  since  the  controversy 
began.  His  departure  was  attended 
with  the  usual  formalities,  such  as  a  ful- 
somely  nattering  address  from  the  coun 
cil,  praising  him  for  all  the  virtues 
which  he  did  not  possess  ;  and  another 
from  the  loyal  inhabitants,  a  little  more 
"  reserved  in  its  endorsement  of  his  pro 
ceedings."  Gage,  in  his  replies,  charged 
all  the  troubles  of  the  people  on  design 
ing  ambitious  leaders,  who  had  "  erected 
a  tyranny  upon  the  most  free,  happy, 
and  lenient  government."  He  em 
barked  on  the  10th  of  October  for 
England,  and  soon  found  that  his  ser 
vices  in  America  for  the  future  would 
be  dispensed  with.*  His  successor, 
General  Howe,f  wras  an  abler  officer, 
and  a  more  popular  man.  His  views 
respecting  the  military  operations  to 
be  pursued  coincided,  however,  with 
those  of  his  predecessor.  Writing  to 
Lord  Dartmouth,  October  9th,  he  says, 
"  that  the  opening  of  the  campaign  from 
this  quarter  would  be  attended  with 
great  hazard,  as  well  from  the  strength, 
as  from  the  intrenched  position,  the 
Americans  had  taken."  He  recom 
mended  an  evacuation  of  Boston,  and 
desired  reinforcements  to  arrive  early 
in  the  spring. 

Meantime    Washington,    having    no 
knowledge  of  the  enemy's  design  to  re- 


°  Frothingham,  Siege  of  Hoston. 

t  Howe  was  brother  to  Viscount  Howe,  killed  at  Ti- 
conderoga  in  1758  ;  and  also  of  Lord  Howe,  the  admiral. 


392 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


main  inactive,  and  to  go  into  winter- 
quarters  without  attempting  offensive 
operations,  was  impatient  for  action, 
lie  was  prevented,  however,  from  any 
attempt  on  the  town,  by  his  want  of 
powder.  Only  small  quantities  could 
be  collected,  and  in  no  proportion  to 
the  demand.  Apprehensive  that  the 
enemy  misrht  discover  this  deficiency, 

*/  O  v    i 

and  attack  and  disperse  his  army,  he 
resorted  to  a  variety  of  expedients  to 
conceal  his  situation.  His  own  officers 
even,  were  not  aware  how  little  powder 
was  in  store.  The  proposal  to  surprise 
the  enemy  was  nevertheless  entertained 
by  him,  and  referred  to  a  council  of 
war,  as  early  as  September.  It  was  in 
duced  by  complaints  among  the  people 
of  the  inactivity  of  the  army.  The 
eyes  of  all  were  fixed  on  Washing 
ton,  and  it  was  very  unreasonably  ex 
pected  that  he  would,  by  a  bold  exer 
tion,  free  the  town  of  Boston  from  the 
British  troops.  The  dangerous  situa 
tion  of  public  affairs  led  him  to  conceal 
the  real  scarcity  of  arms  and  ammuni 
tion,  and  with  that  magnanimity  which 
is  characteristic  of  great  minds,  to  suffer 
his  character  to  be  assailed,  rather  than 
vindicate  himself  by  exposing  his  many 
wants.  There  were  not  wanting  per 
sons,  who,  judging  from  the  superior 
numbers  of  men  in  the  American  army, 
boldly  asserted,  that,  if  the  commander- 
in-chief  were  not  desirous  of  prolonging 
his  importance  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
he  might  by  a  vigorous  exertion  gain 
possession  of  Boston.  Such  suggestions 
were  reported  and  believed  by  many, 


1775. 


while  they  were  uncontradicted  by  the 
general,  who  chose  to  risk  his  fame, 
rather  than  expose  his  army  and  his 
country. 

In  the  following  extract  from  his  let 
ter  to  the  president  of  Congress  of  Sep 
tember  21st,  he  refers  to  the 
proposed  attack,  as  well  as  to 
the  destitute  condition  of  the  army  : 

"  The  state  of  inactivity  in  which  this 
army  has  lain  for  some  time,  by  no 
means  corresponds  with  my  wishes  to 
relieve  my  country,  by  some  decisive 
stroke,  from  the  heavy  expense  its  sub 
sistence  must  create.  After  frequently 
reconnoitering  the  situation  of  the  en 
emy  in  the  town  of  Boston,  collecting 
all  possible  intelligence,  and  digesting 
the  whole,  a  surprise  did  not  appear  to 
me  wholly  impracticable,  though  haz 
ardous.  I  communicated  it  to  the  gen 
eral  officers  some  days  before  I  called 
them  to  a  council,  that  they  might  be 
prepared  with  their  opinions.  The  re 
sult  I  have  the  honor  of  inclosing.  I 
cannot  say  that  I  have  wholly  laid  it 
aside ;  but  new  events  may  occasion 
new  measures.  Of  this  I  hope  the 
Honorable  Congress  can  need  no  as 
surance — that  there  is  not  a  man  in 
America  who  more  earnestly  wishes  such 
a  termination  of  the  campaign  as  to 
make  the  army  no  longer  necessary. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pain  to  be  obliged 
to  solicit  the  attention  of  the  honorable 
Congress  to  the  state  of  this  army,  in 
terms  which  imply  the  slightest  appre 
hension  of  being  neglected.  But  my  sit 
uation  is  inexpressibly  distressing  ; — to 


CHAP.  V.j 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


393 


see  the  winter  fast  approaching  upon  a 
naked  army ;  the  time  of  their  service 
within  a  few  weeks  of  expiring ;  and  no 
provision  yet  made  for  such  important 
events.  Added  to  these,  the  military 
chest  is  totally  exhausted ;  the  paymas 
ter  has  not  a  single  dollar  in  hand ;  the 
commissary-general  assures  me  he  has 
strained  his  credit,  for  the  subsistence 
of  the  army,  to  the  utmost.  The  quar 
termaster-general  is  precisely  in  the 
same  situation  ;  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  troops  are  in  a  state  not  far  from 
mutiny,  upon  the  deduction  from  their 
stated  allowance.  I  know  not  to  whom 
I  am  to  impute  this  failure ;  but  I  am 
of  opinion,  if  the  evil  is  not  immediately 
remedied,  and  more  punctually  observed 
in  future,  the  army  must  absolutely 
break  up.  I  hoped  I  had  so  fully  ex 
pressed  myself  on  this  subject  (both  by 
letter,  and  to  those  members  of  the 
Congress  who  honored  the  camp  with  a 
visit),  that  no  disappointment  could 
possibly  happen :  I  therefore  hourly  ex 
pected  advice  from  the  paymaster,  that 
he  had  received  a  fresh  supply,  in  ad 
dition  to  the  one  hundred  and  seventy 
two  thousand  dollars  delivered  him  in 
August ;  and  thought  myself  warranted 
to  assure  the  public  creditors-,  that  in  a 
few  days  they  should  be  satisfied.  But 
the  delay  has  brought  matters  to  such 
a  crisis,  as  admits  of  no  further  uncer 
tain  expectation.  I  have,  therefore, 
sent  off  this  express,  with  orders  to  make 
all  possible  dispatch.  It  is  my  most 
earnest  request  that  he  may  be  returned 
with  all  possible  expedition,  unless  the 

VOL.  I.— 50 


honorable  Congress  have  already  for 
warded  what  is  so  indispensably  neces 
sary." 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Warren,  speaker  of 
the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  we  find  a 
still  more  graphic  picture  of  suffering. 
In  this  communication  he  says  : 

"  I  promised  the  gentlemen  who  did 
me  the  honor  to  call  upon  me  yester 
day,  by  order  of  your  House,  that  I 
would  inquire  of  the  quartermaster- 
general,  and  let  them  know  to-day,  what 
quantity  of  wood  and  hay  were  neces 
sary  to  supply  this  army  through  the 
winter.  I  accordingly  did  so,  and  de 
sired  General  Gates  this  morning  to  in 
form  you,  that  it  was  his  (the  quarter 
master's)  opinion,  it  would  require  ten 
thousand  cords  of  the  first,  and  two 
hundred  tons  of  the  latter,  to  answer 
our  demands ;  but  the  hurry,  in  which 
we  have  been  all  day  engaged,  caused 
him  to  forget  it,  till  a  fresh  complaint 
brought  it  again  to  remembrance. 

"  When  the  committee  were  here  yes 
terday,  I  told  them  I  did  not  believe 
we  had  then  more  than  four  days'  stock 
of  wood  beforehand.  I  little  thought 
that  we  had  scarce  four  hours',  and  that 
the  different  regiments  were  upon  the 
point  of  cutting  each  other's  throats 
for  a  few  standing  locusts  near  their  en 
campments,  to  dress  their  victuals  with. 
This,  however,  is  the  fact ;  and,  unless 
some  expedient  is  adopted  by  your 
honorable  body  to  draw  more  teams 
into  the  service,  or  the  quartermaster- 
general  is  empowered  to  impress  them, 
this  army  (if  there  comes  a  spell  of  rainy 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


and  cold  weather),  must  inevitably  dis 
perse,  the  consequences  of  which  need 
no  animadversions  of  mine. 

"  It  has  been  a  matter  of  great  grief 
to  me,  to  see  so  many  valuable  planta 
tions  of  trees  destroyed.  I  endeavored 
(whilst  there  appeared  a  possibility  of 
restraining  it)  to  prevent  the  practice  ; 
but  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  do  it. 
From  fences  to  forest-trees,  and  from 
forest-trees  to  fruit-trees,  is  a  natural  ad 
vance  to  houses,  which  must  next  fol 
low.  This  is  not  all ;  the  distress  of  the 
soldiers  in  the  article  of  wood  will,  I 
fear,  have  an  unhappy  influence  upon 
their  enlisting  again.  In  short,  sir,  if  I 
did  not  apprehend  every  evil  that  can 
result  from  the  want  of  these  two  capital 
articles,  wood  especially,  I  would  not  be 
so  importunate.  My  anxiety  on  this 
head  must  plead  my  excuse.  At  the 
same  time,  I  assure  you  that,  with  great 
respect  and  esteem,  I  am,  sir,  your  most 
obedient  servant." 

Washington's  humanity  and  courtesy 
are  finely  illustrated  by  an  incident 
which  took  place  in  October,  1775. 
Two  armed  vessels,  gent  to  intercept  two 
brigantines,  understood  to  be  bound 
from  England  to  Quebec  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  failed  in  that  object ;  but 
attacked  St.  John's,  plundered  the  in 
habitants,  and  brought  off  several  pris 
oners.  On  their  being  brought  to  the 
camp  at  Cambridge,  Washington  se 
verely  reprimanded  the  captors,  set  the 
prisoners  at  liberty,  treated  them  with 
the  utmost  kindness,  restored  the  plun 
dered  property,  and  sent  them  to  their 


1775. 


homes.  The  acting  governor  of  St. 
John's,  who  was  one  of  the  prisoners, 
expressed  the  liveliest  gratitude  to 
Washington  for  the  kind  treatment  re 
ceived  from  him. 

As  the  year  drew  near  a  close,  Wash 
ington  found  himself  embarrassed  with 
a  new  and  very  serious  difficulty. 
It  had  become  necessary  to  form 
a  new  army.  The  term  of  service  of 
the  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  troops 
would  expire  on  the  first  of  December, 
and  that  of  the  remainder  of  the  army 
at  the  end  of  that  month.  Congress 
had  had  the  matter  under  considera 
tion,  and  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr.  Lynch,  and  1T'T5  ' 
Mr.  Harrison,  repaired  to  head 
quarters  at  Cambridge,  and  there,  in 
conjunction  with  Washington,  made  ar 
rangements  for  organizing,  regulating, 
and  supporting  the  continental  army. 
It  was  presumed  that  the  spirit  which 
had  hitherto  operated  on  the  yeomanry 
of  the  country,  would  induce  most  of 
the  same  individuals  to  engage  for 
another  twelvemonth ;  but  on  experi 
ment  it  was  found  that  much  of  their 
military  ardor  had  already  evaporated. 
The  first  impulse  of  passion,  and  the 
novelty  of  the  scene,  had  brought  many 
to  the  field  who  had  great  objections 
against  continuing  in  the  military  line. 
They  found  that  to  be  soldiers  required 
sacrifices,  of  which,  when  they  assumed 
that  character,  they  had  no  idea.  So 
unacquainted  were  the  bulk  of  the  peo 
ple  with  the  mode  of  carrying  on  mod 
ern  war,  that  many  of  them  flew  to 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON 


395 


arms  with  the  delusive  expectation  of 
settling  the  whole  dispute  by  a  few  de 
cisive  and  immediate  engagements.  Ex 
perience  soon  taught  them  that  to  risk 
life  in  open  fighting,  was  but  a  part  of 
the  soldier's  duty. 

The  plan  of  organization  proposed  by 
Washington  to  the  committee  of  Con 
gress  was  adopted.  It  was  to  be  twice  as 
large  as  that  of  the  enemy  in  Boston,  and 
to  consist  of  twenty-six  regiments  of  eight 
companies  each,  besides  riflemen  and  ar 
tillery,  the  whole  amounting  to  twenty 
thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  men.  The  term  of  service  was  to  be 
for  one  year — an  arrangement  which,  as 
will  be  seen,  was  a  source  of  embarrass 
ment  which  interfered  with  Washing 
ton's  operations  very  seriously.  But 
such  was  the  jealousy  of  military  power 
among  the  members  of  Congress  and 
the  people,  that  this  system  of  short  en 
listments  was  persisted  in  throughout 
the  war. 

The  committee  of  Congress  remaining 
some  lime  in  Cambridge,  Washington 
embraced  the  opportunity  of  conferring 
freely  with  them,  and  learning  what  re 
liance  could  be  placed  on  the  efficient 
support  of  Congress  in  his  future  opera 
tions.  This  was  more  satisfactory  than 
the  written  correspondence  which  he 
had  hitherto  maintained  with  the  Con 
gress,  and  he  was  enabled  by  personal 
intercourse  with  the  committee,  to  ex 
press  his  own  views  frankly  and  freely. 
All  the  proceedings  of  the  committee 
were,  on  their  return,  approved  by  Con 
gress. 


The  readiest  means  of  obtaining  sup 
plies  for  the  army,  was  the  fitting  out 
of  armed  vessels  for  intercepting  those 
sent  from  England  for  the  enemy  in 
Boston.  Congress  had  hitherto  made 
no  provision  for  a  navy,  and  Washing 
ton  took  on  himself  the  responsibility  of 
creating  one.  It  was  on  a  small  scale, 
indeed ;  but  we  should  ever  remember 
that  to  the  Father  of  his  Country  is  due 
the  honor  of  founding  the  proud  and 
glorious  navy  of  the  United  States. 

He  had  no  instructions  from  Congress 
on  the  subject ;  but  the  public  welfare 
demanded  immediate  action,  and  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  take  the  necessary  meas 
ures.  He  caused  vessels  to  be  procured 
in  Salem,  Beverly,  Marblehead,  and 
Plymouth,  fitted  out  and  manned  by 
officers  and  sailors  from  the  army.  And 
he  gave  to  the  captains  instructions  to 
cruise  against  such  vessels  as  were  found 
in  the  service  of  the  enemy,  and  seize 
all  such  as  were  laden  with  soldiers, 
arms,  ammunition,  or  provisions.  In  a 
short  time  six  armed  schooners  were 
under  sail,  and  cruising  off  the  coast  of 
New  England. 

One  of  these  schooners,  the  Lee,  com 
manded  by  Captain  Manly,  was  par 
ticularly  successful.  On  the  2  9th 
of  November,  she  took  the  brig 
Nancy,  an  ordnance  vessel  from  Wool 
wich,  containing  a  large  brass  mortar, 
several  pieces  of  brass  cannon,  a  large 
quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition,  with 
all  manner  of  tools,  utensils,  and  ma 
chines,  necessary  for  camps  and  artillery. 
Had  Congress  sent  an  order  for  sup- 


1TT5. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


plies,  they  could  not  have  made  out  a 
list  of  articles  more  suitable  to  Wash 
ington's  situation,  than  what  was  thus 

O  ' 

providentially  thrown  into  his  hands. 

In  about  nine  days  after,  three  ships, 
with  various  stores  for  the  British  army, 
and  a  brig  from  Antigua  with  rum, 
were  taken  by  Captain  Manly.*  Be 
fore  five  days  more  had  elapsed,  several 
other  store-ships  were  captured.  By 
these  means,  the  distresses  of  the  British 
troops  in  Boston  were  increased,  and 
supplies  for  the  continental  army  were 
procured.  Naval  captures  being  unex 
pected,  were  matter  of  triumph  to  the 
Americans,  and  of  surprise  to  the  Brit 
ish.  The  latter  scarcely  believed  that 
the  former  would  oppose  them  by  land 
with  a  regular  army,  but  never  sus 
pected  that  a  people  so  unfurnished  as 
they  were  with  many  things  necessary 
for  arming  vessels,  would  presume  to 
attempt  any  thing  on  the  water.  A 
spirit  of  enterprise,  invigorated  by  pa 
triotic  zeal,  prompted  the  hardy  New 
Englandmen  to  undertake  the  hazard 
ous  business,  and  their  success  encour 
aged  them  to  proceed.  Before  the  close 
of  the  year,  Congress  determined  to 
build  five  vessels  of  thirty-two  guns, 
five  of  twenty-eight,  and  three  of  twenty- 
four.  While  the  Americans  were  fit 
ting  out  armed  vessels,  and  before  they 
had  made  any  captures,  an  event  took 
place  which  would  have  disposed  a  less 
determined  people  to  desist  from  provok 
ing  the  vengeance  of  the  British  navy. 

0  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter 


This  was  the  burning  of  Falmouth 
(now  Portland,  Maine),  which  was 
brought  about  by  a  previous  incident 
on  the  coast  of  Massachusetts. 

The  British  naval  forces  were  fre 
quently  engaged  in  destroying  the 
armed  American  vessels  which  Wash 
ington  had  fitted  out,  as  we  have  just 
seen,  for  cruisers.  At  Gloucester,  the 
Falcon  sloop-of-war  having  chased  an 
American  vessel  into  the  harbor,  dis 
patched  three  boats,  with  about  forty 
men,  to  bring  her  off,  when  the  party 
were  so  warmly  received  by  the  militia, 
who  had  collected  on  the  shore,  that  the 
captain  thought  it  necessary  to  send  a 
reinforcement,  and  to  commence  can 
nonading  the  town.  A  very  smart  ac 
tion  ensued,  which  was  kept  up  for 
several  hours ;  but  resulted  in  the  com 
plete  defeat  of  the  assailants,  leaving 
upwards  of  thirty  prisoners  in  the  hands 
of  the  Americans. 

This  repulse  excited  the  British  to 
deeds  of  revenge  upon  several  of  the 
defenceless  towns  on  the  coast,  and  to 
declare  that  many  of  them  should  be 
reduced  to  ashes,  unless  the  inhabitants 
consented  to  an  unconditional  com 
pliance  with  all  their  demands.  The 
burning  of  Falmouth  seems  to  have 
been  a  consequence  of  this  determina 
tion. 

In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  to  prevent  tories 
from  carrying  out  their  effects,  the  in 
habitants  of  Falmouth  had  obstructed 
the  loading  of  a  mast-ship.  The  de 
struction  of  the  town  was  therefore  de- 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


397 


termined  on,  as  an  example  of  vindic 
tive  punishment.  Captain  Mowat,  de 
tached  for  that  purpose  with  armed  ves 
sels*  by  Admiral  Graves,  arrived  off 
the  place  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of 
October,  and  gave  notice  to  the  inhab 
itants  that  he  would  allow  them  two 
hours  "  to  remove  the  human  species." 

Upon  being  solicited  to  afford  some 
explanation  of  this  extraordinary  sum 
mons,  he  replied  that  he  had  orders  to 
set  on  fire  all  the  seaport  towns  from 
Boston  to  Halifax,  and  that  he  supposed 
New  York  was  already  in  ashes.  He 
could  dispense  with  his  orders,  he  said, 
on  no  terms  but  the  compliance  of  the 
inhabitants  to  deliver  up  their  arms  and 
ammunition,  and  their  sending  on  board 
a  supply  of  provisions,  and  four  of  the 
principal  persons  of  the  town  as  host 
ages,  that  they  should  engage  not  to 
unite  with  their  countrymen  in  any  kind 
of  opposition  to  Britain ;  and  he  assured 
them,  that,  on  a  refusal  of  these  con 
ditions,  he  'should  lay  the  town  in  ashes 
within  three  hours.  Unprepared  for 
the  attack,  the  inhabitants,  by  entreaty, 
obtained  the  suspension  of  an  answer 
till  the  morning,  and  employed  this  in 
terval  in  removing  their  families  and 
effects. 

The  next  day  Captain  Mowat  com 
menced  a  furious  cannonade  and  bom 
bardment  ;  and  a  great  number  of  peo- 

*  The  force  consisted  of  a  sixty-four,  a  twenty-gun 
ship,  two  sloops  of  eighteen  guns,  two  transports,  and 
six  hundred  men.  They  took  two  mortars,  four  how 
itzers,  and  other  artillery — a  pretty  formidable  apparatus 
for  setting  fire  to  a  small  seaport  village.  The  recent 
conflict,  at  Gloucester  had  taught  the  enemy  a  lesson. 


pie,  standing  on  the  heights,  were  spec 
tators  of  the  conflagration,  which  re 
duced  many  of  them  to  penury  and  de 
spair.  More  than  four  hundred  houses 
and  stores  were  burnt.  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  being  in  a  very  exposed  situa 
tion,  and  threatened  with  a  similar  at 
tack,  was  compelled  to  stipulate  for  a 
weekly  supply  to  avert  it. 

An  event  of  considerable  importance 
occurred  in  October,  which  occasioned 
much  surprise  and  speculation.  It  was 
the  defection  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Church, 
who  had  long  sustained  a  high  reputa 
tion  as  a  patriot  and  son  of  liberty.  He 
had  for  some  time  been  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  had  been  appointed  sur 
geon-general  and  director  of  the  mili 
tary  hospitals  at  Cambridge.  This  gen 
tleman  was  detected  in  a  traitorous  cor 
respondence  with  the  enemy  in  Boston. 
A  letter  in  cipher,  written  by  him,  was 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  a  female,  with 
whom  he  was  well  acquainted,  to  be 
conveyed  to  Boston.  On  examination, 
the  woman  absolutely  refused  to  reveal 
the  name  of  the  writer,  till  she  was  ter 
rified  by  threats  of  severe  punishment ; 
when  she  named  Dr.  Church.  He  was 
greatly  agitated  and  confounded,  mani 
fested  marks  of  guilt,  and  made  no  at 
tempts  to  vindicate  himself.  But  after 
the  letter  was  deciphered,  and  he  had 
taken  time  to  reflect,  he  used  all  his 
powers  of  persuasion  to  make  it  appear 
that  the  letter  contained  no  informa 
tion  that  would  injure  the  American 
cause;  and  made  a  solemn  appeal  to 


398 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


heaven  that  it  was  written  for  the  pur 
pose  of  procuring  some  important  intel 
ligence  from  the  enemy.  He  was  tried, 
convicted,  and  expelled  from  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  Congress  after 
wards  resolved,  "  that  he  be  closely  con 
fined  in  some  secure  jail  in  Connecticut, 
without  the  use  of  pen,  ink,  or  paper ; 
and  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  con 
verse  with  him,  except  in  the  presence 
and  hearing  of  a  magistrate,  or  the 
sheriff  of  the  county."  He  was  finally 
permitted  to  depart  from  the  country. 
He  embarked  for  the  West  Indies ;  the 
vessel  foundered  at  sea,  and  all  were 
lost* 

A  skirmish  occurred  at  Lechmere's 
Point  on  the  9th  of  November,  to  which 
Washington  refers  in  the  following  ex 
tract  from  a  letter  to  Congress  of  the 
llth,  in  which  his  situation  and  that  of 
the  army  is  feelingly  described. 

"  The  trouble  I  have  in  the  arrange 
ment  of  the  army  is  really  inconceiv 
able.  Many  of  the  officers  sent  in  their 
names  to  serve,  in  expectation  of  pro 
motion  ;  others  stood  aloof,  to  see  what 
advantage  they  could  make  for  them 
selves  ;  whilst  a  number  who  had  de 
clined,  have  again  sent  in  their  names 
to  serve.  So  great  has  the  confusion, 
arising  from  these  and  many  other  per 
plexing  circumstances,  been,  that  I  found 
it  absolutely  impossible  to  fix  this  very 
interesting  business  exactly  on  the  plan 
resolved  on  in  the  conference,  though  I 
have  kept  up  to  the  spirit  of  it,  as  near 

°  Thacher,  Military  Journal. 


as  the  nature  and  necessity  of  the  case 
would  admit.  The  difficulty  with  the 
soldiers  is  as  great,  indeed  more  so,  if 
possible,  than  with  the  officers.  They 
will  not  enlist  until  they  know  their 
colonel,  lieutenant-colonel,  major,  and 
captain  ;  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  fix 
the  officers  the  first  thing ;  which  is,  at 
last,  in  some  manner  done ;  and  I  have 
given  out  enlisting  orders. 

"  You,  sir,  can  much  easier  judge,  than 
I  can  express,  the  anxiety  of  mind  I 
must  labor  under  on  the  occasion,  espe 
cially  at  this  time,  when  we  may  expect 
the  enemy  will  begin  to  act  on  the  ar 
rival  of  their  reinforcements,  part  of 
which  is  already  come,  and  the  remain 
der  daily  dropping  in. 

"I  have  other  distresses  of  a  very 
alarming  nature.  The  arms  of  our  sol 
diery  are  so  exceedingly  bad,  that  I  as 
sure  you,  sir,  I  cannot  place  a  proper 
confidence  in  them.  Our  powder  is 
wasting  fast,  notwithstanding  the  strict 
est  care,  economy,  and  attention  are 
paid  to  it.  The  long  series  of  wet 
weather  which  we  have  had,  renders 
the  greater  part  of  what  has  been  served 
out  to  the  men  of  no  use.  Yesterday  I 
had  a  proof  of  it,  as  a  part  of  the  enemy, 
about  four  or  five  hundred,  taking  the 
advantage  of  a  high  tide,  landed  at 
Lechmere's  Point;  we  were  alarmed, 
and  of  course  ordered  every  man  to  ex 
amine  his  cartouch-box,  when  the  melan 
choly  truth  appeared ;  and  we  were  ob 
liged  to  furnish  the  greater  part  of  them 
with  fresh  ammunition. 

"  The  damage  done  at  the  Point  was 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTOX. 


309 


the  taking  of  a  man,  who  watched  a  few 
horses  and  cows ;  ten  of  the  latter  were 
carried  off.  Colonel  Thompson  marched 
down  with  his  regiment  of  riflemen,  and 
was  joined  by  Colonel  Woodbridge, 
with  a  part  of  his  and  a  part  of  Patter 
son's  regiment,  who  gallantly  waded 
through  the  water  and  soon  obliged  the 
enemy  to  embark  under  cover  of  a  man- 
of-war,  a  floating  battery,  and  the  fire 
of  a  battery  on  Charlestown  Neck.  We 
have  two  of  our  men  dangerously 
wounded  by  grape-shot  from  the  man- 
of-war  ;  and  by  a  flag  sent  out  this  day, 
we  are  informed  the  enemy  lost  two  of 
their  men." 

General  Putnam,*  who  was  on  duty 
during  the  whole  siege  of  Boston,  and 
who  enjoyed  in  a  high  degree  the  con 
fidence  of  Washington,  was  intrusted 
with  the  bold  undertaking  of  fortifying 
Cobble  Hill,  afterwards  called  Barrell's 
Farm.  It  is  the  beautiful  eminence 
which  forms  the  site  of  the  McLean 
Hospital.  Here  Putnam,  with  a  strong 
detachment  of  the  army,  broke  ground 
on  the  night  of  the  22d  of  November, 
without  the  least  annoyance  from  the 
enemy,  whose  works  at  Bunker  Hill 
were  very  near. 

Next  day  General  Ileathf  followed 
with  another  detachment  to  complete 
the  works.  The  enemy  were  expected 
to  sally  out  and  attack  the  intrenching 
party,  and  Colonel  Bond's  regiment  and 
the  picket-guard  on  Prospect  Hill  were 
ordered  to  support  General  Heath.  But 

°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
t  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


General  Howe  adhered  to  his  policy  of 
inaction  till  the  works  were  completed. 
It  was  considered  at  the  time  to  be  the 
most  perfect  piece  of  fortification  con 
structed  by  the  Americans  during  the 
siege,  and  "  on  the  day  of  its  completion 
was  named  Putnam's  Impregnable  For 
tress."* 

Washington,  knowing  the  weakness 
and  destitution  of  his  army  in  compari 
son  with  that  of  the  enemy,  considered 
his  position  at  this  time  as  extremely 
critical.  "  Our  situation,"  he  writes, 
November  28,  "  is  truly  alarming ;  and 
of  this  General  Howe  is  well  apprised,  it 
being  the  common  topic  of  conversation 
with  the  people  who  left  Boston  last 
Friday.  No  doubt  when  he  is  rein 
forced,  he  will  avail  himself  of  the  in 
formation." 

Washington  thus  describes  the  works 
in  addition  to  those  at  Cobble  Hill, 
which  were  erected  in  November.  "  I 
have  caused  two  half-moon  batteries  to 
be  thrown  up  for  occasional  use,  be 
tween  Lechmere's  Point  and  the  mouth 
of  Cambridge  River,  and  another  work 
at  the  causey  going  to  Lechmere's  Point, 
to  command  that  pass,  and  rake  the 
little  rivulet  that  runs  by  it  to  Patter 
son's  Fort.  Besides  these,  I  have  been 
and  marked  out  three  places  between 
Sewall's  Point  and  our  lines  on  Roxbury 
Neck,  for  works  to  be  thrown  up,  and 
occasionally  manned,  in  case  of  a  sortie 
when  the  bay  gets  froze." 

In    December,   notwithstanding   the 

°  Frothingham,  Siege  of  Boston. 


400 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


severe  cold  and  a  heavy  fall  of  snow, 
Washington  caused  strong  fortifications 
to  be  erected  at  Lechmere's  Point.  The 
enemy  did  not  fire  upon  the  intrenching 
party.  Washington  declares  (Dec.  15) 
that  he  was  unable  to  account  for  their 
silence,  unless  it  were  to  lull  him  into  a 
fatal  security  to  favor  some  attempt  they 
might  have  in  view  for  the  last  of  the 
month.  "  If  this  be  their  drift,"  he 
writes,  "  they  deceive  themselves,  for,  if 
possible,  it  has  increased  my  vigilance, 
and  induced  me  to  fortify  all  the  ave 
nues  to  our  camp,  to  guard  against  any 
approaches  on  the  ice." 

The  expectation  of  an  assault  from 
the  enemy  was  now  general  in  the 
army ;  but  the  works  at  Lechmere's 
Point  nevertheless  went  on.  A  cause 
way  over  the  marsh  leading  to  this 
point  was  completed  on  the  16th  of 
December,  and  on  the  17th,  General 
Putnam,  with  a  detachment  of  three 
hundred  men,  broke  ground  near  the 
water-side,  within  half  a  mile  of  a  Brit 
ish  man-of-war.  A  few  shots  from  Cob 
ble  Hill  drove  one  of  the  enemy's  ships 
down  the  river  below  the  ferry.  Gen 
eral  Heath,  with  a  second  detachment, 
going  to  complete  the  works  begun  by 
Putnam,  was  assailed  by  a  cannonade 
from  the  enemy's  batteries  which  lasted 
several  days. 

Washington  and  his  staff  visited  the 
spot  during  this  time,  and  the  work  was 
persisted  in  until  it  was  completed, 
when  it  was  considered  as  commanding 
Boston,  so  that  in  the  event  of  the  bom 
bardment  of  the  town  being  deemed 


advisable,  it  could  easily  have  been  ef 
fected  from  this  point.  "It  will  be 
possible,"  wrote  Colonel  Moylan,  "to 
bombard  Boston  from  Lechmere's  Point. 
Give  us  powder  and  authority  (for  that, 
you  know,  we  want,  as  well  as  the 
other),  I  say,  give  us  these,  and  Boston 
can  be  set  in  flames."* 

On  the  llth  of  December,  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  arrived  at  Cambridge,  accom 
panied  by  her  son,  John  Parke  Custis, 
and  his  wife.  She  received  a  very  hos 
pitable  welcome  from  the  most  distin 
guished  families  in  Massachusetts.  Her 
presence  was,  on  this  as  well  as  on  all 
similar  subsequent  occasions,  hailed  with 
enthusiasm  by  the  army.  Her  present 
visit  seems  to  have  been  induced  by  an 
apprehension  of  danger  from  the  ex 
posed  situation  of  Mount  Vernon,  acces 
sible  as  it  was  to  British  ships  of  war. 
She  had  no  fears  on  that  head  herself; 
and  whatever  may  have  prompted  her 
visit  to  the  camp,  the  practice  was  con 
tinued  through  the  subsequent  cam 
paigns  of  the  war.  In  the  winter-time, 
she  was  thus  enabled  to  enjoy  the  so 
ciety  of  her  illustrious  husband,  and  to 
cheer  him  in  the  midst  of  his  labors 
and  cares.  Whenever  active  operations 
were  to  commence  in  the  spring,  she 
would  return  to  Mount  Vernon.  On 
the  present  occasion,  she  remained  at 
head-quarters  till  after  the  close  of  the 
siege. 

Early  in  December,  the  Connecticut 
troops,  availing  themselves  of  the  ex- 


°  Frothingham,  Siege  of  Boston 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


401 


piration  of  their  term  of  enlistment, 
left  the  army.  They  had  demanded  a 
bounty  as  a  condition  of  re-enlistment, 
and  when  it  was  refused  became  mu 
tinous  ;  "  and  deaf  to  the  entreaties  of 
their  officers,  and  regardless  of  the  con 
tempt  with  which  their  own  govern 
ment  threatened  to  treat  them  on  their 
return,  they  had  resolved  to  quit  the 
lines  on  the  6th  of  December."  At  a 
convention,  composed  of  a  committee 
of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
and  officers  of  the  army,  it  was  decided 
to  call  in  three  thousand  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  minute-men,  and  two  thousand 
from  New  Hampshire,  to  man  the  lines, 
which  would  be  fearfully  weakened  by 
their  defection.  They  were  to  arrive 
on  the  10th  of  December. 

The  Connecticut  men  did  not  wait 
for  the  coming  in  of  the  militia,  but 
went  off,  many  of  them,  as  early  as  the 
1st  of  December.  "  Several  got  away," 
says  Washington,  "  with  their  arms  and 
ammunition." 

Their  places,  however,  were  speedily 
filled  by  the  reinforcements  from  Mas 
sachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  who 
promptly  and  cheerfully  complied  with 
the  call  for  their  services.  By  the  18th 
of  December  this  arrangement  was  com 
pleted.  We  may  vainly  attempt  to 
imagine  the  intense  anxiety  Washing 
ton  must  have  felt,  during  the  time 
which  intervened  between  the  depart 
ure  of  the  old  soldiers  and  the  arrival 
of  the  fresh  reinforcements.  His  lines, 
at  many  important  points,  were  literally 
deserted.  In  writing  to  the  president 

VOL.  I.— 51 


of  Congress,  however,  during  this  very 
interval  (December  llth),  he  refers  to 
it,  among  other  matters,  as  a  thing  of 
no  very  great  consequence :  "  The  in 
formation  I  received,"  he  writes,  "  that 
the  enemy  intended  spreading  the  small 
pox  amongst  us,  I  could  not  suppose 
them  capable  of.  I  now  must  give 
some  credit  to  it,  as  it  has  made  its  ap 
pearance  on  several  of  those  who  last 
came  out  of  Boston.  Every  necessary 
precaution  has  been  taken  to  prevent 
its  being  communicated  to  this  army; 
and  the  General  Court  will  take  care 
that  it  does  not  spread  through  the 
country. 

"  I  have  not  heard  that  any  more 
troops  are  arrived  at  Boston ;  which  is 
a  lucky  circumstance,  as  the  Connecti 
cut  troops,  I  now  find,  are  for  the  most 
part  gone  off.  The  houses  in  Boston 
are  lessening  every  day :  they  are  pulled 
down,  either  for  fire-wood,  or  to  pre 
vent  the  effects  of  fire,  should  we  at 
tempt  a  bombardment,  or  an  attack 
upon  the  town.  Cobble  Hill  is  strong 
ly  fortified,  without  any  interruption 
from  the  enemy." 

The  reinforcements  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire  minute-men  was 
only  a  temporary  resource.  The  main 
thing  which  occupied  the  attention  of 
Washington  at  this  time,  was  the  ob 
taiuing  of  recruits  for  the  continental 
army.  He  was  always  of  the  opinion, 
that  little  dependence  could  be  placed 
upon  militia  in  time  of  action,  and  this 
opinion  was  confirmed  by  many  inci 
dents  of  the  war.  He  must  therefore 


402 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


have  been  greatly  chagrined  and  disap 
pointed  at  the  slow  progress  made  in 
enlisting  recruits  for  the  continental 
service.  The  causes  for  this  tardiness 
were  sufficiently  apparent. 

The  period  of  patriotic  enthusiasm 
had,  in  some  measure,  passed  away ; 
numbers  of  officers  consented  condi 
tionally  to  remain  in  the  army,  and 
many  made  no  communication  on  the 
subject.  Immediate  decision  was  neces 
sary  ;  and,  in  new  orders,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  solemnly  called  upon 
them  for  a  direct  and  unconditional 
answer  to  his  inquiry.  "The  times," 
he  observed,  "  and  the  importance  of 
the  great  cause  we  are  engaged  in,  al 
low  no  room  for  hesitation  and  delay. 
When  life,  liberty,  and  property  are  at 
stake  ;  when  our  country  is  in  danger 
of  being  a  melancholy  scene  of  blood 
shed  and  desolation ;  when  our  towns 
are  laid  in  ashes  ;  innocent  women  and 
children  driven  from  their  peaceful 
habitations,  exposed  to  the  rigors  of  an 
inclement  season,  to  depend,  perhaps, 
on  the  hand  of  charity  for  support ; 
when  calamities  like  these  are  staring 
us  in  the  face,  and  a  brutal  enemy  are 
threatening  us,  and  every  thing  we  hold 
dear,  with  destruction  from  foreign 
troops,  it  little  becomes  the  character 
of  a  soldier  to  shrink  from  danger,  and 
condition  for  new  terms.  It  is  the  gen 
eral's  intention  to  indulge  both  officers 
and  soldiers  who  compose  the  new 
army,  with  furloughs  for  a  reasonable 
time ;  but  this  must  be  done  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  injure  the  ser 


vice,  or  weaken  the  army  too  much 
at  once." 

The  troops  were  assured,  that  clothes, 
on  reasonable  terms,  were  provided  "  for 
those  brave  soldiers  who  intended  to 
continue  in  the  army  another  year."  It 
was  with  great  difficulty  the  arrange 
ment  of  officers  had  been  completed,  so 
that  recruiting  orders  might  be  issued. 
Recruiting  officers  were  directed  to  "  be 
careful  not  to  enlist  any  persons  sus 
pected  of  being  unfriendly  to  the  liber 
ties  of  America,  or  any  abandoned  vag 
abond,  to  whom,  all  causes  and  coun 
tries  are  equal,  and  alike  indifferent. 
The  rights  of  mankind,  and  the  free 
dom  of  America,  would  have  numbers 
sufficient  to  support  them  without  re 
sorting  to  such  wretched  assistance. 
Let  those  who  wish  to  put  shackles 
upon  freemen,  fill  their  ranks  with,  and 
place  their  confidence  in,  such  miscre 
ants."  To  aid  the  cause,  popular  songs 
were  composed  and  circulated  through 
the  camp,  calculated  to  inspire  the  sol 
diery  with  the  love  of  country,  and  to 
induce  them  to  engage  anew  in  the 
public  service.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
army  at  this  time  was  badly  supplied 
with  clothing,  provisions,  and  fuel, 
and  the  consequent  sufferings  of  the 
soldiers  operating  upon  their  strong 
desire  to  visit  their  homes,  prevented 
their  enlistment  in  the  expected  num 
bers. 

On  the  last  day  of  December,  when 
the  first  term  of  service  expired,  only 
nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty 
men  had  enlisted  for  the  new  army,  and 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


403 


many  of  these  were  of  necessity  permit 
ted  to  be  absent  on  furlough.  It  was 
found  impossible  to  retain  the  old  troops 
a  single  day  after  their  time  expired. 
Washington,  as  we  have  seen,  had  called 
upon  the  governments  of  the  neighbor 
ing  provinces  for  detachments  of  mili 
tia  to  man  his  lines,  and  he  had  been 
highly  gratified  by  the  prompt  compli 
ance  with  his  demand.  In  a  letter  to 
Congress,  he  wrote :  "  The  militia  that 

O  ' 

are  come  in,  both  from  this  province 
and  New  Hampshire,  are  very  fine- 
looking  men,  and  go  through  their 
duty  with  great  alacrity.  The  dispatch 
made,  both  by  the  people  in  marching, 
and  by  the  legislative  powers  in  com 
plying,  with  my  requisition,  has  given 
me  infinite  satisfaction." 

In  the  space  of  time  between  that  of 
disbanding  the  old  army  and  of  an  ef 
fective  force  from  the  new  recruits,  the 
lines  were  often  in  a  defenceless  state  ; 
General  Howe  must  have  known  the 
fact,  but  he  still  adhered  to  his  fixed  pol 
icy  of  inaction  till  the  return  of  spring 
should  permit  the  removal  of  the  thea 
tre  of  war  to  New  York.  Besides  these 
motives  of  policy,  and  probably  posi 
tive  instructions  from  the  ministry,  as 
reasons  for  remaining  quiet,  Howe  had 
probably  retained  a  very  vivid  recollec 
tion  of  General  Prescott's  defence  of  the 
little  redoubt  on  Bunker's  Hill ;  and 
did  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  assail 
works  erected  under  the  auspices  of 
Prescott,*  Putnam,  and  Washington, 

°  See  Document  [D]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


extending   from    Charlestown  to   Rox 
bury,  some  twelve  miles. 

"  It  is  not,"  says  General  Washing 
ton,  in  his  communications  to  Congress, 
"  in  the  pages  of  history  to  furnish  a 
case  like  ours.  To  maintain  a  post, 
within  musket-shot  of  the  enemy,  for 
six  months  together,  without  ammuni 
tion,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  disband 
one  army  and  recruit  another,  within 
that  distance  of  twenty  odd  British  re 
giments,  is  more,  probably,  than  ever 
was  attempted.  But  if  we  succeed  as 
well  in  the  last,  as  we  have  heretofore 
in  the  first,  I  shall  think  it  the  most 
fortunate  event  of  my  whole  life." 

To  defend  the  American  lines  with 
an  incompetent  number  of  troops,  with 
defective  arms,  and  without  an  adequate 
supply  of  ammunition  ;  to  disband  one 
army  and  recruit  another,  in  the  face  of 
eleven  thousand  British  soldiers,  will  be 
viewed  as  a  hazardous  measure,  and 
will  be  supposed,  with  the  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  men,  to  have  em 
ployed  every  active  power  of  the  gen 
eral  ;  yet  this  did  not  satisfy  his  mind. 
He  knew  that  Congress  with  solicitude 
contemplated  more  decisive  measures, 
and  that  the  country  looked  for  events 
of  greater  magnitude.  The  public  was 
ignorant  of  his  actual  situation,  and  con 
ceived  his  means  for  offensive  operations 
to  be  much  greater  than  in  reality  they 
were  ;  and  from  him  expected  the  cap 
ture  or  expulsion  of  the  British  army  in 
Boston.  He  felt  the  importance  of  se 
curing  the  confidence  of  his  countrymen 
by  some  brilliant  action,  and  was  fully 


404 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


sensible  that  his  own  reputation  was  lia 
ble  to  suffer,  if  he  confined  himself  to 
measures  of  defence.  To  publish  to  his 
anxious  country,  in  his  vindication,  the 
state  of  his  army,  would  be  to  acquaint 
the  enemy  with  his  weakness,  and  to  in 
volve  his  destruction. 

The  firmness  and  patriotism  of  Wash 
ington,  were  displayed  in  making  the 
good  of  his  country  an  object  of  higher 
consideration,  than  the  applause  of  those 
who  were  incapable  of  forming  a  cor 
rect  opinion  of  the  propriety  of  his 
measures.  On  this  and  many  other  oc 
casions  during  the  war,  he  withstood 
the  voice  of  the  populace,  rejected  the 
entreaties  of  the  sanguine,  and  refused 
to  adopt  the  plans  of  the  rash,  that  he 
might  ultimately  secure  the  great  object 
of  contention. 

While  he  resolutely  rejected  every 
measure  that,  in  his  calm  and  deliberate 
judgment,  he  did  not  approve,  he  daily 
pondered  upon  the  practicability  of  a 
successful  attack  upon  Boston.  As  a 
preparatory  step,  he  had  taken  posses 
sion  of  Cobble  Hill  and  Lechmere's 
Point,  and  upon  them  erected  fortifica 
tions.  These  posts  brought  him  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  enemy's  works  on 
Bunker's  Hill ;  and,  by  his  artillery,  he 
drove  the  British  floating-batteries  from 
their  stations  in  Charles  River.  He 
erected  floating-batteries  to  watch  the 
movements  of  his  enemy,  and  to  aid  in 
any  offensive  operations  that  circum 
stances  might  warrant.  He  took  the 
opinion  of  his  general  officers  a  second 
time  respecting  the  meditated  attack ; 


they  again  unanimously  gave  their 
opinion  in  opposition  to  the  measure, 
and  this  opinion  was  immediately  com 
municated  to  Congress.  Congress  ap 
peared  still  to  favor  the  attempt,  and, 
that  an  apprehension  of  danger  to  the 
town  of  Boston  might  not  have  an  un 
due  influence  upon  the  operations  of  the 
army,  had  resolved,  in  December,  1775, 
"  That  if  General  Washington  and  his 
council  of  war  should  be  of  opinion, 
that  a  successful  attack  might  be  made 
on  the  troops  in  Boston,  he  should  make 
it  in  any  manner  he  might  think  expe 
dient,  notwithstanding  the  town  and 
property  therein  might  thereby  be  de 
stroyed." 

The  inability  of  Washington  to  ac 
complish  the  great  object  of  the  cam 
paign  repeatedly  pointed  out  by  Con 
gress,  was  a  source  of  extreme  mortifi 
cation  ;  but  he  indulged  in  the  hope  of 
success  in  some  military  operations  dur 
ing  the  winter,  that  would  correspond 
with  the  high  expectations  of  his  coun 
try.  In  his  reply  to  the  president  of 
Congress,  on  the  reception  of  the  reso 
lution  authorizing  an  attempt  on  the 
fortified  posts  in  Boston,  he  observed : 
"  The  resolution  relative  to  the  troops 
in  Boston,  I  beg  the  favor  of  you,  sir, 
to  assure  Congress,  shall  be  attempted 
to  be  put  in  execution  the  first  moment 
I  see  a  probability  of  success,  and  in 
such  a  way  as  a  council  of  officers  shall 
think  most  likely  to  produce  it ;  but  if 
this  should  not  happen  as  soon  as  you 
may  expect,  or  my  wishes  prompt  to,  I 
request  that  Congress  will  be  pleased  to 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


405 


revert  to  my  situation,  and  do  me  the 
justice  to  believe,  that  circumstances, 
and  not  want  of  inclination,  are  the 
cause  of  delay." 

Early  in  January,  he  accordingly 
summoned  a  council  of  war,  at  which 
Mr.  John  Adams,  then  a  member  of 
Congress,  and  Mr.  James  Warren,  presi 
dent  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  were  present ;  in  which  it 
was  resolved,  "  That  a  vigorous  attempt 
ouo;ht  to  be  made  on  the  ministerial 

O 

troops  in  Boston,  before  they  can  be 
reinforced  in  the  spring,  if  the  means 
can  be  provided,  and  a  favorable  oppor 
tunity  shall  offer."  It  was  also  advised, 
"  That  thirteen  regiments  of  militia 
should  be  asked  for  from  Massachusetts 
and  the  neighboring  colonies,  in  order 
to  put  them  in  a  condition  to  make  the 
attempt.  The  militia  to  assemble  the 
first  of  February,  and  to  continue,  if 
necessary,  until  the  first  of  March."  The 
reinforcements  thus  obtained,  amounted 
to  between  four  and  five  thousand  men ; 
but  thus  far  the  winter  proved  unusually 
mild,  and  the  waters  about  Boston  were 
not  frozen.  The  general,  in  his  official 
communication  to  the  national  legisla 
ture,  says :  "  Congress,  in  my  last,  would 
discover  my  motives  for  strengthening 
these  lines  with  the  militia;  but  whether, 
as  the  weather  turns  out  exceedingly 
mild,  insomuch  as  to  promise  nothing 
favorable  from  ice,  and  there  is  no  ap 
pearance  of  powder,  I  shall  be  able  to 
attempt  any  thing  decisive,  time  only 
can  determine.  No  person  on  earth 
wishes  more  earnestly  to  destroy  the 


nest  in  Boston  than  I  do ;  no  person 
would  be  willing  to  go  greater  lengths 
than  I  shall  to  accomplish  it,  if  it  shall 
be  thought  advisable ;  but  if  we  have 
neither  powder  to  bombard  with,  nor 
ice  to  pass  on,  we  shall  be  in  no  better 
situation  than  we  have  been  in  all  the 
year.  We  shall  be  worse,  because  their 
works  are  stronger." 

While  anxiously  waiting  to  embrace 
any  favorable  opportunity  that  might 
present  to  annoy  the  enemy,  Washington 
seriously  meditated  upon  the  importance 
of  establishing  a  permanent  army.  His 
experience  enabled  him  to  anticipate 
the  evils  that  must  ensue  at  the  expira 
tion  of  the  period  for  which  the  present 
troops  were  engaged,  and  he  bent  the 
whole  force  of  his  mind  to  induce  Con 
gress  seasonably  to  adopt  measures  to 
prevent  them.  In  a  letter  to  the  presi 
dent  of  Congress,  dated  February  9,  he 
entered  thus  fully  into  the  subject : 

"  The  disadvantages  attending  the 
limited  enlistment  of  troops,  are  too  ap 
parent  to  those  who  are  eye-witnesses 
of  them,  to  render  any  animadversions 
necessary ;  but  to  gentlemen  at  a  dis 
tance,  whose  attention  is  engrossed  by 
a  thousand  important  objects,  the  case 
may  be  otherwise. 

"  That  this  cause  precipitated  the  fate 
of  the  brave,  and  much  to  be  lamented 
General  Montgomery,  and  brought  on 
the  defeat  which  followed  thereupon,  I 
have  not  the  most  distant  doubt;  for, 
had  he  not  been  apprehensive  of  the 
troops  leaving  him  at  so  important  a 
crisis,  but  continued  the  blockade  of 


406 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Quebec,  a  capitulation  (from  the  best 
accounts  I  have  been  able  to  collect) 
must  inevitably  have  followed.  And, 
that  we  were  not  at  one  time  obliged  to 
dispute  these  lines,  under  disadvantage 
ous  circumstances  (proceeding  from  the 
same  cause,  to  wit,  the  troops  disband 
ing  themselves  before  the  militia  could 
be  got  in),  is  to  me  a  matter  of  wonder 
and  astonishment  ;  and  proves  that 
General  Howe  was  either  unacquainted 
with  our  situation,  or  restrained  by  his 
instructions  from  putting  any  thing  to  a 
hazard  till  his  reinforcements  should 
arrive. 

"  The  instance  of  General  Montgom 
ery  (I  mention  it  because  it  is  a  striking 
one ;  for  a  number  of  others  might  be 
adduced)  proves,  that  instead  of  having 
men  to  take  advantage  of  circumstances, 
you  are  in  a  manner  compelled,  right  or 
wrong,  to  make  circumstances  yield  to 
a  secondary  consideration.  Since  the 
first  of  December,  I  have  been  devising: 

'  O 

every  means  in  my  power  to  secure 
these  encampments;  and  though  I  am 
sensible  that  we  never  have,  since  that 
period,  been  able  to  act  upon  the  offen 
sive,  and  at  times  not  in  a  condition  to 
defend,  yet  the  cost  of  marching  home 
one  set  of  men,  bringing  in  another,  the 
havoc  and  waste  occasioned  by  the  first, 
the  repairs  necessary  for  the  second, 
with  a  thousand  incidental  charges  and 
inconveniences  which  have  arisen,  and 
which  it  is  scarce  possible  to  recollect 
or  describe,  amount  to  near  as  much  as 
the  keeping  up  a  respectable  body  of 
troops  the  whole  time,  ready  for  any 


emergency,  would  have  done.  To  this 
may  be  added,  that  you  never  can  have 
a  well-disciplined  army. 

"  To  bring  men  well  acquainted  with 
the  duties  of  a  soldier,  requires  time. 
To  bring  them  under  proper  discipline 
and  subordination,  not  only  requires 
time,  but  is  a  work  of  great  difficulty ; 
and  in  this  army,  where  there  is  so  little 
distinction  between  the  officers  and  sol 
diers,  requires  an  uncommon  degree  of 
attention.  To  expect,  then,  the  same 
service  from  raw  and  undisciplined  re 
cruits,  as  from  veteran  soldiers,  is  to  ex 
pect  what  never  did,  and  perhaps  never 
will  happen.  Men  who  are  familiarized 
to  danger,  meet  it  without  shrinking ; 
whereas,  those  who  have  never  seen 
service,  often  apprehend  danger  where 
no  danger  is.  Three  things  prompt 
men  to  a  regular  discharge  of  their  duty 
in  time  of  action — natural  bravery,  hope 
of  reward,  and  fear  of  punishment.  The 
two  first  are  common  to  the  untutored 
and  the  disciplined  soldier,  but  the  lat 
ter  most  obviously  distinguishes  the 
one  from  the  other.  A  coward,  when 
taught  to  believe,  that  if  he  breaks  his 
ranks  and  abandons  his  colors,  he  will 
be  punished  with  death  by  his  own 
party,  will  take  his  chance  against  the 
enemy ;  but  a  man  who  thinks  little  of 
the  one,  and  is  fearful  of  the  other,  acts 
from  present  feelings,  regardless  of  con 
sequences. 

"  Again,  men  of  a  day's  standing  will 
not  look  forward  ;  and,  from  experience, 
we  find  that  as  the  time  approaches  for 
their  discharge,  they  grow  careless  of 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


407 


their  arms,  ammunition,  camp  utensils, 
&G.  Nay,  even  the  barracks  themselves 
lay  us  under  additional  expense  in  pro 
viding  for  every  fresh  set,  when  we  find 
it  next  to  impossible  to  procure  such 
articles  as  are  absolutely  necessary  in  the 
first  instance.  To  this  may  be  added, 
the  seasoning  which  new  recruits  must 
have  to  a  camp,  and  the  loss  consequent 
thereupon.  But  this  is  not  all:  men, 
engaged  for  a  short,  limited  time  only, 
have  the  officers  too  much  in  their 
power ;  for,  to  obtain  a  degree  of  popu 
larity,  in  order  to  induce  a  second  enlist 
ment,  a  kind  of  familiarity  takes  place, 
which  brings  on  a  relaxation  of  dis 
cipline,  unlicensed  furloughs,  and  other 
indulgences,  incompatible  with  order 
and  good  government ;  by  which  means, 
the  latter  part  of  the  time  for  which  the 
soldier  was  engaged,  is  spent  in  undoing 
what  you  were  laboring  to  inculcate  in 
the  first. 

"  To  go  into  an  enumeration  of  all  the 
evils  we  have  experienced  in  this  late 
great  change  of  the  army,  and  the  ex 
penses  incidental  to  it — to  say  nothing 
of  the  hazard  we  have  run,  and  must 
run,  between  the  discharging  of  one 
army  and  the  enlistment  of  another,  un 
less  an  enormous  expense  of  militia  be 
incurred — would  greatly  exceed  the 
bounds  of  a  letter.  What  I  have  al 
ready  taken  the  liberty  of  saying  will 
serve  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the 
matter ;  and  therefore  I  shall,  with  all 
due  deference,  take  the  liberty  to  give  it 
as  my  opinion,  that  if  the  Congress  have 
any  reason  to  believe  that  there  will 


be  occasion  for  troops  another  year,  and 
consequently  of  another  enlistment,  they 
would  save  money,  and  have  infinitely 
better  troops,  if  they  were,  even  at  a 
bounty  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  more  dol 
lars,  to  engage  the  men  already  enlisted 
till  January  next,  and  such  others  as 
may  be  wanted  to  complete  the  estab 
lishment,  for  and  during  the  war.  I 
will  not  undertake  to  say  that  the  men 
can  be  had  upon  these  terms ;  but  I  am 
satisfied  that  it  will  never  do  to  let  the 
matter  alone,  as  it  was  last  year,  till  the 
time  of  service  was  near  expiring.  The 
hazard  is  too  great  in  the  first  place  ;  in 
the  next,  the  trouble  and  perplexity  of 
disbanding  one  army,  and  raising  an 
other  at  the  same  instant,  and  in  such  a 
critical  situation  as  the  last  was,  is 
scarcely  in  the  power  of  words  to  de 
scribe,  and  such  as  no  man  who  has  ex 
perienced  it  once  will  ever  undergo 
again." 

Unhappily,  the  reasons  which  first  in 
duced  Congress  to  adopt  the  plan  of 
short  enlistments,  still  had  influence  on 
that  body,  and  on  many  of  the  general 
officers  of  the  army ;  nor  were  they  con 
vinced  of  their  error  but  by  the  most 
distressing  experience.  The  ice  now 
became  sufficiently  strong  for  General 
Washington  to  march  his  forces  upon 
it  into  Boston ;  and  he  was  himself  in 
clined  to  risk  a  general  assault  upon  the 
British  posts,  although  he  had  not  pow 
der  to  make  any  extensive  use  of  his 
artillery;  but  his  general  officers  in 
council  voted  against  the  attempt,  with 
whose  decision  he  reluctantly  acquiesced. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


In  bis  communication  of  their  opinion 
to  Congress,  he  observed :  "  Perhaps  the 
irksomeness  of  my  situation  may  have 
given  different  ideas  to  me,  from  those 
which  influence  the  judgment  of  the 
gentlemen  whom  I  consulted,  and  might 
have  inclined  me  to  put  more  to  hazard 
than  was  consistent  with  prudence.  If 
it  had  this  effect  I  am  not  sensible  of  it, 
as  I  endeavored  to  give  the  subject  all 
the  consideration  a  matter  of  such  im 
portance  required.  True  it  is,  and  I 
cannot  help  acknowledging  that  I  have 
many  disagreeable  sensations  on  account 
of  my  situation ;  for,  to  have  the  eyes  of 
the  whole  continent  fixed  on  me,  with 
anxious  expectation  of  hearing  of  some 
great  event,  and  to  be  restrained  in 
every  military  operation  for  the  want  of 
the  necessary  means  to  carry  it  on,  is 
not  very  pleasing ;  especially,  as  the 
means  used  to  conceal  my  weakness 
from  the  enemy,  conceal  it  also  from 
my  friends,  and  add  to  their  wonder." 

Late  in  February  the  stock  of  powder 
was  considerably  increased,  and  the 
regular  army  amounted  to  fourteen 
thousand  men,  which  was  reinforced  by 
six  thousand  of  the  Massachusetts  militia. 
Colonel  Knox  had  volunteered  to  trans 
port  the  cannon  which  had  been  taken 
by  Allen  and  Arnold  at  Ticonderoga  to 
Boston,  and  with  incredible  difficulty 
had  at  last  accomplished  his  object;  so 
that  Washington  now  found  himself 
comparatively  well  supplied  with  heavy 
ordnance. 

The  part  of  the  harbor  of  Boston  con 
tiguous  to  Cambridge  and  Roxbury, 


was  frozen,  which  greatly  facilitated  the 
passage ;  and  for  crossing  the  water 
that  remained  up  to  the  walls  of  Bos 
ton,  a  great  number  of  boats  had  been 
provided.  In  addition  to  this,  two 
floating  batteries  were  stationed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  of  Cambridge.  It 
was  known  that  the  garrison  suffered 
severely  for  the  want  of  provisions,  and 
that  it  was  greatly  enfeebled  by  fatigues 
and  maladies.  Washington  had,  be 
sides,  the  greatest  confidence  in  the 
valor  and  constancy  of  his  soldiers.  lie 
accordingly  assembled  all  the  generals, 
and  proposed  to  them  his  plan  of  attack. 
Ward  and  Gates  opposed  it ;  alleging, 
that  without  incurring  so  great  a  risk, 
the  enemy  might  be  forced  to  evacuate 
Boston  by  occupying  the  heights  of 
Dorchester,  which  command  the  entire 
city.  Washington  did  not  conceal  his 
dissatisfaction  at  this  opposition ;  but  he 
was  constrained  to  acquiesce  in  the 
opinion  of  the  majority.  It  was  re 
solved,  therefore,  to  take  the  position  of 
the  heights.  At  the  suggestion  of 
generals  Ward,  Thomas,  and  Spencer, 
a  great  quantity  of  fascines  and  gabions 
had  been  prepared  for  this  expedition. 

The  Americans,  says  Botta,*  in  or 
der  to  occupy  the  attention  of  the  en 
emy  in  another  part,  erected  strong  bat 
teries  upon  the  shore  at  Cobb's  Hill,  at 
Lechmere's  Point,  at  Phipp's  Farm,  and 
at  Lamb's  Dam,  near  Roxbury.  They 
opened  a  terrible  fire  in  the  night  of  the 
2d  of  March ;  the  bombs,  at  every  in- 

0  Botta,  History  of  the  War  of  Independence,  vol.  ii.  p.  36. 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON 


409 


stant,  fell  into  the  city.  The  garrison 
was  incessantly  employed  in  extinguish 
ing  the  flames  of  the  houses  in  combus 
tion,  and  in  all  the  different  services 
that  are  necessary  in  such  circumstances. 
During  this  time,  the  Americans  pre 
pared  themselves  with  ardor,  or  rather 
with  joy,  to  take  possession  of  the 
Heights.  Companies  of  militia  arrived 
from  all  parts  to  reinforce  the  army. 
The  night  of  the  4th  of  March  was  se 
lected  for  the  expedition ;  the  chiefs 
hoped  that  the  recollection  of  the 
events  of  the  5th  of  March,  1770,  when 
the  first  blood  had  been  shed  in  Boston 
by  the  English,  would  inflame  with  new 
ardor,  and  a  thirst  of  vengeance,  those 
spirits  already  so  resolute  in  their  cause. 

Accordingly,  in  the  evening  of  the 
4th,  all  the  arrangements  being  made, 
the  Americans  proceeded  in  profound 
silence  towards  the  peninsula  of  Dor 
chester.  The  obscurity  of  the  night 
was  propitious,  and  the  wind  favorable, 
since  it  could  not  bear  to  the  enemy 
the  little  noise  which  it  was  impossible 
to  avoid.  The  frost  had  rendered  the 
roads  easy.  The  batteries  of  Phipp's 
Farm,  and  those  of  Roxbury,  inces 
santly  fulminated  with  a  stupendous 
roar. 

Eight  hundred  men  composed  the 
van-guard ;  it  was  followed  by  carriages 
filled  with  utensils  of  intrenchment,  and 
twelve  hundred  pioneers  led  by  General 
Thomas.  In  the  rear-guard  were  three 
hundred  carts  of  fascines,  of  gabions, 
and  bundles  of  hay,  destined  to  cover 
the  flank  of  the  troops  in  the  passage 

VOL.  I.— 52 


of  the  isthmus  of  Dorchester,  which, 
being  very  low,  was  exposed  to  be 
raked  on  both  sides  by  the  artillery 
of  the  English  vessels. 

All  succeeded  perfectly ;  the  Ameri 
cans  arrived  upon  the  Heights,  not  only 
without  being  molested,  but  even  with 
out  being  perceived  by  the  enemy. 

They  set  themselves  to  work  with  an 
activity  so  prodigious,  that  by  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  they  had  already  constructed 
two  forts,  in  condition  to  shelter  them 
from  small-arms  and  grape-shot ;  one 
upon  the  height  nearest  to  the  city,  and 
the  other  upon  that  which  looks  to 
wards  Castle  Island.  The  day  ap 
peared  ;  but  it  prevented  not  the  pro 
vincials  from  continuing  their  works, 
without  any  movement  being  made  on 
the  part  of  the  garrison.  At  length, 
when  the  haze  of  the  morning  was  en 
tirely  dissipated,  the  English  discov 
ered,  with  extreme  surprise,  the  new 
fortifications  of  the  Americans. 

The  English  admiral,  having  exam 
ined  them,  declared,  that  if  the  enemy 
was  not  dislodged  from  this  position, 
his  vessels  could  no  longer  remain  in 
the  harbor  without  the  most  imminent 
hazard  of  total  destruction.  The  city 
itself  was  exposed  to  be  demolished  to 
its  foundations,  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
provincials.  The  communication,  also, 
between  the  troops  that  guarded  the 
isthmus  of  Boston,  and  those  within  the 
town,  became  extremely  difficult  and 
dangerous.  The  artillery  of  the  Amer 
icans  battered  the  strand,  whence  the 
English  would  have  to  embark  in  case 


410 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


of  retreat.  There  was  no  other  choice, 
therefore,  left  them,  but  either  to  drive 
the  colonists  from  this  station  by  dint 
of  force,  or  to  evacuate  the  city  alto 
gether. 

General  Howe  decided  for  the  attack, 
and  made  his  dispositions  accordingly. 
Washington,  on  his  part,  having  per 
ceived  the  design,  prepared  himself  to 
repel  it.  The  intrenchments  were  per 
fected  with  diligence  ;  the  militia  were 
assembled  from  the  neighboring  towns, 
and  signals  were  concerted  to  be  given 
upon  all  the  eminences  which  form  a 
sort  of  cincture  about  all  the  shore  of 
Boston,  from  Roxbury  to  Mystic  River, 
in  order  to  transmit  intelligence  and 
orders  with  rapidity  from  one  point  to 
the  other. 

Washington  exhorted  his  soldiers  to 
bear  in  mind  the  5th  of  March.  Nor 
did  he  restrict  himself  to  defensive 
measures,  he  thought  also  of  the  means 
of  falling,  himself,  upon  the  enemy,  if, 
during,  or  after  the  battle,  any  favor 
able  occasion  should  present  itself.  If 
the  besieged,  as  he  hoped,  should  expe 
rience  a  total  defeat  in  the  assault  of 
Dorchester,  his  intention  was  to  embark 
from  Cambridge  four  thousand  chosen 
men,  who,  rapidly  crossing  the  arm  of 
the  sea,  should  take  advantage  of  the 
tumult  and  confusion,  to  attempt  the 
assault  of  the  town.  General  Sullivan 
commanded  the  first  division  ;  General 
Greene,  the  second.  An  attack  was 
expected  like  that  of  Charlestown,  and 
a  battle  like  that  of  Breed's  Hill.  Gen 
eral  Howe  ordered  ladders  to  be  pre 


pared  to  scale  the  works  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  He  directed  Lord  Percy  to  em 
bark  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
corps,  and  to  land  upon  the  flats  near 
the  point  opposite  Castle  Island.  The 
Americans,  excited  by  the  remem 
brance  of  the  anniversary,  and  of  the 
battle  of  Breed's  Hill,  and  by  the  con 
tinual  exhortations  of  their  chiefs,  ex 
pected  them,  not  only  without  fear, 
but  with  alacrity ;  but  the  tide  ebbed, 
and  the  wind  blew  with  such  violence, 
that  the  passage  over  became  impossi 
ble.  General  Howe  was  compelled  to 
defer  the  attack  to  early  the  follow 
ing  morning.  A  tempest  arose  during 
the  night,  and  when  the  day  dawned, 
the  sea  was  still  excessively  agitated. 
A  violent  rain  came  to  increase  the  ob 
stacles  ;  the  English  general  kept  him 
self  quiet.  But  the  Americans  made 
profit  of  this  delay ;  they  erected  a 
third  redoubt,  and  completed  the  other 
works.  Colonel  Mifflin  had  prepared 
a  great  number  of  hogsheads,  full  of 
stones  and  sand,  in  order  to  roll  them 
upon  the  enemy,  when  he  should  march 
up  to  the  assault,  to  break  his  ranks, 
and  throw  him  into  confusion,  which 
might  smooth  the  way  to  his  defeat. 

Having  diligently  surveyed  all  these 
dispositions,  the  English  persuaded 
themselves,  that  the  contemplated  en 
terprise  offered  difficulties  almost  in 
surmountable.  They  reflected  that  a 
repulse,  or  even  a  victory  so  sanguinary 
as  that  of  Breed's  Hill,  would  expose 
to  a  jeopardy  too  serious  the  English 
interests  in  America.  Even  in  case  of 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTOX. 


411 


success,  it  was  to  be  considered  that 
the  gairison  was  not  sufficiently  nu 
merous,  to  be  able,  without  hazard,  to 
keep  possession  of  the  peninsula  of  Dor 
chester,  having  already  to  guard  not 
only  the  city,  but  the  peninsula  of 
Chariest-own.  The  battle  was  rather 
necessary,  and  victory  desirable,  to  save 
the  reputation  of  the  royal  arms,  than 
to  decide  the  total  event  of  things  upon 
these  shores.  The  advantages,  there 
fore,  could  not  compensate  the  dangers. 
Besides,  the  port  of  Boston  was  far 
from  being  perfectly  accommodated  to 
the  future  operations  of  the  army  that 
was  expected  from  England  ;  and  Gen 
eral  Howe  himself  had,  some  length  of 
time  before,  received  instructions  from 
Lord  Dartmouth,  one  of  the  Secretaries 
of  State,  to  evacuate  the  city,  and  to 
establish  himself  at  New  York. 

The  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
vessels  had  hitherto  prevented  him  from 
executing  this  order.  Upon  all  these 
considerations,  the  English  generals  de 
termined  to  abandon  Boston  to  the 
power  of  the  provincials. 

This  retreat,  however,  presented 
great  difficulties.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  transports,  great  and  small,  ap 
peared  scarcely  adequate  to  the  accom 
modation  of  ten  thousand  men,  the 
number  to  which  the  crews  and  the 
garrison  amounted,  without  compre 
hending  such  of  the  inhabitants,  as, 
having  shown  themselves  favorable  to 
the  royal  cause,  could  not  with  safety 
remain.  The  passage  was  long  and 
difficult ;  for  with  these  emaciated  and 


enfeebled  troops,  it  could  not  be  at 
tempted  to  operate  any  descent  upon 
the  coasts.  It  was  even  believed  to  be 
scarcely  possible  to  effect  a  landing  at 
New  York,  although  the  city  was  abso 
lutely  without  defence  on  the  part  of 
the  sea.  The  surest  course  appeared  to 
be  to  gain  the  port  of  Halifax  ;  but  be 
sides  the  want  of  provisions,  which  was 
excessive,  the  season  was  very  unfavor 
able  for  this  voyage,  at  all  times  dan 
gerous. 

The  winds  that  prevailed,  then  blew 
violently  from  the  northeast,  and  might 
drive  the  fleet  off  to  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  vessels  were  by  no  means 
stocked  with  provisions  for  such  a  voy 
age.  Besides,  the  territory  of  Halifax 
was  a  sterile  country,  from  which  no 
resource  could  be  expected,  and  no  pro 
vision  could  have  been  previously  made 
there,  since  the  evacuation  of  Boston 
and  retreat  to  Halifax,  were  events  not 
anticipated.  Nor  could  the  soldiers 
perceive  without  discouragement,  that 
the  necessity  of  things  impelled  them 
towards  the  north,  apprised,  as  they 
were,  that  the  future  operations  of  the 
English  army,  were  to  take  place  in 
the  provinces  of  the  centre,  and  even 
in  those  of  the  south.  But  their  gen 
erals  had  no  longer  the  liberty  of  choice. 
The  Americans,  however,  being  able  by 
the  fire  of  their  artillery,  to  interpose 
the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  embarka 
tion  of  the  British  troops,  General  Howe 
deliberated  upon  the  means  of  obvia 
ting  this  inconvenience.  Having  assem 
bled  the  selectmen  of  Boston,  he  de- 


412 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


clarel  to  them  that  the  city  being  no 
longer  of  any  use  to  the  king,  he  was 
resolved  to  abandon  it,  provided  that 
Washington  would  not  oppose  his  de 
parture.  He  pointed  to  the  combusti 
ble  materials  he  had  caused  to  be  pre 
pared  to  set  fire,  in  an  instant,  to  the 
city,  if  the  provincials  should  molest 
him  in  any  shape.  He  invited  them  to 
reflect  upon  all  the  dangers  which 
might  result,  for  them  and  their  habita 
tions,  from  a  battle  fought  within  the 
walls ;  and  he  assured  them,  that  his 
personal  intention  was  to  withdraw 
peaceably,  if  the  Americans  were  dis 
posed,  on  their  part,  to  act  in  the  same 
manner.  He  exhorted  them,  therefore, 
to  repair  to  the  presence  of  Washing 
ton,  and  to  inform  him  of  what  they 
had  now  heard. 

The  selectmen  waited  upon  the  Amer 
ican  general,  and  made  him  an  affecting 
representation  of  the  situation  of  the 
city.  It  appears,  from  what  followed, 
that  he  consented  to  the  conditions  de 
manded  ;  but  the  articles  of  the  truce 
were  not  written.  It  has  been  pre 
tended  that  one  of  them  was,  that  the 
besieged  should  leave  their  munitions 
of  war ;  this,  however,  cannot  be  af 
firmed  with  assurance.  The  munitions 
were,  indeed,  left ;  but  it  is  not  known 
whether  it  was  by  convention,  or  from 
necessity.  The  Americans  remained 
quiet  spectators  of  the  retreat  of  the 
English.  But  the  city  presented  a  mel 
ancholy  spectacle ;  notwithstanding  the 
orders  of  General  Howe,  all  was  havoc 
and  confusion.  Fifteen  hundred  loy 


alists,  with  their  families,  and  their  most 
valuable  effects,  hastened,  with  infinite 
dejection  of  mind,  to  abandon  a  resi 
dence  which  had  been  so  dear  to  them, 
and  where  they  had  so  long  enjoyed 
felicity.  The  fathers  carrying  burdens, 
the  mothers  their  children,  ran  weeping 
towards  the  ships  ;  the  last  salutations, 
the  farewell  embraces  of  those  who  de 
parted,  and  of  those  who  remained,  the 
sick,  the  wounded,  the  aged,  the  in 
fants,  would  have  moved  with  compas 
sion  the  witnesses  of  their  distress,  if 
the  care  of  their  own  safety-  had  not 

i/ 

absorbed  the  attention  of  all. 

The  carts  and  beasts  of  burden  were 
become  the  occasion  of  sharp  disputes 
between  the  inhabitants  who  had  re 
tained  them,  and  the  soldiers  who 
wished  to  employ  them.  The  disorder 
was  also  increased,  by  the  animosity 
that  prevailed  between  the  soldiers  of 
the  garrison  and  those  of  the  fleet ; 
they  reproached  each  other  mutually, 
as  the  authors  of  their  common  mis 
fortune.  With  one  accord,  however, 
they  complained  of  the  coldness  and 
ingratitude  of  their  country,  which 
seemed  to  have  abandoned,  or  rather 
to  have  forgotten  them  upon  these  dis 
tant  shores,  a  prey  to  so  much  misery, 
and  to  so  many  dangers.  For  since  the 
month  of  October,  General  Howe  had 
not  received,  from  England,  any  order 
or  intelligence  whatever,  which  testified 
that  the  government  still  existed,  and 
had  not  lost  sight  of  the  army  of 
Boston. 

Meanwhile,  a  desperate  band  of  sol- 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


413 


diers  and  sailors  took  advantage  of  the 
confusion,  to  force  doors,  and  pillage 
the  houses  and  shops.  They  destroyed 
what  they  could  not  carry  away.  The 
entire  city  was  devoted  to  devastation, 
and  it  was  feared  every  moment  the 
flames  would  break  out,  to  consummate 
its  destruction. 

The  15th  of  March,  General  Howe 
issued  a  proclamation,  forbidding  every 
inhabitant  to  go  out  of  his  house  before 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  order 
not  to  disturb  the  embarkation  of  the 
troops,  which  was  to  have  taken  place 
on  this  day.  But  an  east  wind  pre 
vented  their  departure  ;  and  to  pass 
the  time,  they  returned  to  pillaging. 
In  the  mean  while,  the  Americans  had 
constructed  a  redoubt  upon  the  point 
of  Nook's  Hill,  in  the  peninsula  of  Dor 
chester,  and  having  furnished  it  with 
artillery,  they  entirely  commanded  the 
isthmus  of  Boston,  and  all  the  southern 
part  of  the  town.  It  was  even  to  be 
feared  that  they  would  occupy  Noddle's 
Island,  and  establish  batteries,  which, 
sweeping  the  surface  of  the  water  across 
the  harbor,  would  have  entirely  inter 
dicted  the  passage  to  the  ships,  and 
reduced  the  garrison  to  the  necessity 
of  yielding  at  discretion.  All  delay 
became  dangerous ;  consequently,  the 
British  troops  and  the  loyalists  began 
to  embark,  the  17th  of  March,  at  four 
in  the  morning ;  at  ten,  all  were  on 
board.  The  vessels  were  overladen 
with  men  and  baggage  ;  provisions  were 
scanty,  confusion  was  everywhere.  The 
rear-guard  was  scarcely  out  of  the  city, 


when  Washington  entered  it  on  the 
other  side,  with  colors  displayed,  drums 
beating,  and  all  the  forms  of  victory 
and  triumph.  He  was  received  by  the 
inhabitants  with  every  demonstration 
of  gratitude  and  respect  due  to  a  de 
liverer.  Their  joy  broke  forth  with 
the  more  vivacity,  as  their  sufferings 
had  been  long  and  cruel.  For  more 
than  sixteen  months,  they  had  endured 
hunger,  thirst,  cold,  and  the  outrages 
of  an  insolent  soldiery,  who  deemed 
them  rebels.  The  most  necessary  arti 
cles  of  food  were  risen  to  exorbitant 
prices. 

Horse  flesh  was  not  refused  by  those 
who  could  procure  it.  For  want  of 
fuel,  the  pews  and  benches  of  churches 
were  taken  for  this  purpose  ;  the  coun 
ters  and  partitions  of  warehouses  were 
applied  to  the  same  use ;  and  even 
houses,  not  inhabited,  were  demolished 
for  the  sake  of  the  wood.  The  English 
left  a  great  quantity  of  artillery  and 
munitions.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
pieces  of  cannon,  of  different  calibre, 
were  found  in  Boston,  in  Castle  Island, 
and  in  the  intrenchments  of  Bunker's 
Hill,  and  the  Neck.  The  English  had 
attempted,  but  with  little  success,  in 
their  haste,  to  destroy,  or  to  spike  these 
last  pieces  ;  others  had  been  thrown 
into  the  sea,  but  they  were  recovered. 
There  were  found,  besides,  four  mor 
tars,  a  considerable  quantity  of  coal,  of 
wheat,  and  of  other  grains,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  horses. 

The  embarkation  of  the  British  was 
attended  with  many  circumstances  of 


414 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


distress  and  embarrassment.  On  the 
departure  of  the  royal  army  from  Bos 
ton,  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants, 
attached  to  their  sovereign,  and  afraid 
of  public  resentment,  chose  to  abandon 
their  country.  From  the  great  multi 
tude  about  to  depart,  there  was  no 
possibility  of  procuring  purchasers  for 
their  furniture,  neither  was  there  a  suf 
ficiency  of  vessels  for  its  convenient 
transportation.  Mutual  jealousy  sub 
sisted  between  the  army  and  navy ; 
each  charging  the  other  as  the  cause  of 
some  part  of  their  common  distress. 
The  army  was  full  of  discontent.  Re 
inforcements,  though  long  promised, 
had  not  arrived.  Both  officers  and 
soldiers  thought  themselves  neglected. 
Five  months  had  elapsed  since  they 
had  received  any  advice  of  their  des 
tination.  Wants  and  inconveniences 
increased  their  ill-humor.  Their  in 
tended  voyage  to  Halifax  subjected 
them  to  great  dangers.  The  coast,  at 
all  times  hazardous,  was  eminently  so 
at  that  tempestuous  equinoctial  season. 
They  had  reason  to  fear  they  would  be 
blown  off  to  the  West  Indies,  arid  with 
out  a  sufficient  stock  of  provisions. 
They  were  also  going  to  a  barren  coun 
try.  To  add  to  their  difficulties,  this 
dangerous  voyage,  when  completed,  was 
directly  so  much  out  of  their  way. 
Their  business  lay  to  the  southward, 
and  they  were  going  northward.  Un 
der  all  these  difficulties,  and  with  all 
these  gloomy  prospects,  the  fleet  steered 
for  Halifax. 

Contrary  to  appearances,  the  voyage 


thither  was  both  short  and  prosperous. 
They  remained  there  for  some  time, 
waiting  for  reinforcements  and  instruc 
tions  from  England.  When  the  royal 
fleet  and  army  departed  from  Boston, 
several  ships  were  left  behind  for  the 
protection  of  vessels  coming  from  Eng 
land,  but  the  American  privateers  were 
so  alert  that  they  nevertheless  made 
many  prizes.  Some  of  the  vessels  which 
they  captured,  were  laden  with  arms 
and  warlike  stores.  Some  transports, 
with  troops  on  board,  were  also  taken. 
These  had  run  into  the  harbor,  not 
knowing  that  the  place  was  evacuated. 

On  taking  possession  of  Boston, 
Washington  found  the  town  in  a  much 
better  condition  than  he  had  anticipated. 
Some  of  the  meaner  wooden  building's 
had  been  pulled  down,  in  order  that 
the  materials  might  be  used  for  fuel. 
The  Old  South  Church,  greatly  rever 
enced  by  the  inhabitants,  and  used  for 
public  celebrations  as  well  as  for  wor 
ship,  had  been  converted  into  a  stable 
for  cavalry  horses.  Some  other  public 
buildings  had  suffered  damage  ;  but  the 
houses  of  the  rich  had  been  respected, 
the  furniture  and  pictures  remained  in 
their  old  places,  and  scarcely  any 
wanton  mischief  had  been  done  by  the 
soldiers. 

The  expulsion  of  the  British  from 
Boston  was  justly  regarded  as  an  event 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  cause 
of  freedom.  By  relieving  New  Eng 
land  from  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  enemy,  it  enabled  the  people  of 
that  portion  of  the  country  to  con- 


THAI-.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


415 


tribute  liberally  in  men  and  money  to 
the  support  of  the  war  in  the  middle 
and  southern  colonies.  It  gave  Wash 
ington  the  opportunity  of  meeting  the 
British  at  the  point  chosen  by  them  for 
attack ;  and  it  inspirited  the  patriotic 
in  every  part  of  the  country.  The 
promptness  with  which  it  had  been 
effected,  when  the  proper  time  for  ac 
tion  arrived,  was  felt  to  be  due  to  the 
able  generalship  of  Washington ;  and 
all  were  eager  to  congratulate  and 
honor  him.  The  Massachusetts  Coun 
cil  and  House  of  Representatives  com 
plimented  him  in  a  joint  address,  in 
which  they  expressed  their  good  wishes 
in  the  following  words  :  "  May  you  still 
go  on  approved  by  Heaven — revered 
by  all  good  men,  and  dreaded  by  those 
tyrants,  who  claim  their  fellow-men  as 
their  property." 

The  following  is  his  reply  : 

"  GENTLEMEN, — I  return  you  my  most 
sincere  and  hearty  thanks  for  your  po 
lite  address ;  and  feel  myself  called  upon 
by  every  principle  of  gratitude,  to  ac 
knowledge  the  honor  you  have  done 
me  in  this  testimonial  of  your  approba 
tion  of  my  appointment  to  the  exalted 
station  I  now  fill,  and,  what  is  more 
pleasing,  of  my  conduct  in  discharging 
its  important  duties. 

"  When  the  councils  of  the  British 
nation  had  formed  a  plan  for  enslaving 
America,  and  depriving  her  sons  of  the 
most  sacred  and  invaluable  privileges, 
against  the  clearest  remonstrances  of  the 
constitution,  of  justice,  and  of  truth,  and, 


to  execute  their  schemes,  had  appealed 
to  the  sword,  I  esteemed  it  my  duty  to 
take  a  part  in  the  contest,  and  more  es 
pecially  on  account  of  my  being  called 
thereto  by  the  unsolicited  suffrages  of 
the  representatives  of  a  free  people ; 
wishing  for  no  other  reward  than  that 
arising  from  a  conscientious  discharge 
of  the  important  trust,  and  that  my  ser 
vices  might  contribute  to  the  establish 
ment  of  freedom  and  peace  upon  a  per 
manent  foundation,  and  merit  the  ap 
plause  of  my  countrymen  and  every 
virtuous  citizen. 

"  Your  acknowledgment  of  my  atten 
tion  to  the  civil  constitution  of  this 
colony,  whilst  acting  in  the  line  of  my 
department,  also  demands  my  grateful 
thanks.  A  regard  to  every  provincial 
institution,  where  not  incompatible  with 
the  common  interest,  I  hold  a  principle 
of  duty  and  of  policy,  and  it  shall  ever 
form  a  part  of  my  conduct.  Had  I  not 
learned  this  before,  the  happy  expe 
rience  of  the  advantages  resulting  from 
a  friendly  intercourse  with  your  honor 
able  body,  their  ready  and  willing  con 
currence  to  aid  and  to  counsel,  when 
ever  called  upon  in  cases  of  difficulty 
and  emergency,  would  have  taught  me 
the  useful  lesson. 

"  That  the  metropolis  of  your  colony 
is  now  relieved  from  the  cruel  and  op 
pressive  invasions  of  those  who  were 
sent  to  erect  the  standard  of  lawless 
domination  and  to  trample  on  the  rights 
of  humanity,  and  is  again  open  and  free 
for  its  rightful  possessors,  must  give 
pleasure  to  every  virtuous  and  sympa- 


416 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV 


tlietic  heart ;  and  its  being  effected  with 
out  the  blood  of  our  soldiers  and  fellow- 
citizens,  must  be  ascribed  to  the  inter 
position  of  that  Providence,  which  has 
manifestly  appeared  in  our  behalf 
through  the  whole  of  this  important 
struggle,  as  well  as  to  the  measures 

~~ 

pursued  for  bringing  about  the  happy 
event. 

"  May  that  Being,  who  is  powerful 
to  save,  and  in  whose  hands  is  the  fate 
of  nations,  look  down  with  an  eye  of 
tender  pity  and  compassion  upon  the 
whole  of  the  united  colonies ;  may  He 
continue  to  smile  upon  their  counsels 
and  arms,  and  crown  them  with  success, 
whilst  employed  in  the  cause  of  virtue 
and  mankind.  May  this  distressed 
colony  and  its  capital,  and  every  part 
of  this  wide-extended  continent,  through 
his  Divine  favor,  be  restored  to  more 
than  their  former  lustre  and  once  happy 
state,  and  have  peace,  liberty,  and  safety 
secured  upon  a  solid,  permanent,  and 
lasting  foundation." 

Congress  unanimously  passed  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  Washington,  appointed  a 
special  committee  to  communicate  it  to 
him  by  letter,  prepared  by  them  and 
signed  by  the  president,  and  ordered  a 
gold  medal  to  be  struck  commemorative 
of  the  occasion  and  in  honor  of  him. 

The  committee  of  Congress  appointed 
to  prepare  the  letter  of  thanks,  and  a 
device  for  the  medal,  were  John  Adams, 
John  Jay,  and  Stephen  Hopkins.  Mr. 
Adams  describes  the  circumstances  that 
led  to  the  appointment  of  this  commit 
tee,  in  a  private  letter  to  Washington. 


"  I  congratulate  you,"  he  writes,  "  as 
well  as  all  the  friends  of  mankind,  on 
the  reduction  of  Boston ;  an  event,  which 
appeared  to  me  of  so  great  and  decisive 
importance,  that,  the  next  morning  after 
the  arrival  of  the  news,  I  did  myself  the 
honor  to  move  for  the  thanks  of  Con 
gress  to  your  excellency,  and  that  a 
medal  of  gold  should  be  struck  in  com 
memoration  of  it.  Congress  have  been 

O 

pleased  to  appoint  me,  with  two  other 
gentlemen,  to  prepare  a  device.  I 
should  be  very  happy  to  have  your  ex 
cellency's  sentiments  concerning  a  pro 
per  one.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
very  great  respect,  sir,  your  most  obe 
dient  and  affectionate  servant." 

The  official  letter  from  the  Congress 
was  in  these  words : 

"  To  General  Washington. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  April  2,  1776. 
"  SIR, — It  gives  me  the  most  sensible 
pleasure  to  convey  to  you,  by  order  of 
Congress,  the  only  tribute  which  a  free 
people  will  ever  consent  to  pay,  the 
tribute  of  thanks  and  gratitude  to  their 
friends  and  benefactors.  The  disinter 
ested  and  patriotic  principles  which  led 
you  to  the  field,  have  also  led  you  to 
glory ;  and  it  affords  no  little  consola 
tion  to  your  countrymen  to  reflect,  that, 
as  a  peculiar  greatness  of  mind  induced 
you  to  decline  any  compensation  for 
serving  them,  except  the  pleasure  of 
promoting  their  happiness,  they  may, 
without  your  permission,  bestow  upon 
you  the  largest  share  of  their  affections 
and  esteem. 


CHAP.  V.] 


EXPELS  THE  BRITISH  FROM  BOSTON. 


417 


"  Those  pages  in  the  annals  of  Amer 
ica  will  record  your  title  to  a  conspicu 
ous  place  in  the  temple  of  fame,  which 
shall  inform  posterity,  that,  under  your 
direction,  an  undisciplined  band  of  hus 
bandmen,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months, 
became  soldiers ;  and  that  the  desola 
tion  meditated  against  the  country  by  a 
brave  army  of  veterans,  commanded  by 
the  most  experienced  generals,  but  em 
ployed  by  bad  men  in  the  worst  of 
causes,  was,  by  the  fortitude  of  your 
troops,  and  the  address  of  their  officers, 
next  to  the  kind  interposition  of  Provi 
dence,  confined  for  near  a  year  within 
such  narrow  limits,  as  scarcely  to  admit 
more  room  than  was  necessary  for  the 
encampments  and  fortifications  they 
lately  abandoned.  Accept,  therefore, 
sir,  the  thanks  of  the  United  Colonies, 
unanimously  declared  by  their  delegates 
to  be  due  to  you,  and  the  brave  officers 
and  troops  under  your  command ;  and 
be  pleased  to  communicate  to  them  this 
distinguished  mark  of  the  approbation 
of  their  country.  The  Congress  have 
ordered  a  golden  medal,  adapted  to  the 
occasion,  to  be  struck,  and  when  finished 
to  be  presented  to  you. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every 
sentiment  of  esteem,  sir,  your  most  obe 
dient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"  Join*  HANCOCK,  President? 

Washington's  reply  was  as  follows  : 

"  To  the  President  of  Congress. 

"  NEW  YORK,  April  18,  1776. 
"  SIK, — Permit  me,  through  you,  to 
convey  to  the  honorable  Congress  the 

VOL.  I.— 53 


sentiments  of  gratitude  I  feel  for  the 
high  honor  they  have  done  me  in  the 
public  mark  of  approbation  contained 
in  your  favor  of  the  2d  instant,  which 
came  to  hand  last  night.  I  beg  you  to 
assure  them,  that  it  will  ever  be  my 
highest  ambition  to  approve  myself  a 
faithful  servant  of  the  public ;  and  that 
to  be  in  any  degree  instrumental  in 
procuring  to  my  American  brethren 
a  restitution  of  their  just  rights  and 
privileges,  will  constitute  my  chief  hap 
piness. 

"  Agreeably  to  your  request,  I  have 
communicated,  in  general  orders,  to  the 
officers  and  soldiers  under  my  command, 
the  thanks  of  Congress  for  their  good 
behavior  in  the  service ;  and  I  am  happy 
in  having  such  an  opportunity  of  doing 
justice  to  their  merit.  They  were  in 
deed,  at  first,  '  a  land  of  undisciplined 
husbandmen ;'  but  it  is,  under  God,  to 
their  bravery  and  attention  to  their 
duty,  that  I  am  indebted  for  that  suc 
cess,  which  has  procured  me  the  only 
reward  I  wish  to  receive,  the  affection 
and  esteem  of  my  countrymen.  The 
medal,  intended  to  be  presented  to  me 
by  your  honorable  body,  I  shall  care 
fully  preserve  as  a  memorial  of  their  re 
gard.  I  beg  leave  to  return  you,  sir, 
my  warmest  thanks  for  the  polite  man 
ner  in  which  you  have  been  pleased  to 
express  their  sentiments  of  my  conduct ; 
and  am,  with  sincere  esteem  and  respect, 
sir,  your  and  their  most  obedient  and 
most  humble  servant." 

It   was   generally   understood  when 


418 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booiv  IV. 


Howe  took  his  departure  from  Boston, 
that  his  immediate  destination  was 
Halifax.  But  Washington  suspected 
that  his  real  design  was  to  go  at  once 
to  New  York.  He  therefore  called  for 
two  thousand  militia  from  Connecticut, 
and  one  thousand  from  New  Jersey,  to 
aid  the  force  already  stationed  there  in 
defending  the  city  from  the  expected 
attack.  On  the  18th  of  March,  he  sent 
off  an  additional  force  of  near  six  thou 
sand,  under  General  Heath,  with  the 
same  object ;  and  soon  after  the  whole 
army  followed  them,  except  five  regi 
ments,  left  under  the  command  of  Gen 
eral  Ward  for  the  defence  of  Boston. 
General  Lee,  who  had  previously  been 
in  command  at  New  York,  and  had 
acted  with  great  decision  and  efficiency 
in  checking  Governor  Try  on  and  the 
tories,  and  bringing  the  force  stationed 


there  into  a  state  of  discipline,  had  been 
appointed  by  Congress  to  take  charge 
of  the  southern  department,  in  order  to 
oppose  the  attempts  of  General  Clinton 
in  that  quarter.  To  supply  his  place, 
General  Putnam  wras  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  greatly  augmented  force 
now  concentrated  in  New  York. 

Washington,  meantime,  remained  in 
Boston  waiting  for  the  actual  departure 
of  the  British  fleet,  which  had  lingered 
ten  days  in  Nantasket  Road  before  sail- 
ins:  for  Halifax.  When  satisfied  that 
~ 

they  had  left  the  coast,  he  departed  for 
New  York,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
13th  of  April.  We  must  leave  him 
there,  while  we  turn  to  a  retrospect  of 
what  was  passing  elsewhere  during  the 
protracted  siege  of  Boston.* 

0  See  Document  [E]  al  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


*>*!*• 

- 


CHAP.  V.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


421 


loved  offspring.  His  thought  was  ultimately 
fixed  on  a  happier  state  of  existence,  beyond  the 
tortures  he  was  beginning  to  endure.  The  bit 
terness  of  death,  even  of  that  death  which  is  ac 
companied  with  the  keenest  agonies,  was,  in  a 
manner,  past :  nature,  with  a  feeble  struggle, 
was  quitting  its  last  hold  on  sublunary  things, 
when  a  French  officer  rushed  through  the  crowd, 
opened  a  way  by  scattering  the  burning  brands, 
and  unbound  the  victim.  It  was  the  famous  par 
tisan  Molang,  to  whom  a  savage,  unwilling  to  see 
a  human  victim  immolated,  had  run  and  commu 
nicated  the  tidings.  That  commandant  spurned 
and  severely  reprimanded  the  barbarians,  whose 
nocturnal  powwows  and  hellish  orgies  he  sudden 
ly  ended.  Putnam  did  not  want  for  feeling  or 
gratitude.  The  French  commander,  fearing  to 
trust  him  alone  with  them,  remained  till  he  could 
safely  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  his  master. 

The  savage  approached  his  prisoner  kindly, 
and  seemed  to  treat  him  with  particular  affec 
tion.  He  offered  him  some  hard  biscuit;  but 
finding  that  he  could  not  chew  them,  on  account 
of  the  blow  he  had  received  from  the  French 
man,  tliis  more  humane  savage  soaked  some  of 
the  biscuit  in  water,  and  made  him  suck  the 
pulp-like  part.  Determined,  however,  not  to 
lose  his  captive,  the  refreshment  being  finished, 
he  took  the  moccasins  from  his  feet,  and  tied 
them  to  one  of  his  wrists  ;  then  directing  him 
to  lie  down  on  his  back  on  the  bare  ground,  lie 
stretched  one  arm  to  its  full  length,  and  bound 
it  fast  tu  a  young  tree  ;  the  other  arm  was  ex 
tended  and  bound  in  the  same  manner  ;  his  legs 
were  stretched  apart,  and  fastened  to  two  sap 
lings.  Then  a  number  of  tall,  but  slender  poles 
were  cut  down,  which,  with  some  long  bushes, 
were  laid  across  his  body  from  head  to  foot :  on 
each  side  lay  as  many  Indians  as  could  conveni 
ently  find  lodging,  in  order  to  prevent  the  pos 
sibility  of  his  escape.  In  this  disagreeable  and 
painful  posture  he  remained  till  morning.  Dur 
ing  the  night,  the  longest  and  most  dreary  con 
ceivable,  our  hero  used  to  relate  that  he  felt  a 
ray  of  cheerfulness  come  casually  across  his 
mind,  and  could  not-  even  refrain  from  smiling 
when  he  reflected  on  this  ludicrous  group  for  a 
painter,  of  which  he  himself  was  the  principal 
figure. 


The  next  day  he  was  allowed  his  blanket  and 
moccasins,  and  permitted  to  march  without  car 
rying  any  pack,  or  receiving  any  insult.  To 
allay  his  extreme  hunger,  a  little  bear's  meat 
was  given,  which  he  sucked  through  his  teeth 
At  night  the  party  arrived  at  Ticonderoga,  and 
the  prisoner  was  placed  under  the  care  of  a 
French  guard. 

The  savages,  who  had  been  prevented  from 
glutting  their  diabolical  thirst  for  blood,  took 
this  opportunity  of  manifesting  their  malevo 
lence  for  the  disappointment,  by  horrid  grim 
aces  and  angry  gestures ;  but  they  were  suf 
fered  no  more  to  offer  violence  or  personal  in 
dignity  to  him. 

After  having  been  examined  by  the  Marquis 
de  Montcalm,  Major  Putnam  was  conducted  to 
Montreal  by  a  French  officer,  who  treated  him 
with  the  greatest  indulgence  and  humanity. 

At  this  place  were  several  prisoners.  Colonel 
Peter  Schuyler,  remarkable  for  his  philanthropy, 
generosity,  and  friendship,  was  of  the  number. 
No  sooner  had  he  heard  of  Major  Putnam's  ar 
rival,  than  he  went  to  the  interpreter's  quarters, 
and  inquired  whether  he  had  a  provincial  major 
in  his  custody.  He  found  Major  Putnam  in  a 
comfortless  condition,  without  coat,  waistcoat, 
or  hose  ;  the  remnant  of  his  clothing  miserably 
dirty  and  ragged,  his  beard  long  and  squalid, 
his  legs  torn  by  thorns  and  briers,  his  face 
gashed  with  wounds,  and  swollen  with  bruises. 
Colonel  Schuyler,  irritated  beyond  all  sufferance 
at  such  a  sight,  could  scarcely  restrain  his  speech 
within  limits  consistent  with  the  prudence  of  a 
prisoner,  and  the  meekness  of  a  Christian.  Ma 
jor  Putnam  was  immediately  treated  according 
to  his  rank,  clothed  in  a  decent  manner,  and 
supplied  with  money  by  this  liberal  and  sympa 
thetic  patron  of  the  distressed;  and  by  his  as 
sistance  he  was  soon  after  exchanged. 

When  General  Amherst  was  marching  across 
the  country  to  Canada,  the  army  coining  to  one 
of  the  lakes,  which  they  were  obliged  to  pass, 
found  the  French  had  an  armed  vessel  of  twelve 
guns  upon  it.  He  Avas  in  great  distress,  his 
boats  were  no  match  for  her  ;  and  she  alone 
was  capable  of  sinking  his  whole  army  in  that 
situation.  While  he  was  pondering  what  should 
be  done,  Putnam  comes  to  him,  and  says,  "  Gen- 


422 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  rv. 


era/,  that  ship  must  be  taken."  "Aye,"  says 
Amherst,  "I  would  give  the  world  she  was 
taken."  "I'll  take  her,"  says  Putnam.  Am- 
herst  smiled,  and  asked  how  ?  "  fiive  me  some 
wedges,  a  beetle  (a  large  wooden  hammer,  or 
maul,  used  lor  driving  wedges),  and  a  few  men 
of  my  own  choice."  Amherst  could  not  con 
ceive  how  an  armed  vessel  was  to  be  taken  by 
four  or  five  men,  a  beetle  and  wedges.  How 
ever,  he  granted  Putnam's  request.  When 
night  came,  Putnam,  with  his  materials  and 
men,  went  in  a  boat  under  the  vessel's  stern, 
and  in  an  instant  drove  in  the  wedges  be 
tween  the  rudder  and  ship,  and  left  her.  In 
the  morning,  the  sails  were  seen  fluttering 
about :  she  was  adrift  in  the  middle  of  the 
lake  ;  and  being  presently  blown  ashore,  was 
easily  taken. 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between 
the  colonies  and  the  mother  country,  Colonel 
Putnam,  on  hearing  of  the  battle  at  Lexington, 
left  his  plough  in  the  middle  of  the  field,  and, 
without  changing  his  clothes,  repaired  to  Cam 
bridge,  riding  in  a  single  day  one  hundred 
miles.  He  was  soon  appointed  a  major-general 
in  the  provincial  army,  and  returning  to  Con 
necticut,  he  made  no  delay  in  bringing  on  a 
body  of  troops. 

Among  other  examples  of  patriotism  that 
might  be  related  is  the  following.  The  day 
that  the  report  of  the  battle  of  Lexington 
reached  Barnstable,  a  company  of  militia  imme 
diately  assembled  and  marched  off  to  Cam 
bridge.  In  the  front  rank  there  was  a  young 
man,  the  son  of  a  respectable  farmer,  and  his 
only  child.  In  marching  from  the  village,  as 
they  passed  his  house,  he  came  out  to  meet 
them.  There  was  a  momentary  halt.  The 
drum  and  life  paused  for  an  instant.  The 
father,  suppressing  a  strong  and  evident  emo 
tion,  said,  "  God  be  with  you  all,  my  friends  ! 
and  John,  if  you,  my  son,  are  called  into  battle, 
take  care  that  you  behave  like  a  man,  or  else 
let  me  never  see  your  face  again!"  A  tear 
started  into  every  eye,  and  the  march  was  re 
sumed. 

Not  long  after  his  appointment,  the  com 
mander  of  the  British  army,  unwilling  that  so 
valuable  an  officer  should  act  in  opposition,  pri 


vately  conveyed  to  him  a  proposal  that  if  he 
would  quit  the  rebel  party,  he  might  rtly  on 
being  made  a  major-general  in  the  British  estab 
lishment,  and  receiving  a  great  pecuniary  com 
pensation  for  his  services ;  but  he  spurned  the 
ofter.  On  the  IGth  of  June,  1775,  it  was  deter 
mined  in  a  council  of  war,  at  which  General 
Putnam  assisted,  that  a  fortitied  post  should  be 
established  at  or  near  Bunker  Hill.  General 
Putnam  marched  with  the  first  detachment,  and 
commenced  the  work :  he  was  the  principal 
agent  or  engineer  who  traced  the  lines  of  the 
redoubt,  and  he  continued  most  if  not  all  the 
night  with  the  workmen  ;  at  any  rate  he  was 
on  the  spot  before  sun-rising  in  the  morning, 
and  had  taken  his  station  on  the  top  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  participated  in  the  danger,  as  well  as 
the  glory,  of  that  day. 

When  the  army  Avas  organized  by  General 
Washington  at  Cambridge,  General  Putnam 
was  appointed  to  command  the  reserve.  In 
August,  1770,  he  was  stationed  at  Brooklyn,  on 
Long  Island.  After  the  defeat  of  our  army,  on 
the  27th  of  that  month,  he  went  to  New  York, 
and  was  very  serviceable  in  the  city  and  neigh 
borhood.  In  October  or  November,  he  was 
sent  to  Philadelphia  to  fortify  that  city.  In 
January,  1777,  he  was  directed  to  take  post  at 
Princeton,  where  he  continued  until  spring.  At 
this  place,  a  sick  prisoner,  a  captain,  requested 
that  a  friend  in  the  British  army  at  Brunswick, 
might  be  sent  for,  to  assist  him  in  making  his 
will.  Putnam  was  perplexed.  He  had  but  fifty 
men  under  his  command,  and  did  not  wish  to 
have  his  weakness  known  ;  but  yet  he  was  un 
willing  to  deny  the  request.  He,  however,  sent 
a  flag  of  truce,  and  directed  the  officer  to  be 
brought  in  the  night.  In  the  evening,  lights 
were  placed  in  all  the  college  windows,  and  in 
every  apartment  of  the  vacant  houses  through 
out  the  town.  The  officer,  on  his  return,  re 
ported  that  General  Putnam's  army  could  not 
consist  of  less  than  four  or  five  thousand  men. 
In  the  spring,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  a  separate  army,  in  the  Highlands  of  New 
York.  One  Palmer,  a  lieutenant  in  the  tory 
new  levies,  was  detected  in  the  camp  :  Gov 
ernor  Tryon  reclaimed  him  as  a  British  officer, 
threatening  vengeance  if  he  was  not  restored. 


CHAP.  V.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


423 


General  Putnam  wrote  the  following  pithy  re- 

p]y: 

"  SIR  : — Nathan  Palmer,  a  lieutenant  in  your 
king's  service,  was  taken  in  my  camp  as  a  spy  ; 
he  was  tried  as  a  spy ;  he  was  condemned  as  a 
spy  ;  and  he  shall  be  hanged  as  a  spy. 

"ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

"  P.  S. — Afternoon.     lie  is  hanged." 

After  the  loss  of  Fort  Montgomery,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  determined  to  build  another  for 
tification,  and  he  directed  General  Putnam  to 
fix  on  a  spot.  To  him  belongs  the  praise  of 
having  chosen  West  Point.  The  campaign  of 
1779,  which  was  principally  spent  in  strength 
ening  the  works  at  this  place,  finished  the  mili 
tary  career  of  Putnam.  A  paralytic  affection 
impaired  the  activity  of  his  body,  and  he  passed 
the  remainder  of  his  days  in  retirement,  retain 
ing  his  relish  for  enjoyment,  his  love  of  pleas 
antry,  his  strength  of  memory,  and  all  the  facul 
ties  of  his  mind. 

He  died  at  Brookline,  Connecticut,  May  29th, 
1790,  aged  seventy-two  years. 


[C.] 
GENERAL  HEATH. 

The  fidelity  and  efficiency  of  this  officer  are 
attested  by  the  numerous  and  important  com 
mands  intrusted  to  him  by  Washington  in  the 
most  critical  periods  of  the  Avar. 

William  Heath  was  a  native  of  Roxbury, 
Massachusetts,  and  was  from  his  youth  a  culti 
vator  of  the  soil,  which  was  his  favorite  pursuit. 
He  was  not  conversant  with  general  literature, 
but  being  particularly  attached  to  the  study  of 
military  tactics,  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
modern  warfare  in  its  various  branches  and 
duties. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  opposition  of  the 
colonies  to  the  unjust  and  oppressive  measures 
of  the  British  ministry,  he  was  an  active  militia 
officer,  and  assiduously  engaged  in  organizing 
and  disciplining  the  companies  of  militia  and 
minute-men.  In  the  year  1775,  being  ranked 
among  the  patriots  and  advocates  for  liberty,  he 


was  by  the  Provincial  Congress  commissioned 
as  a  brigadier-general. 

During  the  siege  of  Boston,  he  was  in  com 
mission  as  a  general  officer.  When  Washing 
ton  contemplated  an  attack  on  Boston,  General 
Heath  was  offered  the  command  of  a  division, 
but  he  declined  it. 

In  August,  1776,  he  was  promoted  by  Con 
gress  to  the  rank  of  major-general  in  the  conti 
nental  army,  and  in  the  campaign  of  that  year 
he  commanded  a  division  near  the  enemy's  lines 
at  King's  Bridge  and  Morrisiana.  During  the 
year  1777,  and  till  November,  1778,  he  was  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  eastern  department, 
and  his  head-quarters  were  at  Boston.  Here 
devolved  on  him  the  very  arduous  duties  of 
superintendent  of  the  convention  troops,  cap 
tured  with  General  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga,  which 
were  quartered  at  Cambridge.  This  station  re 
quired  a  character  of  uncommon  firmness  and 
decision,  and  had  General  Heath  been  destitute 
of  these  qualities,  he  would  have  been  subjected 
to  the  grossest  impositions  and  indignities  from 
the  haughty  generals,  Burgoyne  and  Phillips, 
and  the  perverse  temper  of  their  soldiery. 
These  officers,  lofty  in  spirit,  and  of  high  rank 
and  character,  now  chagrined  by  a  state  of  cap 
tivity,  occasioned  to  General  Heath  a  series  of 
difficulties  and  vexations.  He  soon,  however, 
convinced  them  that  he  was  neither  deficient  in 
spirit,  nor  ignorant  of  his  duty  as  a  military  com 
mander.  In  all  his  proceedings  with  these  tur 
bulent  captives,  he  supported  the  authority  oi 
Congress,  and  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  com 
mand  reposed  in  him ;  and  he  received  the  en 
tire  approbation  of  that  honorable  body,  to 
whom  he  was  amenable  for  his  conduct.  In  the 
most  interesting  and  critical  circumstances  in 

O 

which  a  general  could  possibly  be  placed,  he 
uniformly  exhibited  a  prudence,  animation,  de 
cision,  and  firmness,  which  did  him  honor,  and 
fully  justified  the  confidence  reposed  in  him. 

The  cordial  and  most  explicit  approbation  of 
the  army,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  the  army 
and  navy  of  our  illustrious  ally,  the  government 
of  his  State,  his  excellency  the  commander-in- 
chief,  and  of  Congress,  added  to  the  conscious 
ness  of  his  having  discharged  his  trust  with 
fidelity,  must,  in  a  great  measure,  have  alleviated 


424 


LIFE  AM)  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[HOOK  IV. 


the  fatigues  incident  to  his  arduous  station,  and 
compensated  the  loss  of  his  health,  so  much  im 
paired  by  an  incessant  attention  to  business. 
In  June,  1770,  General  Heath  was  elected  by 
Congress  a  commissioner  of  the  Board  of  War, 
with  a  salary  of  four  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
and  allowed  to  retain  his  rank  in  the  army, 
which  he  declined,  preferring  to  participate  in 
active  operations  in  the  field. 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  he  was  directed  by 
the  commander-in-chicf  to  repair  to  Khode  Isl 
and,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  reception  of 
the  French  fleet  and  army  which  were  expected 
soon  to  arrive.  In  his  interview  with  the  Count 
Pvochambeau,  and  other  officers  of  the  French 
army  and  navy,  he  proffered  his  friendly  civili 
ties,  and  contributed  all  in  his  power  to  their 
comfortable  accommodation,  which  was  produc 
tive  of  a  mutual  and  lasting  friendship  between 
them.  Indefatigable  attention  to  duty  in  the 
various  stations  assigned  him,  was  a  prominent 
trait  in  his  character.  In  May,  1781,  General 
Heath  was  directed  by  the  commander-in-chief 
to  repair  to  the  New  England  States,  to  repre 
sent  to  their  respective  executives  the  distressing 
condition  of  our  army,  and  to  solicit  a  speedy 
supply  of  provisions  and  clothing,  in  which  he 
was  successful.  As  senior  major-general,  he  was 
more  than  once  commander  of  the  right  wing 
of  our  army,  and  during  the  absence  of  the  com 
mander-in-chief  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  he 
was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  main 
army  posted  at  the  Highlands  and  vicinity,  to 
guard  the  important  works  on  the  Hudson.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  war  he  retired  to  private 
life,  and  composed  a  volume  of  "  Memoirs." 
He  died  in  1814,  aged  77. 


[D.] 

GENERAL  PRESCOTT. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  on  the  ques 
tion,  "  Who  was  the  commander  at  Bunker 
Hill  ?"  This  distinction  undoubtedly  belongs  to 
Prescott ;  but  we  must  not  be  surprised  at  its 
being  denied,  since  we  have  seen  quite  a  con 
troversy  on  the  question  whether  General  Put 
nam  was  present  at  that  celebrated  battle. 


William  Prescott,  says  a  late  writer,  was  an 
officer  distinguished  by  the  most  determined 
bravery,  and  became  conspicuous  as  an  Amer 
ican  officer,  from  the  circumstance  of  his.  having 
commanded  the  American  troops  at  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  on  the  memorable  17th  of  June, 
1775.  lie  was  born  in  1 720,  at  Goshen,  in 
Massachusetts,  and  was  a  lieutenant  of  the  pro 
vincial  troops  at  the  capture  of  Cape  Breton,  in 
1758.  The  British  general  was  so  much  pleased 
with  his  conduct  in  that  campaign,  that  he 
offered  him  a  commission  in  the  regular  army, 
which  he  declined,  to  return  home  with  his  coun 
trymen.  From  this  time  till  the  approach  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  he  remained  on  his  farm  in 
Pepperrell,  tilling  various  municipal  offices,  and 
enjoying  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  As  the  difficulties  between  the  mother 
country  and  the  colonies  grew  more  serious,  he 
took  a  deeper  and  more  decided  part  in  public 
affairs. 

In  1774,  he  was  appointed  to  command  a  regi 
ment  of  minute-men,  organized  by  the  Provin 
cial  Congress.  lie  marched  his  regiment  to 
Lexington,  immediately  on  receiving  notice  of 
the  intended  operations  of  General  Gage  against 
Concord;  but  the  British  detachment  had  re 
treated  before  he  had  time  to  meet  it.  He  then 
proceeded  to  Cambridge,  and  entered  the  army 
that  was  ordered  to  be  raised ;  and  the  greater 
part  of  his  officers  and  privates  volunteered  to 
serve  with  him  for  the  first  campaign. 

On  the  16th  June,  three  regiments  were 
placed  under  him,  and  he  was  ordered  to 
Charlestown  in  the  evening,  to  take  possession 
of  Bunker  Hill,  and  throw  up  works  in  its  de 
fence.  When  they  reached  the  ground,  it  was 
perceived  that  Breed's  Hill,  which  is  a  lew  rods 
south  of  Bunker  Hill,  was  the  most  suitable 
station.  The  troops  under  the  direction  of 
Colonel  Gridley,  an  able  engineer,  were  busily 
engaged  in  throwing  up  a  small  redoubt  and 
breastwork,  which  latter  was  formed  by  placing 
two  rail  fences  near  together,  and  filling  the  in 
terval  with  the  new-mown  hay  lying  on  the 
ground.  There  was  something  in  the  rustic  ma 
terials  of  these  defences,  hastily  made,  in  a  short 
summer's  night,  within  gunshot  of  a  powerful 
enemy,  that  was  particularly  apposite  to  a  body 


CHAP.  V.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


425 


of  armed  husbandmen,  who  had  rushed  to  the 
field  at  the  first  sound  of  alarm. 

As  soon  as  these  frail  works  were  discovered 
the  next  morning,  the  British  commander  made 
preparations  to  get  possession  of  them.  General 
Howe,  with  various  detachments,  amounting  to 
near  five  thousand  men,  was  ordered  to  dislodge 
the  "  rebels."  The  force  which  Colonel  Pres- 
cott  could  command  for  the  defence  of  the  re 
doubt  and  breastwork,  was  about  twelve  hun 
dred  men.  Very  few  of  these  had  ever  seen  an 
action.  They  had  been  laboring  all  night  in 
creating  these  defences ;  and  the  redoubt,  if  it 
could  be  so  called,  was  open  on  two  sides.  In 
stead  of  being  relieved  by  fresh  troops,  as  they 
had  expected,  they  were  left  without  supplies  of 
ammunition  or  refreshment;  and  thus  fatigued 
and  destitute,  they  had  to  bear  the  repeated  as 
saults  of  a  numerous,  well-appointed,  veteran 
army.  They  destroyed  nearly  as  many  of  their 
assailants,  as  the  whole  of  their  own  number  en 
gaged  ;  and  they  did  not  retreat  till  their  ammu 
nition  Avas  exhausted,  and  the  enemy,  supplied 
with  fresh  troops  and  cannon,  completely  over 
powered  them. 

Colonel  Prescott  lost  nearly  one  quarter  of 
his  own  regiment  in  the  action.  When  General 
Warren  came  upon  the  hill,  Colonel  Prescott 
asked  him  if  he  had  any  orders  to  give :  he 
answered,  "  Xo,  colonel,  I  am  only  a  volunteer; 
the  command  is  yours."  When  lie  Avas  at  length 
forced  to  tell  his  men  to  retreat  as  Avell  as  they 
could,  he  Avas  one  of  the  last  Avho  left  the  in- 
trenclnnent.  He  Avas  so  satisfied  with  the  brav 
ery  of  his  companions,  and  convinced  that  the 
enemy  were  disheartened  by  the  severe  and  un 
expected  loss  Avhich  they  had  sustained,  that  he 
requested  the  commander-in-chief  to  giA~e  him 
tAvo  regiments,  and  he  would  retake  the  position 
the  same  night. 

He  continued  in  the  sen'ice  till  the  beginning 
of  1777,  when  he  resigned,  and  returned  to  his 
home ;  but  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  Avent 
as  a  A'oluntecr  to  the  northern  army  under 
General  Gates,  and  assisted  in  the  capture  of 
General  Burgoyne.  This  Avas  his  last  military 
service.  lie  Avas  subsequently,  for  several  years, 
a  member  of  the  legislature,  and  died  in  1795, 
in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

VOL.  I.— 54 


Colonel  Prescott  Avas  a  genuine  specimen  of 
an  energetic,  brave,  and  patriotic  citizen,  Avho 
Avas  ready  in  the  hour  of  danger  to  place  himself 
in  the  van,  and  partake  in  all  the  perils  of  his 
country  ;  feeling  anxious  for  its  prosperity,  with 
out  caring  to  share  in  its  emoluments ;  and 
maintaining  beneath  a  plain  exterior  and  simple 
habits,  a  dignified  pride  in  his  native  land,  and 
a  high-minded  love  of  freedom. 

The  immediate  results  of  this  engagement 
were  great  and  various.  Though  the  Ameri 
cans  were  obliged  to  yield  the  ground  for  want 
of  ammunition,  yet  their  defeat  Avas  substantially 
a  triumph.  The  actual  loss  of  the  British  army 
Avas  severe,  and  Avas  deeply  felt  by  themselves 
and  their  friends.  The  charm  of  their  invinci 
bility  was  broken.  The  hopes  of  the  whole  con 
tinent  Averc  raised.  It  was  demonstrated  that 
although  they  might  burn  towns,  or  overwhelm 
raw  troops  by  superior  discipline  and  numbers, 
yet  the  conquest  at  least  would  not  be  an  easy 
one.  Those  patriots,  Avho,  under  the  most  ar 
duous  responsibility,  at  the  peril  of  every  thing 
Avhich  men  of  sense  and  virtue  can  value,  haz 
arded  in  the  support  of  public  principles,  present 
ruin  and  future  disgrace,  though  they  felt  this 
onset  to  be  only  the  beginning  of  a  civil  Avar, 
yet  were  invigorated  by  its  results,  which  cleared 
away  some  painful  uncertainties  ;  while  the 
bravery  and  firmness  that  had  been  displayed 
by  their  countrymen,  inspired  a  more  positive 
expectation  of  being  ultimately  triumphant. 

In  the  Life  of  James  Otis,  by  William  Tudor, 
of  Boston,  from  Avhich  Avork  the  foregoing  is 
taken,  the  folloAving  note  is  made  relative  to  the 
battle :  "  The  anxiety  and  various  emotions  of 
the  people  of  Boston,  on  this  occasion,  had  a 
highly  dramatic  kind  of  interest.  Those  Avho 
sided  Avith  the  British  troops,  began  to  see  even 
in  the  duration  of  this  battle,  the  possibility  that 
they  had  taken  the  wrong  side,  and  they  might 
become  exiles  from  their  country.  While  those 
whose  whole  soul  Avas  with  their  countrymen, 
were  in  dreadful  apprehension  for  their  friends, 
in  a  contest,  the  severity  of  which  Avas  shown 
by  the  destruction  of  so  many  of  their  enemies. 

"  After  the  battle  had  continued  for  some 
time,  a  young  person  living  in  Boston,  possessed 
of  very  keen  and  generous  feelings,  bordering  a 


426 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


little  perhaps  on  the  romantic,  as  was  natural  to 
her  age,  sex,  and  lively  imagination,  finding  that 
many  of  the  wounded  troops  brought  over  from 
the  field  of  action  were  carried  by  her  residence, 
mixed  a  quantity  of  refreshing  beverage,  and 
with  a  female  domestic  by  her  side,  stood  at  the 
door  and  offered  it  to  the  sufferers  as  they  were 
borne  along,  burning  with  fever  and  parched 
with  thirst.  Several  of  them,  grateful  for  the 
kindness,  gave  her,  as  they  thought,  consolation, 
by  assuring  her  of  the  destruction  of  her  coun 
trymen.  One  young  officer  said,  '  Never  mind 
it,  my  young  lady,  we  have  peppered  'cm  well, 
depend  upon  it.'  Her  dearest  feelings,  deeply 
interested  in  the  opposite  camp,  were  thus  unin 
tentionally  lacerated,  while  she  was  pouring  oil 
and  wine  into  their  wounds." 

General  Henry  Lee,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the 
War  in  the  Southern  Department,  makes  the 
following  remark  in  relation  to  Prescott  and  his 
gallant  band  : 

"  When  future  generations  shall  inquire, 
Where  are  the  men  Avho  gained  the  brightest 
prize  of  glory  in  the  arduous  contest  which 
ushered  in  our  nation's  birth  ?  upon  Prescott 
and  his  companions  in  arms  will  the  eye  of  his 
tory  beam.  The  military  annals  of  the  world 
rarely  furnish  an  achievement  which  equals  the 
firmness  and  courage  displayed  on  that  proud 
day  by  the  gallant  band  of  Americans ;  and  it 
certainly  stands  first  in  the  brilliant  events  of 
the  war." 


PL] 

EXTRACTS  FROM  WASHINGTON'S  OFFICIAL  RE 
PORTS  OF  THE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  BRITISH 
FROM  BOSTON. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  official  letters 
of  Washington  to  John  Hancock,  president  of 
Congress,  serve  to  explain  the  motives  of  many 
of  his  movements  directed  to  the  expulsion  of 
the  British  army  from  Boston,  and  afford  not 
only  the  best  commentary  on  the  history  nar 
rated  in  the  text,  but  a  lively  description  of  one 
of  the  most  important  and  thrilling  events  of 
the  war. 


The  following  extract  is  from  a  letter  dated 
February  20,  1 7 70  :* 

"  We  are  making  every  necessary  preparation 
for  taking  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights  as 
soon  as  possible,  with  a  view  of  drawing  the 
enemy  out.  How  far  our  expectations  may  be 
answered,  time  only  can  determine  :  but  I  should 
think,  if  any  thing  will  induce  them  to  hazard 
an  engagement,  it  will  be  our  attempting  to  for 
tify  these  heights;  as,  on  that  event's  taking 
place,  we  shall  be  able  to  command  a  great 
part  of  the  town,  and  almost  the  whole  harbor, 
and  to  make  them  rather  disagreeable  than 
otherwise,  provided  we  can  get  a  sufficient  sup 
ply  of  what  we  greatly  want. 

"  Within  these  three  or  four  days  I  have  re 
ceived  sundry  accounts  from  Boston,  of  such 
movements  there  (such  as  taking  the  mortars 
from  Bunker's  Hill ;  the  putting  them,  with 
several  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance,  on  board  of 
ship,  with  a  quantity  of  bedding ;  the  ships  all 
taking  in  water;  the  baking  a  large  quantity  of 
biscuit,  &c.),  as  to  indicate  an  embarkation  of 
the  troops  from  thence.  A  Mr.  Ides,  who  came 
out  yesterday,  says,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  generally,  believe  that  they  are  about  to 
remove  either  to  New  York  or  Virginia,  and 
that  every  vessel  in  the  harbor,  on  Tuesday  last, 
was  taken  up  for  government's  service,  and  two 
month's  pay  advanced  them.  Whether  they 
really  intend  to  embark,  or  whether  the  whole 
is  a  feint,  is  impossible  for  me  to  tell.  How 
ever,  I  have  thought  it  expedient  to  send  an  ex 
press  to  General  Lee,  to  inform  him  of  it  (in 
order  that  he  may  not  be  taken  by  surprise,  if 
their  destination  should  be  against  New  York), 
and  continued  him  on  to  you.  If  they  do  em 
bark,  I  think  the  possessing  themsclves.of  that 
place,  and  of  the  North  River,  is  the  object  they 
have  in  view,  thereby  securing  the  communica 
tion  with  Canada,  and  rendering  the  intercourse 
between  the  northern  and  southern  united  colo- 

°  "  Official  Letters  to  the  Honorable  Congress,  written 
during  the  War  between  the  United  Colonies  and  Great 
Britain,  by  his  excellency,  George  Washington,  Com- 
mamler-in-chief  of  the  Continental  forces,  now  President 
of  the  United  States.  Copied  by  special  permission  from 
the  original  papers,  preserved  in  the  office  of  the  secre 
tary  of  state,  Philadelphia.  London,  1795." 


CHAP.  V.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


427 


nies  exceedingly  precarious  and  difficult.  To 
prevent  them  from  effecting  their  plan,  is  a  mat 
ter  of  the  highest  importance,  and  will  require  a 
large  and  respectable  army,  and  the  most  vigi 
lant  and  judicious  exertions. 

"  I  shall  be  as  attentive  to  the  enemy's  mo 
tions  as  I  can,  and  obtain  all  the  intelligence  in 
my  power;  and,  if  I  find  them  embark,  shall,  in 
the  most  expeditious  manner,  detach  a  part  of 
the  light  troops  to  New  York,  and  repair  thither 
myself,  if  circumstances  shall  require  it.  I  shall 
be  better  able  to  judge  Avhat  to  do  when  the 
matter  happens.  At  present,  I  can  only  say, 
that  I  will  do  every  thing  that  shall  appear  pro 
per  and  necessary." 

In  the  next  letter  to  Hancock,  March  7,  1776, 
he  says : 

"  On  the  26th  ultimo  I  had  the  honor  of  ad 
dressing  you,  and  then  mentioned  that  we  were 
making  preparations  for  taking  possession  of 
Dorchester  Heights.  I  now  beg  leave  to  inform 

o  o 

you,  that  a  council  of  general  officers  having  de 
termined  a  previous  bombardment  and  cannon 
ade  expedient  and  proper,  in  order  to  harass  the 
enemy  and  divert  their  attention  from  that  quar 
ter,  on  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  Monday  nights 
last,  we  carried  them  on  from  our  posts  at  Cob 
ble  Hill,  Lcchmere's  Point,  and  Lamb's  Dam. 
"Whether  they  did  the  enemy  any  considerable, 
and  what  injury,  I  have  not  yet  heard,  but  have 
the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you,  that  they  greatly 
facilitated  our  schemes,  and  would  have  been 
attended  with  success  equal  to  our  most  san 
guine  expectations,  had  it  not  been  for  the  un 
lucky  bursting  of  two  thirteen  and  three  ten- 
inch  mortars,  among  which  was  the  brass  one 
taken  in  the  ordnance  brig.  To  what  cause  to 
attribute  this  misfortune,  I  know  not ;  whether 
to  any  defect  in  them,  or  to  the  inexperience  of 
the  bombardiers. 

"  But  to  return ;  on  Monday  evening,  as  soon 
as  our  firing  commenced,  a  considerable  detach 
ment  of  our  men,  under  the  command  of  Bri^a- 

'  O 

dier-general  Thomas,  crossed  the  neck,  and  took 
possession  of  the  two  hills  without  the  least  in 
terruption  or  annoyance  from  the  enemy ;  and 
by  their  great  activity  and  industry,  before  the 
morning,  advanced  the  works  so  far  as  to  be  se 
cure  against  their  shot.  They  are  now  going  on 


with  such  expedition,  that  in  a  little  time  I  hope 
they  will  be  complete,  and  enable  our  troops 
stationed  there  to  make  a  vigorous  and  obsti 
nate  stand.  During  the  whole  cannonade,  which 
was  incessant  the  two  last  nights,  we  were  for 
tunate  enough  to  lose  but  two  men  ;  one,  a  lieu 
tenant,  by  a  cannon-ball  taking  off  his  thigh ; 
the  other,  a  private,  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell, 
which  also  slightly  wounded  four  or  five  more. 

"  Our  taking  possession  of  Dorchester  Heights 
is  only  preparatory  to  taking  post  on  Nook's 
Hill,  and  the  points  opposite  to  the  south  end 
of  Boston.  It  Avas  absolutely  necessary  that 
they  should  be  previously  fortified,  in  order  to 
cover  and  command  them.  As  soon  as  the 
works  on  the  former  are  finished,  measures  will 
be  immediately  adopted  for  securing  the  latter, 
and  making  them  as  strong  and  defensible  as  we 
can.  Their  contiguity  to  the  enemy  will  make 
them  of  much  importance  and  of  great  service 
to  us.  As  mortars  are  essential,  and  indispen 
sably  necessary  for  carrying  on  our  operations, 
and  for  the  prosecution  of  our  plans,  I  have  ap 
plied  to  two  furnaces  to  have  some  thirteen-inch 
ones  cast  with  all  expedition  imaginable,  and  am 
encouraged  to  hope,  from  the  accounts  I  have 
had,  that  they  wrill  be  able  to  do  it.  When 
they  are  done,  and  a  proper  supply  of  powder 
obtained,  I  flatter  myself,  from  the  posts  we 
have  just  taken  and  are  about  to  take,  that  it 
will  be  in  our  power  to  force  the  ministerial 
troops  to  an  attack,  or  to  dispose  of  them  in 
some  Avay  that  wih1  be  of  advantage  to  us.  I 
think  from  these  posts  they  Avill  be  so  galled 
and  annoyed,  that  they  must  either  give  us  bat 
tle  or  quit  their  present  possessions.  I  am  re- 
solved  that  nothing  on  my  part  shall  be  wanting 
to  effect  the  one  or  the  other. 

"  It  having  been  the  general  opinion,  that  the 
enemy  Avould  attempt  to  dislodge  our  people 
from  the  heights  and  force  their  Avorks  as  soon 
as  they  Avere  discovered,  Avhich  probably  might 
have  brought  on  a  general  engagement,  it  was 
thought  advisable  that  the  honorable  council 
should  be  applied  to,  to  order  in  the  militia 
from  the  neighboring  and  adjacent  towns.  I 
wrote  to  them  on  the  subject,  which  they  most 
readily  complied  Avith;  and,  in  justice  to  the 
militia,  I  cannot  but  inform  you,  that  they  came 


428 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


in  at  the  appointed  time,  and  manifested  the 
greatest  alertness  and  determined  resolution  to 
act  like  men  engaged  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

"When  the  enemy  first  discovered  our  works 
in  the  morning,  they  seemed  to  be  in  great  con 
fusion,  and,  from  their  movements,  to  intend  an 
attack.  It  is  much  to  be  wished  that  it  had 
been  made.  The  event,  I  think,  must  have  been 
fortunate,  and  nothing  less  than  success  and 
victory  on  our  side,  as  our  officers  and  men  ap 
peared  impatient  for  the  appeal,  and  to  possess 
the  most  animated  sentiments  and  determined 
resolution.  On  Tuesday  evening  a  considerable 
number  of  their  troops  embarked  on  board  of 
their  transports,  and  fell  down  to  the  castle, 
where  part  of  them  landed  before  dark.  One  or 
two  of  the  vessels  got  aground,  and  were  fired 
at  by  onr  people  with  a  field-piece,  but  without 
any  damage.  What  was  the  design  of  this  em 
barkation  and  landing,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
learn.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  meant  an  at 
tack ;  for  it  is  most  probable,  that,  if  they  make 
one  on  our  works  at  Dorchester  at  this  time, 
they  will  first  go  to  the  castle,  and  come  from 
thence.  If  such  was  their  design,  a  violent 
storm  that  night,  which  lasted  till  eight  o'clock 
the  next  day,  rendered  the  execution  of  it  im 
practicable.  It  carried  one  or  two  of  their  ves 
sels  ashore,  which  they  have  since  got  off. 

"  In  case  the  ministerial  troops  had  made  an 
attempt  to  dislodge  our  men  from  Dorchester 
Heights,  and  the  number  detached  upon  the 
occasion  had  been  so  great  as  to  have  afforded 
a  probability  of  a  successful  attack  being  made 
upon  Boston,  on  a  signal  given  from  Roxbury 
for  that  purpose,  agreeably  to  a  settled  and  con 
certed  plan,  four  thousand  chosen  men,  Avho 
were  held  in  readiness,  were  to  have  embarked 
at  the  mouth  of  Cambridge  River,  in  two  di 
visions,  the  first  under  the  command  of  Briora- 

'  O 

dier-general  Sullivan,  the  second  under  Briga 
dier-general  Greene  ;  the  whole  to  have  been 
commanded  by  Major-general  Putnam.  The 
first  division  was  to  land  at  the  powder-house, 
and  gain  possession  of  Beacon  Hill  and  Mount 
Horam ;  the  second  at  Barton's  Point,  or  a  lit 
tle  south  of  it,  and,  after  securing  that  post,  to 
join  the  other  division,  and  force  the  enemy's 
gates  and  works  at  the  Neck,  for  letting  in  the 


Roxbury  troops.  Three  floating-batteries  \\ero 
to  have  preceded,  and  gone  in  front  of  the  other 
boats,  and  kept  up  a  heavy  lire  on  that  part  of 
the  town  where  our  men  were  to  land. 

"  How  far  our  views  would  have  succeeded, 
had  an  opportunity  offered  for  attempting  the 
execution,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  say. 
Nothing  less  than  an  experiment  could  deter 
mine  with  precision.  The  plan  was  thought  to 
be  well  digested  ;  and,  as  far  as  I  could  judge 
from  the  cheerfulness  and  alacrity  which  distin 
guished  the  officers  and  men,  who  were  to  en 
gage  in  the  enterprise,  I  had  reason  to  hope  for 
a  favorable  and  happy  issue." 

On  the  next  day  but  one  (March  9th),  Wash 
ington's  narrative  to  President  Hancock  pro 
ceeds  as  follows : 

"  Yesterday  evening,  a  Captain  Irvine,  who 
escaped  from  Boston  the  night  before,  with  six 
of  his  crew,  came  to  head-quarters,  and  gave 
the  following  intelligence  :  '  That  our  bombard 
ment  and  cannonade  caused  a  great  deal  of  sur 
prise  and  alarm  in  town  ;  that  the  cannon-shot, 
for  the  greatest  part,  went  through  the  houses  ; 
that,  early  on  Tuesday  morning,  Admiral  Shuld- 
ham,  discovering  the  works  our  people  were 
throwing  up  on  Dorchester  Heights,  immedi 
ately  sent  an  express  to  General  Howe,  to  in 
form  him  that  it  was  necessary  they  should  be 
attacked  and  dislodged  from  thence,  or  he  would 
be  under  the  necessity  of  withdrawing  the  ships 
from  the  harbor,  which  were  under  his  com 
mand  ;  and,  from  twelve  to  two  o'clock,  about 
three  thousand  men  embarked  on  board  the 
transports,  which  fell  down  to  the  castle,  with 
a  design  of  landing  on  that  part  of  Dorchester, 
next  to  it,  and  attacking  our  works  on  the 
Heights  at  five  o'clock,  next  morning :  that 

tJ  *  O     7 

Lord  Percy  was  appointed  to  command ;  that 
it  was  generally  believed  the  attempt  would 
have  been  made,  had  it  not  been  for  the  vio 
lent  storm  which  happened  that  night.' 

"  He  further  informs,  '  that  the  army  is  pre 
paring  to  leave  Boston,  and  that  they  will  do  it, 
in  a  day  or  two.' 

"  The  account  given  by  Captain  Irvine,  as  to 
the  embarkation,  and  their  being  about  to  leave 
the  town,  I  believe  true.  There  are  other  cir 
cumstances  corroborating ;  and  it  seems  fully 


CHAP.  V.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


429 


confirmed  by  a  paper  signed  by  four  of  the 
selectmen  of  the  town  (a  copy  of  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  inclose  to  you),  which  was  brought 
out  yesterday  evening  by  a  flag,  and  delivered 
to  Colonel  Learned,  by  Major  Bassett,  of  the 
tenth  regiment,  who  desired  it  might  be  deliv 
ered  to  me  as  soon  as  possible.  I  advised  with 
such  ol'the  general  officers  upon  the  occasion  as 
I  could  immediately  assemble  ;  and  we  deter 
mined  it  right  (as  it  was  not  addressed  to  me, 
nor  to  any  one  else,  nor  authenticated  by  the 
signature  of  General  Howe,  or  any  other  act 
obliging  him  to  a  performance  of  the  promise 
mentioned  on  his  part)  that  I  should  give  it  no 
answer ;  at  the  same  time,  that  a  letter  should 
be  returned,  as  going  from  Colonel  Learned, 
signifying  his  having  laid  it  before  me  ;  with 
the  reasons  assigned  for  not  answering  it.  A 
copy  of  this  is  sent. 

"  To-night  I  shall  have  a  battery  thrown  up 
on  Nook's  Hill,  Dorchester  Point,  with  a  design 
of  acting  as  circumstances  may  require ;  it  being 
judged  advisable  to  prosecute  our  plans  of  forti 
fication  as  we  intended  before  this  information 
from  the  selectmen  came.  It  being  agreed  on 
all  hands,  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  stopping 
them  in  case  they  determine  to  go,  I  shall  order 
look-outs  to  be  kept  upon  all  the  head-lands,  to 
discover  their  movements  and  course,  and  more 
over  direct  Commodore  Manly  and  his  little 
squadron  to  dog  them,  as  well  for  the  same  pur 
pose,  as  for  picking  up  any  of  their  vessels  that 
may  chance  to  depart  from  their  convoy.  From 
their  loading  Avith  such  precipitancy,  it  is  pre 
sumable  they  will  not  be  in  the  best  condition 
for  sea. 

"  If  the  ministerial  troops  evacuate  the  town, 
and  leave  it  standing,  I  have  thoughts  of  taking 
measures  for  fortifying  the  entrance  into  the 
harbor,  if  it  shall  be  thought  proper,  and  the 
situation  of  aifairs  will  admit  of  it.  Notwith 
standing  the  report  from  Boston,  that  Halifax 
is  the  place  of  their  destination,  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  they  are  going  to  the  southward,  and, 
I  apprehend,  to  New  York.  Many  reasons  lead 
to  this  opinion.  It  is  in  some  measure  corrobo 
rated  by  their  sending  an  express-ship  there, 
which,  on  Wednesday  week,  got  on  shore  and 
bilged  at  Cape  Cod.  The  dispatches,  if  writ 


ten,  were  destroyed  when  she  was  boarded. 
She  had  a  parcel  of  coal,  and  about  four  thou 
sand  cannon-shot,  six  carriage-guns,  a  swivel  or 
two,  and  three  barrels  of  powder. 

"  I  shall  hold  the  riflemen  and  other  parts  of 
our  troops  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's 
warning,  and  govern  my  movements  by  the 
events  that  happen,  or  such  orders  as  I  may  re 
ceive  from  Congress,  which  I  beg  may  be  am 
ple,  and  forwarded  with  all  possible  expedition." 

Ten  days  after  this  letter  (March  19th,  1776), 
he  announces  to  Hancock  the  closing  of  this 
grand  drama  of  the  siege  of  Boston.  His  nar 
rative  of  the  intervening  events  is  more  clear 
and  vivid  than  that  of  any  of  the  historians  of 
the  time  : 

"  It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure,"  he  says, 
"I  inform  yon,  that,  on  Sunday  last,  the  17th 
instant,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  the 
ministerial  army  evacuated  the  town  of  Boston, 
and  that  the  forces  of  the  united  colonies  are 
now  in  actual  possession  thereof.  I  beg  leave 
to  congratulate  you,  sir,  and  the  Honorable 
Congress,  on  this  happy  event,  and  particularly, 
as  it  was  effected  without  endangering  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  remaining  unhappy  inhabit 
ants. 

"  I  have  great  reason  to  imagine  their  flight 
was  precipitated,  by  the  appearance  of  a  work 
which  I  had  ordered  to  be  thrown  up  last  Sat 
urday  night,  on  an  eminence  at  Dorchester, 
which  lay  nearest  to  Boston  Neck,  called 
Nook's  Hill.  The  town,  although  it  has  suf 
fered  greatly,  is  not  in  so  bad  a  state  as  I  ex 
pected  to  find  it ;  and  I  have  a  particular  pleas 
ure  in  being  able  to  inform  you,  sir,  that  your 
house  has  received  no  damage  worth  mention 
ing.*  Your  furniture  is  in  tolerable  order,  and 
the  family  pictures  are  all  left  entire  and  un 
touched.  Captain  Cazneau  takes  charge  of  the 
whole  until  he  shall  receive  further  orders  from 
you.  As  soon  as  the  ministerial  troops  had 
quitted  the  town,  I  ordered  a  thousand  men 
(who  had  had  the  small-pox),  under  command 
of  General  Putnam,  to  take  possession  of  the 
Heights,  which  I  shall  endeavor  to  fortify  in 

0  Mr.  Hancock's  house  is  still  standing,  one  of  the 
finest  monuments  of  the  olden  time  in  Boston. 


430 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  their  return,  should 
they  attempt  it.  But,  as  they  are  still  in  the 
harbor,  I  thought  it  not  prudent  to  march  off 
with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  until  I  should 
be  fully  satisfied  they  had  quitted  the  coast.  I 
have,  therefore,  only  detached  live  regiments, 
besides  the  rifle  battalion,  to  New  York,  and 
shall  keep  the  remainder  here,  till  all  suspicion 
of  their  return  ceases. 

"  The  situation  in  which  I  found  their  works, 
evidently  discovered  that  their  retreat  was  made 
with  the  greatest  precipitation.  They  have  left 
their  barracks,  and  other  works  of  wood,  at 
Bunker's  Hill,  &c.,  all  standing,  and  have  de 


stroyed  but  a  small  part  of  their  lines.  They 
have  also  left  a  number  of  fine  pieces  of  cannon, 
which  they  first  spiked  up,  also  a  very  large  iron 
mortar ;  and,  as  I  am  informed,  they  have 
thrown  another  over  the  end  of  your  wharf.  I 
have  employed  proper  persons  to  drill  the  can 
non,  and  doubt  not  I  shall  save  the  most  of 
them.  I  am  not  yet  able  to  procure  an  exact 
list  of  all  the  stores  they  have  left.  As  soon  as 
it  can  be  done,  I  shall  take  care  to  transmit  it 
to  you.  From  an  estimate  of  what  the  quar- 
ter-master-general  has  already  discovered,  the 
amount  will  be  twenty-five  or  thirty  thousand 
pounds." 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1776, 

WASHINGTON     IN     NEW     YORK. 

Want  of  stable  government  in  the  colonies. — New  Hampshire. — South  Carolina  and  Virginia  advised  by  Congress 
to  establish  provisional  governments. — Second  petition  to  the  king  not  received. — Warlike  preparations. — 
N  The  king's  hostile  speech. — Force  resolved  on. — Parliament  supports  the  king  in  his  hostile  measures. — 
Non-intercourse  law.— Clause  for  impressment  of  seamen. — Mr.  Penn  examined. — Eesult. — Duke  of  Richmond 
intercedes  for  peace. — Voted  down. — Independence  recommended  by  the  press. — Paine's  Common  Sense. — 
Congress  retaliates  the  non-intercourse  law  ;  and  recommends  provisional  governments  to  all  the  colonies. — 
North  Carolina  speaks  out. — Resolutions  of  Virginia. — Washington's  opinion  of  them. — Sir  Peter  Parker  and  Earl 
Cornwallis  invade  South  Carolina  with  a  formidable  fleet  and  army. — Noble  defence  of  Moultrie  and  his  men 
in  the  Palmetto  Fort  on  Sullivan's  Island. — Sergeant  Jasper's  feat. — The  South  relieved  for  the  present. — 
Indians  defeated. — Putnam  in  command  at  New  York. — His  proceedings. — Washington  arrives  at  New  York. — 
Forts  on  Long  Island. — Greene  placed  in  command  there. — Washington  finds  the  force  in  New  York  small  and 
scattered. — Detachments  sent  to  Canada. — Washington  goes  to  Philadelphia  to  confer  with  Congress. — Mrs. 
Washington  accompanies  him. — His  letter  to  his  brother. — His  constant  trust  in  Providence. — He  foretells  to 
Congress  a  long  war. — Enlistments  for  three  years  ordered. — Flying  camp. — Want  of  arms. — Board  of  War  and 
Ordnance  established. — Washington  returns  to  New  York. — The  tories. — Their  plots. — Plot  to  seize  Washing 
ton. — New  York  Convention  takes  action  on  the  subject. — The  Howes  and  their  fleet  and  army. — General  Howe 
arrives  and  debarks  at  Staten  Island.  Washington  reinforces  the  army. — Declaration  of  Independence  discussed 
and  passed  by  Congress.— Washington's  joy  at  the  declaration. — It  is  received  cordially  by  the  army. — General 
order. — Celebration  of  Independence  in  New  York. — King's  statue  destroyed.— The  Phoenix  and  Rose  sail  up 
the  Hudson. — Great  alarm. — Washington  prepares  to  defend  the  shores  of  the  Hudson. — Arrival  of  Lord  Howe. 
—He  addresses  letters  to  the  deposed  royal  governors. — Washington  intercepts,  and  Congress  publishes  them. — 
Lord  Howe  writes  to  Franklin. — His  answer. — Washington  refuses  to  receive  Howe's  letter  to  him. — Interview 
with  Colonel  Patterson. — Dissensions  in  the  army. — Allayed  by  Washington. — Force  of  the  Howes. — Of  Wash 
ington. — Position  of  the  army  on  Long  Island. — Washington's  address  to  the  soldiers. — Washington  hears  of  the 
battle  at  Charleston.  His  address  to  the  army  on  that  occasion. — Force  at  Brooklyn. — Sullivan  reinforced. — 
Landing  of  the  British  on  Long  Island. — Putnam  takes  command  at  Brooklyn. — Position  of  the  British  army.— 
Battle  of  Long  Island. — Washington's  distress  at  this  disaster. — His  masterly  retreat  from  Long  Island. — Lord 
Howe  sends  General  Sullivan  to  Congress  with  new  offers  of  peace. — A  committee  of  Congress  hear  and  reject 
the  offers. — Congress  endeavors  to  detach  the  German  mercenaries  from  the  British  army. 


WHILE  Washington  was  engaged  in 
conducting  the  siege  of  Boston,  many 
events  liad  transpired  both  in  America 
and  England,  to  which  it  now  becomes 
necessary  to  advert. 

Notwithstanding  the  extent  to  which 
hostilities  had  been  carried,  a  large  por 
tion  of  the  colonists  had  hitherto  con 


tinued  to  entertain  some  hope  of  an 
amicable  termination  of  the  dispute ; 
and  it  is  evident  from  the  transactions 
we  are  about  to  record,  that  many  felt 
sincerely  desirous  to  frustrate  such  a  re 
sult  ;  particularly  the  leading  statesmen 
of  New  England  and  Virginia.  The 
want  of  more  regular  and  stable  gov- 


432 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


erninents  had  for  some  time  been  felt 
in  those  colonies  where  royal  govern 
ments  had  hitherto  existed  ;  and  in  the 
autumn  of  1775,  New  Hampshire  had 
applied  to  Congress  for  their  advice 
and  direction  on  this  subject. 

In  November,  Congress  advised  the 

O 

convention  of  that  colony  to  call  a  full 
and  free  representation  of  the  people ; 
when  the  representatives,  if  they  thought 
it  necessary,  should  establish  such  a 
form  of  government,  as,  in  their  judg 
ment,  would  best  promote  the  happi 
ness  of  the  people,  and  most  effectually 
secure  peace  and  good  order  during  the 
continuance  of  the  dispute  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 

On  this  question,  the  members  of 
Congress  were  not  unanimous.  It  was 

O 

viewed  by  some  as  a  step  necessarily 
leading  to  independence ;  and  by  some 
of  its  advocates  it  was  probably  in 
tended  as  such.  To  render  the  resolu 
tion  less  exception  able,  the  duration  of 
the  government  was  limited  to  the  con 
tinuance  of  the  dispute  with  the  parent 
country.  Soon  afterwards,  similar  di 
rections  and  advice  were  given  to  South 
Carolina  and  Virginia. 

The  last  hopes  of  the  colonies  for 
reconciliation  rested  on  the  success  of 
their  second  petition  to  the  king ;  and 
the  answer  of  their  sovereign  to  this  ap 
plication  was  expected  with  extreme 
solicitude.  Information,  however,  was 
soon  received  from  Mr.  Perm,  who  was 
intrusted  with  the  petition,  that  no 
answer  would  be  given. 

This  intelligence  was  followed  by  that 


of  great  additional  preparations  to  sub 
due  the  "  American  rebels."  The  king, 
in  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  parlia 
ment  in  October,  not  only  accused  the 
colonists  of  revolt,  hostility,  and  rebel 
lion,  but  stated  that  the  rebellion  which 
was  carried  on  by  them,  was  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  an  independent 
empire.  To  prevent  this,  he  declared 
that  the  most  decisive  and  vigorous 
measures  were  necessary ;  that  he  had 
consequently  increased  his  naval  estab 
lishment,  had  augmented  his  land  forces, 
and  had  also  taken  measures  to  procure 
the  aid  of  foreign  troops.  He,  at  the 
same  time,  stated  his  intention  of  ap 
pointing  certain  persons  with  authority 
to  grant  pardons  to  individuals,  and  to 
receive  the  submission  of  whole  colonies 
disposed  to  return  to  their  allegiance. 

Large  majorities  in  both  Houses  as 
sured  the  king  of  their  firm  support  in 
his  measures  for  reducing  the  colonists 
to  obedience.  The  addresses,  however, 
in  answer  to  the  speech,  were  opposed 
with  great  ability.  The  project  of  em 
ploying  foreign  troops  to  destroy  Amer 
ican  subjects,  was  reprobated  by  the 
minority  in  the  strongest  terms.  The 
plans  of  the  ministry,  however,  were 
not  only  approved  by  parliament,  but 
by  a  majority  of  the  nation.  The  idea 
of  makincr  the  colonists  share  their  bur- 

O 

dens,  could  not  easily  be  relinquished 
by  the  people  of  Great  Britain ;  and 
national  pride  would  not  permit  them 
to  yield  the  point  of  supremacy.  War 
was  now,  therefore,  to  be  waged  against 
the  colonies,  and  a  force  sent  out  sufli- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


433 


ciently  powerful  to  compel  submission, 
even  without  a  struggle. 

For  these  purposes  the  aid  of  parlia 
ment  was  requisite ;  and  about  the  end 
of  December,  an  act  was  passed  pro 
hibiting  all  trade  and  commerce  with 
the  colonies,  and  authorizing  the  cap 
ture  and  condemnation,  not  only  of  all 
American  vessels,  with  their  cargoes, 
but  all  other  vessels  found  trading  in 
any  port  or  place  in  the  colonies,  as  if 
the  same  were  the  vessels  and  effects  of 
open  enemies ;  and  the  vessels  and  pro 
perty  thus  taken  were  vested  in  the 
captors.  An  additional  clause  of  the 
act  provided  that  the  crews  were  to  be 
compelled  to  serve  in  the  king's  ships. 
This  was  impressment  of  the  worst  pos 
sible  kind. 

The  passing  of  this  act  shut  the  door 
against  the  application  of  the  colonies 
for  a  reconciliation.  The  last  petition 
of  Congress  to  the  king  had,  indeed, 
been  laid  before  parliament,  but  both 
houses  refused  to  hear  it,  or  even  to 
treat  upon  any  proposition  coming  from 
such  an  unlawful  assembly,  or  from 
those  who  were  then  in  arms  against 
their  lawful  sovereign. 

In  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  motion 
of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Mr.  Penn 
was  examined  on  American  affairs.  He 
stated,  among  other  things,  that  the 
colonists  were  desirous  of  reconciliation, 
and  did  not  aim  at  independence  ;  that 
they  were  disposed  to  conform  to  the 
acts  regulating  their  trade,  but  not  to 
taxation ;  and  that  on  this  point  a  spirit 
of  resistance  was  universal. 

VOT.  I. — 55 


After  this  examination,  the  Duke  of 
Richmond  moved  a  resolution,  declar 
ing  that  the  petition  of  Congress  to  the 
king  was  a  ground  for  a  reconciliation 
of  the  differences  between  the  two 
countries.  This  motion  was  negatived, 
after  a  warm  debate,  by  eighty-six  to 
thirty-three.  These  proceedings  of  the 
king  and  parliament,  with  the  employ 
ment  of  sixteen  thousand  foreign  mer 
cenaries,  convinced  the  leading  men  in 
each  colony  that  the  sword  alone  must 
decide  the  contest,  and  that  the  col 
onists  must  now  declare  themselves  to 
tally  independent  of  Great  Britain. 

Time,  however,  was  still  requisite  to 
convince  the  great  mass  of  the  American 
people  of  the  necessity  of  a  complete 
separation  from  their  parent  country, 
and  the  establishment  of  an  indepen 
dent  government.  The  ablest  pens 
were  employed  throughout  America  in 
the  winter  of  1775-76,  on  this  momen 
tous  subject. 

The  propriety  and  necessity  of  the 
measure  was  enforced  in  the  numerous 
gazettes,  and  in  pamphlets.  Among 
the  latter,  "  Common  Sense,"  from  the 
pen  of  Thomas  Paine,  produced  a  won 
derful  effect  in  the  different  colonies  in 
favor  of  independence.  Influential  in 
dividuals  in  every  colony,  urged  it  as 
a  step  absolutely  necessary  to  preserve 
the  rights  and  liberties,  as  well  as  to 
secure  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of 
the  people. 

When  the  prohibitory  act  reached 
America,  Congress,  justly  viewing  it  as 
a  declaration  of  war,  directed  reprisals 


434 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


to  V  made,  both  by  public  and  private 
armed  vessels,  against  the  ships  and 
goods  of  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  found  on  the  high  seas,  or  between 
high  and  low  water  mark.  They  also 
burst  the  shackles  of  commercial  mo 
nopoly,  which  had  so  long  kept  them 
in  bondage,  and  opened  their  ports  to 
all  the  world,  except  the  dominions  of 
Great  Britain. 

In  this  state  of  things,  it  was  prepos 
terous  for  the  colonists  any  longer  to 
consider  themselves  as  holding  or  exer 
cising  the  powers  of  government  under 
the  authority  of  Great  Britain.  Con 
gress,  therefore,  on  the  10th  of  May, 
recommended  to  the  Assemblies  and 
conventions  of  the  colonies,  where  no 
sufficient  government  had  been  estab 
lished,  "  to  adopt  such  government  as 
should,  in  the  opinion  of  the  represen 
tatives  of  the  people,  best  conduce  to 
the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  con 
stituents  in  particular,  and  America  in 
general." 

They  also  declared  it  necessary,  that 
the  exercise  of  every  kind  of  authority 
under  the  crown  should  be  suppressed, 
and  that  all  the  powers  of  government 
should  be  exercised,  "under  the  au 
thority  of  the  people  of  the  colonies, 
for  the  preservation  of  internal  peace, 
virtue,  and  good  order,  as  well  as  for 
the  defence  of  their  lives,  liberties,  and 
properties,  against  the  hostile  invasions 
and  cruel  depredations  of  their  ene 
mies."  This  was  a  preliminary  step  to 
a  general  declaration  of  independence. 

Some  of  the  colonial  Assemblies  and 


conventions  about  the  same  time  began 
to  express  their  opinions  on  this  great 
question.  On  the  22d  of  April,  the 
convention  of  North  Carolina  empow 
ered  their  delegates  in  Congress  "to 
concur  with  those  in  the  other  colonies 
in  declaring  independency."  This,  it  is 
believed,  was  the  first  direct  public  act 
of  any  colonial  Assembly  or  convention 
in  favor  of  the  measure.  The  conven 
tion  of  Virginia  soon  afterwards  ex- 

O 

pressed  itself  still  more  decidedly.  Af 
ter  full  deliberation,  the  following  reso 
lutions  were  passed  unanimously : 

"  That  the  delegates  appointed  to 
represent  this  colony  in  General  Con 
gress,  be  instructed  to  propose  to  that 
respectable  body,  to  declare  the  united 
colonies  free  and  independent  States, 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to,  or  de 
pendence  upon,  the  crown  or  parlia 
ment  of  Great  Britain ;  and,  that  they 
give  the  assent  of  this  colony  to  such 
declaration,  and  to  whatever  measures 
may  be  thought  proper  and  necessary 
by  the  Congress  for  forming  foreign 
alliances,  and  a  confederation  of  the 
colonies,  at  such  time,  and  in  the  man 
ner  as  to  them  shall  seem  best.  Pro 
vided,  that  the  power  of  forming  gov 
ernments  for,  and  the  regulations  of,  the 
internal  concerns  of  each  colony,  be  left 
to  the  respective  colonial  legislatures. 

"  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
prepare  a  declaration  of  rights,  and  to 
form  such  a  plan  of  government  as  will 
be  most  likely  to  maintain  peace  and  or 
der  in  this  colony,  and  secure  substan 
tial  and  equal  liberty  to  the  people." 


ClIAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


Washington's  opinion  respecting  this 
resolution  is  thus  expressed  in  a  letter 
to  his  brother :  "  I  am  very  glad  to 
find  that  the  Virginia  Convention  have 
passed  so  noble  a  vote,  and  with  so 
much  unanimity.  Things  have  come 
to  such  a  pass  now,  as  to  convince  us 
that  we  have  nothing  more  to  expect 
from  the  justice  of  Great  Britain  ;  also, 
that  she  is  capable  of  the  most  delusive 
arts  ;  for  I  am  satisfied  that  no  commis 
sioners  were  ever  designed,  except  Hes 
sians  and  other  foreigners,  and  that  the 
idea  was  only  to  deceive  and  throw  us 
off  our  guard.  The  first  has  been  too 
effectually  accomplished,  as  many  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  in  short,  the  represen 
tation  of  whole  provinces,  are  still  feed 
ing  themselves  upon  the  dainty  food  of 
reconciliation ;  and,  though  they  will 
not  allow  that  the  expectation  of  it  has 
any  influence  upon  their  judgment  with 
respect  to  their  preparations  for  de 
fence,  it  is  but  too  obvious  that  it  has 
an  operation  upon  every  part  of  their 
conduct,  and  is  a  clog  to  their  proceed 
ings.  It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things 
to  be  otherwise  ;  for  no  man  that  en 
tertains  a  hope  of  seeing  this  dispute 
speedily  and  equitably  adjusted  by 
commissioners,  will  go  to  the  same  ex 
pense  and  run  the  same  hazards  to  pre 
pare  for  the  worst  event,  as  he  who  be 
lieves  thtit  he  must  conquer,  or  submit 
to  unconditional  terms,  and  the  con 
comitants,  such  as  confiscation,  hang 
ing,  and  the  like."* 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


This  letter  was  written  in  May,  1776, 
when  Washington's  visit  to  Congress, 
to  which  we  shall  presently  refer,  had 
enabled  him  to  study  the  disposition  of 
the  members ;  and  when  the  question 
of  independence  was  the  subject  of  dis 
cussion  in  all  circles  of  public  men. 

Early  in  the  year,  the  British  govern 
ment  had  prepared  a  considerable  ex 
pedition  to  reduce  the  southern 

,        .  ,       ,.  1T76. 

colonies  to  obedience.  1  he  com 
mand  was  intrusted  to  Sir  Peter  Parker 
and  Earl  Cornwallis.  On  the  3d  of 
May,  Admiral  Parker,  with  twenty  sail, 
arrived  at  Cape  Fear.  They  found 
General  Clinton  ready  to  co-operate 
with  them.  He  had  left  New  York 
and  proceeded  to  Virginia,  where  he 
had  an  interview  with  Lord  Dunmore  ; 
but  finding  nothing  could  be  effected  in 
that  colony,  he  repaired  to  Cape  Fear, 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  armament 
from  England.  Meanwhile,  the  Caro 
linians  had  been  making  great  exer 
tions. 

In  Charleston,  the  utmost  energy  and 
activity  were  evinced.  The  citizens 
pulled  down  the  valuable  storehouses 
on  the  wharfs,  barricaded  the  streets, 
and  constructed  lines  of  defence  along 
the  shore.  Abandoning  their  commer 
cial  pursuits,  they  engaged  in  incessant 
labor,  and  prepared  for  bloody  conflicts. 
The  troops,  amounting  to  between  five 
and  six  thousand  men,  were  stationed 
in  the  most  advantageous  positions. 
Amidst  all  this  bustle  and  preparation, 
lead  was  so  extremely  scarce,  that  the 
windows  of  Charleston  were  stripped  of 


436 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


their  weights,  in  order  to  procure  a 
small  supply  of  that  necessary  article 
for  bullets. 

Early  in  June,  the  armament,  consist 
ing  of  between  forty  and  fifty  vessels, 
appeared  off  Charleston  Bay,  and  thir 
ty-six  of  the  transports  passed  the  bar, 
and  anchored  about  three  miles  from 
Sullivan's  Island.  Some  hundreds  of 
the  troops  landed  on  Long  Island, 
which  lies  on  the  west  of  Sullivan's 
Island,  and  which,  is  separated  from  it 
by  a  narrow  channel,  often  fordable. 

On  the  10th  of  the  month,  the  Bris 
tol,  a  fifty-gun  ship,  having  taken  out 
her  guns,  got  safely  over  the  bar ;  and 
on  the  25th,  the  Experiment,  a  ship 
of  equal  force  arrived,  and,  next  day, 
passed  in  the  same  way.  On  the  part 
of  the  British,  every  thing  was  now 
ready  for  action.  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
had  nearly  three  thousand  men  under 
his  command.  The  naval  force,  under 
Sir  Peter  Parker,  consisted  of  the  Bris 
tol  and  Experiment  of  fifty  guns  ;  the 
Active,  Acteon,  Solebay,  and  Syren 
frigates  ;  the  Friendship  of  twenty-two, 
and  the  Sphinx  of  twenty,  guns ;  the 
Ranger  sloop,  and  Thunder  bomb. 

On  the  forenoon  of  the  28th  of  June, 
this  fleet  advanced  against  the  fort  on 
Sullivan's  Island,  which  was  defended 
by  Colonel  Moultrie,  with  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  regular  troops,  and 
some  militia.  The  Thunder  bomb  be 
gan  the  battle.  The  Active,  Bristol, 
Experiment,  and  Solebay  followed 
boldly  to  the  attack,  and  a  terrible 
cannonade  ensued.  The  fort  returned 


the  fire  of  the  ships  slowly,  but  with 
deliberate  and  deadly  aim ;  and  the 
contest  was  carried  on  during  the  whole 
day  with  unabating  fury. 

The  Sphinx,  Acteon,  and  Syren  were 
ordered  to  attack  the  western  extremity 
of  the  fort,  which  was  in  a  very  unfin 
ished  state  ;  but,  as  they  proceeded  for 
that  purpose,  they  got  entangled  with 
a  shoal,  called  the  Middle  Ground. 
Two  of  them  ran  foul  of  each  other ; 
the  Acteon  stuck  fast ;  the  Sphinx  and 
Syren  got  off ;  but  fortunately  for  the 
Americans,  that  part  of  the  attack  com 
pletely  failed.  It  was  designed  that  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  with  his  corps,  should 
co-operate  with  the  naval  operations 
by  passing  the  narrow  channel  which 
separates  Long  Island  from  Sullivan's 
Island,  and  assail  the  fort  by  land  ;  but 
this  the  general  found  impracticable, 
for  the  channel,  though  commonly  ford- 
able,  was  at  that  time,  by  a  long  preva 
lence  of  easterly  winds,  deeper  than 
usual ;  and  even  had  the  channel  been 
fordable,  the  British  troops  would  have 
found  the  passage  an  arduous  enter 
prise,  for  Colonel  Thomson,  with  a 
strong  detachment  of  riflemen,  regulars, 
and  militia,  was  posted  on  the  east  end 
of  Sullivan's  Island,  to  oppose  any  at 
tack  made  in  that  quarter. 

The  engagement,  which  began  about 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  continued 
with  unabated  fury  till  seven  in  the 
evening,  when  the  fire  slackened,  and 
about  nine,  entirely  ceased  on  both 
sides.  During  the  night,  all  the  ships, 
except  the  Acteon,  which  was  aground, 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


437 


removed  about  two  miles  from  the 
island. 

Next  morning,  the  fort  fired  a  few 
shots  at  the  Acteon,  and  she  at  first  re 
turned  them ;  but  in  a  short  time,  her 
crew  set  her  on  fire,  and  abandoned 
her.  She  blew  up  shortly  afterwards. 
In  this  obstinate  engagement  both 
parties  fought  with  great  gallantry. 
The  loss  of  the  British  was  very 
considerable,  upwards  of  sixty  being 
killed,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  be 
ing  wounded ;  whilst  the  garrison  lost 
only  ten  men  killed,  and  twenty-two 
wounded. 

Although  the  Americans  were  raw 
troops,  yet  they  behaved  with  the 
steady  intrepidity  of  veterans.  One 
circumstance  may  serve  to  illustrate 
the  cool  but  enthusiastic  courage  which 
pervaded  their  ranks.  In  the  course  of 
the  en^ao-ement,  the  flagstaff  of  the  fort 

O      O  I  O 

was  shot  away ;  but  Sergeant  Jasper 
leaped  clown  upon  the  beach,  snatched 
up  the  flag,  fastened  it  to  a  sponge-staff, 
and  while  the  ships  were  incessantly 
directing  their  broadsides  upon  the  fort, 
he  mounted  the  merlon,  and  deliber 
ately  replaced  the  flag. 

The  fate  of  this  expedition  contrib 
uted  greatly  to  establish  the  popular 
government  it  was  intended  to  destroy, 
while  the  news  of  it  spread  rapidly 
through  the  continent,  and  exercised 
an  equally  unfavorable  influence  on  the 
royal  cause ;  the  advocates  of  the  irre 
sistibility  of  British  fleets  and  armies 

\j 

were  mortified  and  silenced ;  and  the 
brave  defence  of  Fort  Moultrie  saved 


the  Southern  States  from  the  horrors  of 
war  for  several  years. 

In  South  Carolina,  the  government 
took  advantage  of  the  hour  of  success 
to  conciliate  their  opponents  in  the 
province.  The  adherents  of  royal 
power,  who,  for  a  considerable  time, 
had  been  closely  imprisoned,  on  prom 
ising  fidelity  to  their  country,  were  set 
at  liberty,  and  restored  to  all  the  privi 
leges  of  citizens.  The  repulse  of  the 
British  was  also  attended  with  another 
advantage,  that  of  leaving  the  Ameri 
cans  at  liberty  to  turn  their  undivided 
force  against  the  Indians,  who  had 
attacked  the  western  frontier  of  the 
Southern  States  with  all  the  fury  and 
carnage  of  savage  warfare. 

In  1775,  when  the  breach  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  was 
daily  becoming  wider,  one  Stuart,  the 
agent  employed  in  conducting  the  in 
tercourse  between  the  British  authori 
ties  and  the  Cherokees  and  Creeks,  used 
all  his  influence  to  attach  the  Indians 
to  the  royal  cause,  and  to  inspire  them 
with  jealousy  and  hatred  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  He  found  little  difficulty  in  per 
suading  them  that  the  Americans,  with 
out  provocation,  had  taken  up  arms 
against  Britain,  and  were  the  means  of 
preventing  them  from  receiving  their 
yearly  supplies  of  arms,  ammunition, 
and  clothing  from  the  British  govern 
ment. 

The  Americans  had  endeavored  to 
conciliate  the  good-will  of  the  Indians, 
but  their  scanty  presents  were  unsatis 
factory,  and  the  savages  resolved  to 


438 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


take  up  the  hatchet.  Deeming  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  British  fleet  in  Charles 
ton  Bay  a  fit  opportunity,  the  Chero- 
kees  invaded  the  western  frontier  of 
the  province,  marking  their  track  with 
murder  and  devastation. 

The  speedy  retreat  of  the  British  left 
the  savages  exposed  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  Americans,  who,  in  separate  di 
visions,  entered  their  country  at  dif 
ferent  points,  from  Virginia  and  Geor 
gia,  defeated  their  warriors,  burned  their 
villages,  laid  waste  their  corn-fields,  and 
incapacitated  the  Cherokees,  for  a  con 
siderable  time,  from  giving  the  settlers 
further  annoyance.  Thus,  in  the  South, 
the  Americans  triumphed  over  the  Brit 
ish  and  Indians. 

We  have  seen  that  before   leaving 

O 

Boston,  Washington  ordered  General 
Putnam  to  take  command  of  the  army 
in  New  York.  He  was  directed  to  for 
tify  the  city  and  the  passes  of  the  Hud 
son,  according  to  the  plans  of  General 
Lee,  his  predecessor  in  the  command. 
Putnam,  aware  of  the  number  of  tories 
in  the  city,  established  strict  regulations 
for  preserving  order  ;  and  sternly  inter 
dicting  the  free  intercourse  which  had 
hitherto  prevailed  between  the  inhabit 
ants  and  the  British  ships  in  the  neigh 
boring  waters,  in  one  of  which  the  royal 
ex-governor  Tryon  was  engaged  in  car 
rying  a  variety  of  plots  and  hostile  in 
trigues  by  means  of  emissaries  to  his 
numerous  adherents  in  the  city  and 
colony. 

On  his  arrival  at  New  York,  April 
13th,  Washington  found  that  the  inde- 


17TG. 


fatigable  Putnam  had  exerted  his  usual 
energy  and  ability  in  completing  the 
fortifications,  which  had  been 
commenced  under  the  direction 
of  General  Lee.  Those  on  Brooklyn 
Heights  commanded  the  city,  and,  as 
the  possession  of  them  would  probably 
be  the  first  object  of  General  Howe  on 
his  arrival,  Washington  placed  them 
under  the  command  of  General  Greene, 
of  whose  superior  ability,  courage,  and 
prudence  he  had  already  become  aware. 
Washington  found  the  whole  force  in 
New  York  and  its  neighborhood  to  con- 

O 

sist  of  little  more  than  ten  thousand 
men  ;  and  these  were  distributed  in  va 
rious  posts  in  the  city,  Long  Island, 
Staten  Island,  and  elsewhere.  Many 
of  the  soldiers  were  new  recruits  with 
out  arms  ;  and  others  were  sick  or  ab 
sent  on  furlough :  thus  reducing  the 

~          '  O 

available  force  to  between  eiiHit  and 

O 

nine  thousand.  Of  these,  considerable 
detachments,  upon  request  from  Con 
gress,  were  sent  off  to  Canada,  where 
the  ill-fated  expedition,  of  which  we 
have  already  given  the  history,  was  not 
yet  brought  to  a  close.  Ten  regiments 
.were  taken  from  the  army  at  New  York, 
in  two  detachments,  for  this  purpose. 
The  measure  was  justified  to  Washing 
ton's  mind  by  the  consideration,  that 
the  portion  of  the  army  already  en 
gaged  in  Canada  could  only  be  rein 
forced  from  New  York ;  while  those 
under  his  immediate  command,  could 
receive  support,  if  necessary,  by  call 
ing  in  the  militia  from  the  surrounding 
country. 


CHAP.  VI.J 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


439 


In  May,  Washington,  at  the  request 
of  Congress,  paid  a  visit  to  Philadelphia 
for  the  purpose  of  devising  measures 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  ensuing  cam 
paign.  During  the  fifteen  days  that  his 
visit  lasted,  General  Putnam  held  the 
command  at  New  York.  Mrs.  Wash 
ington,  who  had  accompanied  him  to 
New  York,  and  had  since  resided  there, 
was  with  him  also  during  this  visit  to 
Philadelphia.  They  were  invited  by 
President  Hancock  to  be  his  guests 
during  their  stay.  In  a  letter  from 
that  place  to  his  brother  John  Augus 
tine,  already  quoted,  he  says  :  "  We  ex 
pect  a  very  bloody  summer  at  New 
York  and  Canada,  as  it  is  there,  I  pre 
sume,  the  grand  efforts  of  the  enemy 
will  be  aimed  ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
that  we  are  not,  either  in  men  or  arms, 
prepared  for  it.  However,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  that,  if  our  cause  is  just,  as  I  do 
most  religiously  believe  it  to  be,  the 
same  Providence,  which  has  in  many 
instances  appeared  for  us,  will  still  go 
on  to  afford  its  aid." 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe,  that 
this  reliance  on  Providence  was  the  con 
stant  habit  of  Washington's  mind.  It 
would  seem  that  nothing  else  could 
have  sustained  him  under  the  tremen 
dous  responsibilities  and  emergencies  to 
which  he  was  subject.  It  is  equally 
clear,  that  relying  on  Providence  under 
his  severe  trials  never  induced  him  to 
relax  his  energy  jy  vigilance.  The  cir 
cumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  at 
the  time  when  the  letter,  above  quoted, 
was  written,  were  sufficiently  appalling 


to  have  deterred  any  one  who  had  not 
deliberately  placed  his  whole  trust  in 
Providence  ;  for  he  had  already,  as  the 
letter  shows,  divined  the  real  purpose 
of  the  British,  which  was  to  land  an 
overwhelming  force  at  New  York,  to 
take  that  place,  pass  up  the  Hudson 
Iliver,  and  meet  another  powerful  army 
already  dispatched  to  relieve  the  Brit 
ish  forces  in  Canada  ;  thus  dividing  the 
country  into  two  parts,  so  that  it  might 
be  easily  conquered  in  detail.  There 
was  every  human  probability  of  the 
success  of  this  plan  ;  and  Washington 
knew  it.  Yet  he  was  not  moved,  for 
an  instant,  from  that  serene  calmness 
which  was  his  habitual  state  of  mind. 
Truly  he  was  a  man  who  put  his  trust 
in  God. 

In  his  conferences  with  Congress, 
Washington  expressed  the  opinion,  that 
no  acceptable  terms  would  be  offered 
by  the  British,  and  that  a  long  war 
must  ensue,  which  would  require  more 
men  and  better  regulations.  Congress 
accordingly  ordered  enlistments  for  the 
regular  army  to  be  made  for  three 
years'  service,  with  a  bounty  of  ten 
dollars  to  each  soldier ;  and  made  pro 
vision  for  reinforcements  of  militia,  and 
the  building  of  gondolas  and  five  rafts 
for  the  defence  of  New  York  harbor. 

They  also  determined  on  a  plan  to 
reinforce  the  army,  by  bringing  into  the 
field  a  new  species  of  troops  that  would 
be  more  permanent  than  the  common 
militia,  and  yet  more  easily  raised  than 
regulars.  With  this  view  they  instir 
tuted  a  flying-camp,  to  consist  of  an  in- 


440 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


termediate  corps,  between  regular  sol- 
el  iers  and  militia.  Ten  thousand  men 
were  called  for  from  the  States  of  Penn 
sylvania,  Maryland,  and  Delaware,  to 
be  in  constant  service  to  the  first  day 
of  the  ensuing  December.  Congress  at 
the  same  time  called  for  thirteen  thou 
sand  eight  hundred  of  the  common 
militia  from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
New  York,  and  New  Jersey.  The  men 
for  forming  the  flying-camp  were  gen 
erally  procured ;  but  there  were  great 
deficiencies  of  the  militia,  and  many  of 
those  who  obeyed  their  country's  call, 
so  far  as  to  turn  out,  manifested  a  reluc 
tance  to  submit  to  the  necessary  disci 
pline  of  camps. 

The  difficulty  of  providing  the  troops 
with  arms  while  before  Boston,  was  ex 
ceeded  by  the  superior  difficulty  of  sup 
plying  them  in  their  new  position.  By 
the  returns  of  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Montgomery,  in  the  Highlands,  in  April, 
it  appeared  that  there  were  two  hun 
dred  and  eight  privates,  and  only  forty- 
one  guns  fit  for  use.  In  the  garrison  at 
Fort  Constitution,  there  were  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty-six  men,  and  only  sixty- 
eight  guns  fit  for  use.  Flints  were  also 
much  wanted.  Lead  would  have  been 
equally  deficient,  had  not  a  supply  for 
the  musketry  been  obtained  by  strip 
ping  dwelling-houses.* 

The  measures  necessary  to  remedy 
these  deficiencies  formed  a  subject  of 
consultation  between  Washington  and 
Congress ;  as  well  as  the  establishment 

0  "  One  house,"  says  Gordon,  "supplied  them  with 
1200  pounds,  and  another  with  1000  pounds." 


of  a  permanent  board  of  war  and  ord 
nance,  composed  of  John  Adams,  Col 
onel  Benjamin  Harrison,  Roger  Sher 
man,  Edward  Kutledge,  and  James 
Wilson,  who  were  henceforth  to  act  in 
stead  of  the  various  military  commit 
tees  of  Congress,  who  had  hitherto  had 
charge  of  military  affairs. 

On  Washington's  return  to  New 
York,  he  resumed  preparations  for  re 
ceiving  the  enemy,  who  were  daily  ex 
pected  to  arrive  with  a  fleet  and  a 
powerful  army.  He  was  also  under 
the  necessity  of  attending  to  the  various 
operations  of  the  tories,  who  infested 
the  province  of  New  York  to  a  fearful 
extent. 

Mr.  Sparks  gives  an  account  of  the 
plots  of  these  tories,  Governor  Tryon 
being  the  main-spring  of  all  their  move 
ments.  Washington,  after  a  great  deal 
of  urgency,  got  Congress  to  appoint  a 
secret  committee,  to  take  up  and  exam 
ine  suspected  persons.  It  is  true,  that 
this  was  a  dangerous  responsibility  to 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  any  man  ;  but 
the  necessity  of  the  case  demanded  some 
action.  The  tories  were  bound  to  take 
one  side  or  the  other  in  the  questions 
at  issue;  open  enmity  could  be  met; 
but  they  who  wished  to  be  considered 
neutrals,  while  they  covertly  aided  and 
gave  intelligence  to  the  enemy,  could 
not  be  suffered  to  remain  in  a  position 
which  gave  them  every  advantage  over 
the  patriots  and  their  cause.  The  power 
of  apprehending  the  tories  had  wisely 
been  put  into  the  hands  of  the  civil  au 
thority  of  each  colony,  and  the  conven- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


441 


IT7G. 


tions,  assemblies,  and  committees,  were 
authorized  to  employ,  when  they  thought 
it  necessary  for  the  purpose,  a  militia 
force  from  the  continental  army.  "Many 
tories  were  apprehended  in  New  York 
and  on  Long  Island ;  some  were 
imprisoned  ;  others  disarmed. 
A  deep  plot,  originating  with  Gover 
nor  Tryon,  was  defeated  by  a  timely 
and  fortunate  discovery.  His  agents 
were  found  enlisting  men  in  the  Ameri 
can  camp,  and  enticing  them  with  re 
wards.  The  infection  spread  to  a  con 
siderable  extent,  and  even  reached  the 
general's  guard,  some  of  whom  enlisted. 
A  soldier  of  the  guard  was  proved 
guilty  by  a  court  martial,  and  executed. 
It  was  a  part  of  the  plot  to  seize  Gen 
eral  Washington  and  convey  him  to  the 
enemy."* 

The  rumors  of  these  proceedings 
were  spread  through  the  country,  and 
occasioned  no  small  decree  of  indisma- 

o  O 

tion  and  alarm.  Indeed,  the  danger  to 
the  cause  of  freedom  by  the  machina 
tions  of  the  tories  was  real  and  immi 
nent. 

In  this  crisis  of  particular  danger,  the 
people  of  New  York  acted  with  spirit. 
Though  they  knew  they  were  to  receive 
the  first  impression  of  the  British  army, 
yet  their  convention  resolved,  "  that  all 
persons  residing  within  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  claiming  protection 
from  its  laws,  owed  it  allegiance,  and 
that  any  person  owing  it  allegiance  and 
levying  war  against  the  State,  or  being 


0  Spcirks,  Life  of  Washington,  p.  169. 
VOL.  I.— 56 


an  adherent  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
should  be  deemed  guilty  of  treason  and 
suffer  death."  They  also  resolved,  "that 
one-fourth  of  the  militia  of  Westchester, 
Duchess,  and  Oransre  counties,  should 

7  O  ' 

be  forthwith  drawn  out  for  the  defence 
of  the  liberties,  property,  wives,  and 
children  of  the  good  people  of  the  State, 
to  be  continued  in  service  till  the  last 
day  of  December,"  and  "  that  as  the 
inhabitants  of  King's  county  had  deter 
mined  not  to  oppose  the  enemy,  a  com 
mittee  should  be  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  authenticity  of  these  reports, 
and  to  disarm  and  secure  the  disaffected, 
to  remove  or  destroy  the  stock  of  grain, 
and  if  necessary  to  lay  the  whole  coun 
try  waste." 

The  fleet  and  army  daily  expected  to 
arrive  when  Washington  returned  from 
Philadelphia,  were  formidable,  even  had 
he  been  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  and 
well-appointed  army. 

The  command  of  the  force  which  was 
designed  to  operate  against  New  York, 
was  given  to  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  and 
his  brother,  Sir  William,*  officers  who, 
as  well  from  their  personal  characters 
as  the  known  bravery  of  their  family, 
stood  high  in  the  confidence  of  the 
British  nation.  To  this  service  was 
allotted  a  very  powerful  army,  consist 
ing  of  about  thirty  thousand  men.  This 
force  was  far  superior  to  any  thing  that 
America  had  heretofore  seen.  The 
troops  were  amply  provided  with  ar 
tillery,  military  stores,  and  warlike  ma- 

°  Sir  William  Howe  was  the  same  officer  who  had  held 
the  command  in  Boston  after  Gage's  recall. 


442 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


terials  of  every  kind,  and  were  sup 
ported  by  a  numerous  fleet.  The  ad 
miral  and  general,  in  addition  to  their 
military  powers,  were  appointed  com 
missioners  for  restoring  peace  to  the 
colonies. 

General  Howe  having  in  vain  waited 
two  months  at  Halifax  for  his  brother, 
and  the  expected  reinforcements  from 
England,  impatient  of  further  delays, 
sailed  from  that  harbor,  with  the  force 
which  he  had  previously  commanded  in 
Boston,  and  directing  his  course  towards 
New  York,  arrived  in  the  latter  end  of 
June,  off  Sandy  Hook.  Admiral  Lord 
Howe,  with  part  of  the  reinforcement 
from  England,  arrived  at  Halifax  soon 
after  his  brother's  departure.  Without 
dropping  anchor  he  followed,  but  did 
not  arrive  at  Staten  Island  till  about 
the  middle  of  July.  The  British  gen 
eral,  on  his  approach,  found  every  part 
of  New  York  Island,  and  the  most  ex 
posed  parts  of  Long  Island,  fortified  and 
well  defended  by  artillery. 

About  fifty  British  transports  an 
chored  near  Staten  Island,  which  had 
not  been  so  much  the  object  of  Wash 
ington's  attention.  The  inhabitants  of 

O 

the  island,  either  from  fear,  policy,  or 
affection,  expressed  great  joy  on  the 
arrival  of  the  royal  forces.  General 
Howe  was  there  met  by  Tryon,  and  by 
several  of  the  loyalists,  who  had  taken 
refuge  with  him  in  an  armed  vessel. 
He  was  also  joined  by  about  sixty  per 
sons  from  New  Jersey,  and  two  hun 
dred  of  the  inhabitants  of  Staten  Island 
were  embodied,  as  a  royal  militia.  From 


these  appearances,  great  hopes  were  in 
dulged  that  as  soon  as  the  army  was  in 
a  condition  to  penetrate  into  the  coun 
try,  and  protect  the  loyalists,  such  num 
bers  would  flock  to  their  standard  as 
would  facilitate  the  attainment  of  the 
objects  of  the  campaign. 

Washington,  knowing  that  the  force 
already  arrived — forty  ships  with  be 
tween  nine  and  ten  thousand  troops 
—was  only  the  vanguard  of  the  still 
greater  force  expected  to  arrive  under 
Admiral  Lord  Howe,  took  immediate 
steps  to  strengthen  his  army.  He  called 
on  Congress  for  a  reinforcement  from 
Massachusetts,  to  consist  of  five  regi 
ments  of  regular  soldiers,  whose  place 
should  be  supplied  in  Boston  by  calling 
in  militia,  and  for  the  formation  of  a 
flying-camp  to  be  stationed  in  New  Jer 
sey,  ready  to  act  on  any  emergency. 

On  the  2d  of  July  he  issued  one  of 
those  general  orders,  with  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  address  the  army  in  lieu 
of  what  the  French  call  a  "  military 
allocution."  In  it  he  called  upon  the 
soldiers  to  prepare  for  the  coming  con 
test,  on  which  their  liberty  and  safety 
depended  ;  promised  rewards  to  the 
brave  and  patriotic,  and  threatened 
punishment  to  those  who  should  refuse 
or  neglect  to  do  their  duty.* 

The  contest  was  indeed  approaching ; 
and  at  this  very  moment  Congress  was 

°  These  general  orders  are  characteristic  of  Washing 
ton's  modesty  and  aversion  to  display.  Napoleon  and 
Jackson,  on  similar  occasions,  had  recourse  to  a  speech. 
Of  course  it  is  impossible  for  a  numerous  army  to  hear  a 
speech,  so  the  paper  is  published  and  distributed  as  tho 
general's  speech. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


443 


preparing  to  throw  down  the  gauntlet 
of  defiance  in  good  earnest.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  spirited  action  of 
the  Virginia  Assembly,  with  Washing 
ton's  own  commentary  on  it.  Since  that 
action,  Congress  had  received  from  a 
majority  of  the  colonies,  which  it  repre 
sented,  either  urgent  entreaties  or  de 
liberate  consent  and  authority  to  the 
dissolution  of  all  further  political  con 
nection  with  Great  Britain. 

One  or  two  of  the  provincial  assem 
blies  yet  refrained  from  giving  any  ex 
plicit  directions  on  this  subject  to  their 
representatives  ;  the  directions  from 
Maryland  were  latterly  unfavorable  to 
an  immediate  assertion  of  independence; 
and  those  from  Pennsylvania  and  Dela 
ware  were  flatly  opposed  to  it. 

But  the  leading  partisans  of  indepen 
dence  perceived  that  the  season  had  ar 
rived  when  this  great  design  must  be 
either  openly  espoused  or  definitively 
abandoned ;  they  remarked,  that,  in 
general,  the  main  objections  that  were 
still  urged  against  it  applied  rather  to 
the  time  than  to  the  measure  itself,  and 
they  were  convinced,  that  in  every  one 
of  the  States  the  majority  of  the  people, 
however  credulous  or  desirous  of  a  recon 
ciliation  with  Britain,  would  rather  re 
pudiate  such  views  than  retain  them  in 
opposition  to  the  declared  and  general 
policy  of  America. 

On  tLi  7th  of  June,  accordingly,  it 
was  formally  proposed  in  Congress  by 
liichard  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia,  that  the 
American  States  should  be  declared  free 
and  independent.  This  proposition  in 


duced  long  and  animated  debates,  and 
afforded  scope  to  the  largest  display  of 
wisdom,  genius,  and  eloquence,  in  the 
discussion  of  a  question  than  which  none 
more  interesting  to  human  liberty  and 
happiness  was  ever  before  submitted  to 
the  decision  of  a  national  assembly. 

The  American  Congress,  in  its  original 
composition,  exhibiting  the  citizens  of  a 
subordinate  commonwealth  in  the  act  of 
assuming  into  their  own  hands  the  reins 
of  government  which  a  superior  state 
had  previously  wielded  over  them,  pre 
sented  a  spectacle  of  deep  and  stirring 
interest  to  human  nature  and  civilized 
society.  Deliberating  now  if  the  grand 
conception  which  it  had  suggested  was 
to  be  despondingly  abandoned  or  reso 
lutely  fulfilled,  it  addressed  the  univer 
sal  sentiments  of  mankind  with  extended 
interest  and  augmented  dignity.  While 
European  sovereigns  were  insulting  and 
violating  every  sanction  and  safeguard 
of  national  right  and  human  liberty  by 
the  infamous  partition  of  Poland,  a  revo 
lutionary  principle  of  nobler  nature  and 
vindictive  destiny  was  developed  to  the 
earnest  and  wondering  eyes  of  the  world, 
in  America. 

A  very  ordinary  degree  of  knowledge 
and  reflection  may  enable  any  person  to 
suggest  to  himself  the  principal  argu 
ments  which  must  have  been  employed 
in  the  conduct  of  this  solemn  and  im 
portant  debate  ;  but  no  authentic  report 
of  the  actual  discussion  has  been  trans 
mitted.  John  Adams,  who  supported 
the  project  of  independence,  and  Dick 
inson,  who  opposed  it,  were  acknowl- 


444 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


edged  to  have  pre-eminently  distin 
guished  themselves  by  their  rhetoric 
and  ingenuity. 

Adams,  it  is  said,  forcibly  maintained 
that  a  restoration  of  union  and  harmony 
between  Britain  and  America  was  im 
possible;  that  military  conquest  alone 
could  restore  the  British  ascendency ; 
and  that  an  open  declaration  of  inde 
pendence  was  imperatively  required  to 
harmonize  the  views  of  the  Americans, 
to  elevate  and  confirm  their  spirits  in  an 
inevitable  conflict,  and  to  enable  them 
to  obtain  effectual  succor  from  foreign 

o 

powers.  Prudence  and  justice  alike  de 
manded  that  the  brave  men  who  had 
taken  arms  in  defence  of  their  country's 
freedom,  should  be  enabled  to  dismiss 
the  apprehension  of  fighting  for  a  hol 
low  and  precarious  reconciliation,  and  a 
return  to  the  yoke  of  dependence. 

Dickinson  is  said  to  have  insisted 
(and  very  plausibly,  it  must  be  allowed), 
that  an  instant  dissolution  of  the  Amer 
ican  confederacy  would  be  produced  by 
the  mere  act  of  Great  Britain  in  with 
drawing  her  fleets  and  armies  at  the 
present  juncture ;  but  in  maintaining,  as 
he  is  also  reported  to  have  done,  that 
the  same  breach  of  federal  union,  affsrra- 

/       oO 

vated  by  an  effervescence  of  popular 
spirit  incompatible  Avith  civil  order, 
must  ensue  from  the  withdrawment  of 
the  British  troops  at  a  later  period,  and 
after  a  prolonged  contest  and  the  ex 
citation  of  furious  passion  in  every  part 
of  America,  he  disregarded  the  con 
tinued  influence  of  that  bond  of  union 
whose  initial  operation  he  was  so  strong 


ly  impressed  with,  and  undervalued  the 
wisdom  and  virtue  which  his  country 
men  were  capable  of  exerting  for  the 
extinction  of  the  flames  of  revolutionary 
passions. 

Some  members  of  the  Congress  op 
posed  a  declaration  of  independence 
as  unwarrantable  or  premature;  and 
others,  for  awhile,  were  reluctantly  de 
terred  from  supporting  it  by  the  instruc 
tions  of  their  constituents.  After  the 
discussion  had  been  protracted  for 
nearly  a  month,  during  which  interval 
the  hesitation  or  opposition  of  a  minority 
of  the  States  was  overborne,  as  had  been 
foreseen,  by  the  general  current  of  na 
tional  will — the  measure  proposed  by 
Lee  was  approved  and  embraced  by  a 
vote  almost  unanimous ;  and  a  docu 
ment,  entitled  "  Declaration  of 
the  Independence  of  the  Thir-  Jllly  *' 


1776. 


teen  United  States  of  North 
America,"  composed  by  Thomas  Jeffer 
son,  was  subscribed  by  all  the  mem 
bers  who  were  anxious  to  confront  the 
danger,  and  accomplish  the  glory,  of 
their  country. 

"  In  the  body  that  elected  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  to  draft  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,"  says  Mr.  Everett,*  "there 
were  other  men  of  great  ability.  Frank 
lin  was  a  member  of  it,  a  statesman  of 
the  highest  reputation  in  Europe  and 
America,  and  especially  master  of  a 
most  pure,  effective  English  style  of 
writing.  And  John  Adams  was  pro 
nounced  by  Jefferson  himself  the  ablest 


0  Eulogy  on  Adams  and  Jtfferson. 


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CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


445 


advocate  of  independence,  in  a  Congress 
which  could  boast  among  its  members 
such  men  as  Patrick  Henry,  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  and  Samuel  Adams.  John 
Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  were 
great  among  great  men  ;  mightiest 
among  the  mighty;  and  enjoyed  their 
lofty  standing  in  a  body  of  which  half 
the  members  might,  with  honor,  have 
presided  over  the  deliberative  councils 
of  a  nation.  Glorious  as  their  standing 
in  this  council  of  sages  has  proved,  they 
beheld  the  glory  only  in  distant  vision, 
while  the  prospect  before  them  was 
shrouded  with  darkness  and  terror. 
'  I  am  not  transported  with  enthusiasm,' 
is  the  language  of  Mr.  Adams  the  day 
after  the  resolution  was  adopted  ;  '  I  am 
well  aware  of  the  toil,  the  treasure,  and 
the  blood  it  will  cost  to  maintain  this 
declaration,  to  support  and  defend  these 
States.  Yet,  through  all  the  gloom,  I 
can  see  a  ray  of  light  and  glory.  I  can 
see  that  the  end  is  worth  more  than  all 
the  means.'" 

No  one  rejoiced  more  cordially  at  the 
news  of  the  declaration  of  independence 
than  Washington.  He  had  long  de 
sired  it.  He  had  long  been  hampered, 
—almost  paralyzed  in  his  military  oper 
ations,  by  the  anomalous  condition  in 
which  he  was  placed  as  the  comniander- 
in-chief  of  an  army  acting  against  a  sov 
ereign  whose  allegiance  had  not  been 
openly  renounced.  His  action  would 
now  be  more  free,  his  position  com 
pletely  denned.  He  was  henceforth  to 
fight  for  a  free  and  independent  country. 

On  the  9th  of  July,  the  declaration 


by  Washington's  order  was  read  at  the 
head  of  each  brigade  of  the  army,  and 
was  received  by  the  soldiers  with  joyous 
acclamations.  In  the  general  order  of 
the  clay,  he  said  :  "  The  general  hopes 
that  this  important  event  will  serve  as 
a  fresh  incentive  to  every  officer  and 
soldier,  to  act  with  fidelity  and  cour 
age  ;  as  knowing  that  now  the  peace 
and  safety  of  his  country  depend,  under 
God,  solely  on  the  success  of  our  arms  ; 
and  that  he  is  now  in  the  service  of  a 
State  possessed  of  sufficient  power  to 
reward  his  merit,  and  advance  him  to 
the  highest  honors  of  a  free  country." 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  a 
number  of  the  people  of  New  York,  in 
order  to  complete  the  celebration  by  a 
significant  token,  pulled  down  a  leaden 
statue  of  George  the  Third,  which  had 
been  erected  on  the  Bowling  Green  in 
17*70,  and  broke  it  to  pieces.  The  lead 
of  which  it  was  composed,  was  subse 
quently  cast  into  bullets,  "to  be  used 
in  the  cause  of  independence." 

Three  days  '  after  these  proceedings, 
the  city  was  thrown  into  great  alarm. 
Two  ships  from  the  British  fleet,  the 
Phoenix,  of  forty  guns,  and  the  Rose,  of 
twenty,  with  three  tenders,  taking  ad 
vantage  of  a  favorable  breeze,  sailed  up 
the  bay,  and  were  proceeding 
up  the  Hudson  River.  They 
were  fired  upon  by  the  batteries 
of  the  city  and  those  on  the  opposite 
Jersey  shore  at  Paulus  Hook,  and  an 
swered  with  broadsides.  They  passed 
the  forts  with  little  injury,  as  the  men 
on  deck  were  protected  by  ramparts  of 


446 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV. 


sand-bags  ;  while  the  cannonade  spread 
terror  among  the  quiet  people  of  the 
city,  who  were  apprehensive  of  a  gen 
eral  attack. 

The  ships  went  up  the  Hudson  to 
the  Tappan  Sea  and  Haverstraw  Bay, 
where  the  breadth  of  the  river  enabled 
them  to  anchor  without  being  molested 
by  the  firing  from  the  shore. 

Washington,  apprehending  an  attack 
on  forts  Constitution  and  Montgomery, 
lately  erected  on  the  Hudson  River, 
sent  off  expresses  to  General  Mifflin, 
who  commanded  the  former,  and  to  the 
New  York  Convention,  then  in  session 
at  White  Plains,  apprising  them  of  the 
danger.  General  George  Clinton  was 
then  in  command  of  the  militia  of 
Orange  and  Ulster  counties.  To  him 
Washington  sent  off  another  dispatch, 
urging  him  to  collect  a  force  for  the 
protection  of  the  Highlands,  a  request 
which  that  active  officer  had  already 
more  than  anticipated  by  sending  rein 
forcements  to  Fort  Montgomery,  Fort 
Constitution,  and  the  Highlands. 

The  ships  remained  in  the  river  for  a 
period  of  five  weeks,  taking  soundings, 
observing  the  positions  on  the  shores, 
and  communicating  secretly  with  the. 
tories,  not  withstand  in  or  the  vigilance  of 

'  O  O 

the  garrisons  and  armed  parties  on 
shore,  by  whom  their  motions  were 
watched.  Their  real  object  was  to 
make  observations  with  a  view  to  cer 
tain  future  objects  of  General  Howe, 
which  were  to  cut  off  communication 
by  water  between  Washington's  army 
and  Canada,  and  between  the  city  and 


1T7G. 


country,  as  well  as  to  communicate  with 
the  tories  and  encourage  them  in  meas 
ures  of  hostility.  Before  their  return 
to  the  fleet,  one  of  the  tenders  was  de 
stroyed  by  a  fire-ship,  under  command 
of  Captain  Thomas,  which,  with  others, 
had  been  sent  up  the  river  by  Wash 
ington.* 

Meantime  (July  12th)  Lord  Howe 
arrived  at  Staten  Island  and  joined  his 
brother,  with  a  powerful  fleet 
and  army.  Immediately  after 
his  arrival,  he  sent  ashore  a  flag  of  truce 
to  Amboy,  with  a  circular  letter,  to 
gether  with  a  declaration  to  several  of 
the  late  royal  governors,  presuming 
them  to  be  still  in  power,  acquainting 
them  with  his  authority  as  commissioner 
from  the  king,  and  the  terms  proposed 
for  reconciliation,  and  desiring  them  to 

'  O 

publish  the  same  as  generally  as  possi 
ble,  for  the  information  of  the  people. 
The  declaration  and  letters  were  inter 
cepted  and  forwarded  to  Congress  by 
General  Washington  ;  and  ordered  by 
them  to  be  published  in  the  several 
newspapers,  that  the  inhabitants  might 
be  informed  of  the  terms  offered  by 
Lord  Howe,  which  were  merely  offers 
of  pardon  and  favor  to  individuals,  or 
whole  colonies,  who  would  return  to 
their  allegiance  and  assist  in  "restoring 
tranquillity"  that  is,  desert  the  cause  of 
their  country,  and  give  aid  and  comfort 
to  its  enemies.  Congress  was  perfectly 
willing  to  make  known,  as  widely  as 
possible,  these  terms,  with  the  expecta- 


°  Sparks,  Life  of  Washington,  p.  170. 


CHAP.  VI.J 


WASHINGTON  IX  NEW  YORK. 


447 


tion  of  which  the  court  of  Britain  had 
endeavored  to  amuse  and  disarm  them  ; 
and  that  the  few  who  were  still  sus 
pended  by  a  hope  founded  either  in 
the  justice  or  moderation  of  the  British 
government,  might  be  convinced  that 
the  valor  alone  of  their  country  was  to 
save  its  liberties. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
Lord  Howe  was  sincerely  anxious  for 
peace.  He  addressed  a  note  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  to  whom  he  was  personally 
well  known,  earnestly  expressing  his 
wishes,  that  the  differences  between  the 
Americans  and  the  mother  country 
might  be  amicably  settled.  Franklin, 
in  his  reply,  courteously  regretted  that 
he  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  on  an  er 
rand  so  fruitless,  as  to  expect  to  obtain 
submission  from  his  countrymen.  "It 
is  impossible,"  he  writes,  "that  we 
should  think  of  submission  to  a  gov 
ernment,  that  has,  with  the  most  wan 
ton  barbarity  and  cruelty,  burnt  our 
defenceless  towns,  in  the  midst  of  win 
ter  ;  excited  the  savages  to  massacre 
our  peaceful  farmers,  and  our  slaves  to 
murder  their  masters ;  and  is  now  bring 
ing  foreign  mercenaries  to  deluge  our 
settlements  with  blood.  Long  did  I 
endeavor,  with  unfeigned  and  unwea 
ried  zeal,  to  preserve  from  breaking, 
that  fine  and  noble  China  vase,  the 
British  empire  ;  for  I  knew  that  being 
once  broken,  the  separate  parts  could 
not  retain  even  their  share  of  the 
strength  and  value  that  existed  in  the 
whole ;  and  that  a  perfect  reunion 
could  scarce  ever  be  hoped  for."  In 


conclusion,  he  says,  "  I  know  youi 
great  motive,  in  coming  hither,  was  the 
hope  of  being  instrumental  in  a  recon 
ciliation  ;  and  I  believe,  when  you  find 
that  to  be  impossible,  on  any  terms 
given  you  to  propose,  you  will  then 
relinquish  so  odious  a  command,  and 
return  to  a  more  honorable  private 
station." 

Failing  in  these  efforts,  the  commis 
sioners  next  attempted  to  open  a  com 
munication  with  Washington,  whom 
they  addressed  as  George  Washington, 
Esq.;  but  as  they  were  not  prepared 
to  acknowledge  the  official  position  and 
station  of  the  commander-in-chief,  a 
difficulty  at  once  arose.  Washington 
never  suffered  the  slightest  deviation 
from  exact  propriety  in  all  his  public 
relations.  The  commissioners,  anxious 
to  accomplish  something,  next  had  re 
course  to  an  expedient,  by  which  they 
hoped  to  obviate  all  difficulty ;  they 
changed  the  address  of  their  letter  for 
the  superscription  following  :  To  George 
Washington,  etc.,  etc.  Adjutant-gen 
eral  Patterson  was  sent  with  this  dis 
patch.  Being  introduced  to  Washing 
ton,  he  gave  him  in  conversation  the 
title  of  Excellency.  The  general  re 
ceived  him  with  great  politeness,  but 
at  the  same  time  with  much  dignity. 
The  adjutant  expressed  himself  greatly 
concerned,  on  behalf  of  his  principals, 
on  account  of  the  difficulties  that  had 
arisen  about  the  superscription  of  the 
letter ;  assured  him  of  their  high  regard 
for  his  personal  character,  and  that  they 
had  no  intention  to  undervalue  his  rank. 


448 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


It  was  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  et  cet- 
eras,  being  in  use  between  ambassadors, 
when  they  were  not  perfectly  agreed 
upon  points  of  etiquette,  would  remove 
all  obstructions  to  their  mutual  inter 
course. 

Washington  answered,  that  a  letter 
written  to  a  person  invested  with  a 
public  character,  should  specify  it, 
otherwise  it  could  not  be  distinguished 
from  a  private  letter  ;  that  it  was  true 
the  et  ceteras  implied  every  thing  ;  but 
it  was  no  less  true,  that  they  implied 
any  thing ;  and  that,  as  to  himself,  he 
would  never  consent  to  receive  any  let 
ter,  relating  to  public  affairs,  that  should 
be  directed  to  him,  without  a  designa 
tion  of  his  rank  and  office.  Patterson 
requested  that  this  question  might  be 
waived ;  and  turned  the  conversation 
upon  prisoners  of  war.  He  expatiated 
in  magnificent  terms  upon  the  goodness 
and  clemency  of  the  king,  who  had 
chosen  for  negotiators  Lord  and  Gen 
eral  Howe.  He  affirmed  that  their  de 
sire  to  terminate  the  differences  which 
had  arisen  between  the  two  peoples, 
was  as  earnest  as  their  powers  were 
ample  ;  and  that  he  hoped  the  general 
would  consider  this  visit  as  the  first 
step  towards  it.  Washington  replied, 
that  he  was  not  authorized  to  negotiate  ; 
but  that  it  did  not  appear  that  the 
powers  of  the  commissioners  consisted 
in  any  more  than  in  granting  pardons  ; 
that  America,  not  having  committed 
any  offence,  asked  for  no  forgiveness; 
and  was  only  defending  her  unquestion 
able  rights.  Patterson  remarked,  that 


this  subject  would  open  too  vast  a  field 
of  discussion.  He  expressed  his  ac 
knowledgments  for  the  favor  done  him, 
in  omitting  the  usual  ceremony  of  blind 
ing  his  eyes,  when  passing  the  Ameri 
can  works.  Washington  invited  him 
to  partake  of  a  collation,  and  he  was  in 
troduced  to  the  general  officers.  After 
many  compliments  and  polite  expres 
sions,  and  repeating  his  regrets  that  a 
strict  observation  of  formalities  should 
interrupt  the  course  of  so  important  an 
affair,  he  took  leave  of  Washington, 
and  withdrew.  This  conference  thus  re 
mained  without  result,  and  all  thoughts 
were  again  turned  towards  hostilities. 
Congress  were  perfectly  aware,  on  the 
one  hand,  of  the  shame  they  must  in 
cur,  by  departing  from  the  resolution  so 
recently  taken,  of  asserting  independ 
ence,  and  they  feared,  on  the  other, 
that  the  propositions  of  England  might 
contain  some  secret  poison.  They 
caused  an  exact  relation  to  be  printed 
of  the  interview  between  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  and  the  English  adju 
tant-general. 

At  this  time  of  imminent  danger, 
Washington  had  the  grief  and  mortifi 
cation  to  learn,  that  dissensions 
were  breaking  out  among  the 
different  portions  of  the  army,  wliich 
threatened  the  most  serious  conse 
quences.  The  officers,  coming  from  va 
rious  parts  of  the  country,  were  jealous 
of  each  other,  and  openly  expressed 
themselves  in  terms  so  disrespectful,  as 
necessarily  to  produce  a  very  bad  state 
of  feeling  towards  each  other,  which 


1776. 


CHAP.  VI.J 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


449 


spread  also  among  the  soldiers  to  such 
an  extent,  as  to  excite  an  apprehension 
of  actual  collision  between  the  different 
corps.  Washington,  foreseeing  all  the 
evils  which  would  inevitably  result  from 
such  a  state  of  things,  had  recourse  to 
persuasion  and  reprimand.  In  a  gen 
eral  order,  he  thus  addressed  the  army  : 
"  The  general  most  earnestly  entreats 
the  officers  and  soldiers  to  consider  the 
consequences ;  that  they  can  no  way 
assist  our  enemies  more  effectually  than 
by  making  divisions  among  ourselves ; 
that  the  honor  and  success  of  the  army, 
and  the  safety  of  our  bleeding  country, 
depend  upon  harmony  and  good  agree 
ment  with  each  other ;  that  the  prov 
inces  are  all  united  to  oppose  the  com 
mon  enemy,  and  all  distinctions  sunk  in 
the  name  of  an  American.  To  make 
this  name  honorable,  and  to  preserve 
the  liberty  of  our  country,  ought  to  be 
our  only  emulation  ;  and  he  will  be  the 
best  soldier  and  the  best  patriot,  who 
contributes  most  to  this  glorious  work, 
whatsoever  his  station,  or  from  what 
ever  part  of  the  continent  he  may  come. 
Let  all  distinctions  of  nations,  countries, 
and  provinces  be  lost  in  the  generous 
contest,  who  shall  behave  with  the  most 
courage  against  the  enemy,  and  the 
most  kindness  and  good-humor  to  each 
other.  If  there  be  any  officers  or  sol 
diers  so  lost  to  virtue  and  a  love  of 
their  country,  as  to  continue  in  these 
practices  after  this  order,  the  general 
assures  them,  and  is  authorized  by  Con 
gress  to  declare  to  the  whole  army,  that 
such  persons  shall  be  severely  punished, 

VOL.   I. —57 


and  dismissed  from  the  service  with  dis 
grace." 

This  order  produced  a  marked  effect, 
from  the  habitual  reverence  ever  felt 
for  Washington  by  the  army.  But 
the  evil  was  never  wholly  eradicated. 
Throughout  the  war,  it  was  deemed 
important  to  keep  the  troops  from 
each  State  together,  and  place  them 
under  the  command  of  general  officers 
from  their  own  part  of  the  country. 

The  reinforcements  to  the  British 
army,  of  whom  about  four  hundred  and 
fifty  had  been  captured  by  the  Ameri 
can  cruisers,  were  now  arriving  daily 
from  Europe ;  and  General  Howe  had 
also  been  joined  by  the  troops  from 
Charleston.  His  strength  was  esti 
mated  at  twenty-four  thousand  men. 

To  this  army,  alike  formidable  for  its 
numbers,  its  discipline,  and  its  equip 
ments, — aided  in  its  operations  by  a 
numerous  fleet,  and  conducted  by  com 
manders  of  skill  and  experience,  Wash 
ington  had  to  oppose  a  force,  unstable 
in  its  nature, — incapable,  from  its  struc 
ture,  of  receiving  discipline, — and  infe 
rior  to  its  enemy,  in  numbers,  in  arms, 
and  in  every  military  equipment.  It 
consisted,  when  General  Howe  landed 
on  Staten  Island,  of  ten  thousand  men, 
who  were  much  enfeebled  by  sickness. 
The  diseases  which  always  afflict  new 
troops,  were  increased  by  exposure  to 
the  rain  and  night  air,  without  tents. 
In  consequence  of  Washington's  earnest 
representations  to  Congress,  some  regi 
ments,  stationed  in  the  different  States, 
were  ordered  to  join  him  ;  and,  in  addi- 


450 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


1716. 


tion  to  the  requisitions  of  men  to  serve 
until  December — requisitions  not  yet 
complied  with — the  neighboring  mili 
tia  were  called  into  service  for  the  exi 
gency  of  the  moment.  Yet,  in  a  letter 
written  to  Congress  on  the  8th  of  Au 
gust,  he  stated  that  "for  the 
several  posts  on  New  York, 
Long  and  Governor's  Islands,  and  Pau- 
lus  Hook,  the  army  consisted  of  only 
seventeen  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men,  of  whom  three  thou 
sand  six  hundred  and  sixty-eight  were 
sick ;  and  that,  to  repel  an  immediate 
attack,  he  could  count  certainly  on  no 
other  addition  to  his  numbers,  than  a 
battalion  from  Maryland,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Small  wood."* 

The  army  was  rendered  the  more  in 
adequate  to  its  objects  by  being  neces 
sarily  divided  for  the  defence  of  posts, 
some  of  which  were  fifteen  miles  dis 
tant  from  others,  with  navigable  waters 
between  them.  "These  things,"  con 
tinued  the  letter,  "  are  melancholy,  but 
they  are  nevertheless  true.  I  hope  for 
better.  Under  every  disadvantage,  my 
utmost  exertions  shall  be  employed  to 
bring  about  the  great  end  we  have  in 
view  ;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  judge  from 
the  professions  and  apparent  disposi- 

°  Most  of  the  continental  troops  were  without  uni 
forms.  In  the  Connecticut  regiments,  the  officers  were 
distinguished  from  the  men  only  by  wearing  cockades  in 
their  hats.  But  the  battalion  from  Maryland  under 
Colonel  Smallwood,  composed  of  young  men  from  rich 
families,  wore  an  elegant  uniform  of  scarlet  and  buff, 
wh'ch  contrasted  strongly  with  the  homespun  apparel 
of  many  of  the  Eastern  troops.  The  army  had  no  cav 
alry,  a  deficiency  which  was  severely  felt  in  the  battle 
of  Long  Island. 


tions  of  my  troops,  I  shall  have  their 
support.  The  superiority  of  the  enemy, 
and  the  expected  attack,  do  not  seem 
to  have  depressed  their  spirits.  These 
considerations  lead  me  to  think,  that 
though  the  appeal  may  not  terminate 
so  happily  as  I  could  wish,  yet  the 
enemy  will  not  succeed  in  their  views 
without  considerable  loss.  Any  advan 
tage  they  may  gain,  I  trust  will  cost 
them  dear." 

Soon  after  this  letter,  the  army  was 
reinforced  by  Smallwood's  regiment, 
and  by  two  regiments  from  Pennsyl 
vania,  with  a  body  of  New  England 
and  New  York  militia,  which  increased 
it  to  twenty-seven  thousand  men,  of 
whom  one-fourth  were  sick. 

A  part  of  the  army  was  stationed  on 
Long  Island,  under  the  command  of 
Major-general  Sullivan,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  this  point  in  consequence  of 
the  illness  of  General  Greene.  The  res 
idue  occupied  different  stations  on  York 
Island,  except  two  small  detachments, 
one  on  Governor's  Island,  and  the  other 
at  Paulus  Hook  ;  and  except  a  part  of 
the  New  York  militia  under  General 
Clinton,  who  were  stationed  on  the 
Sound,  towards  .New  Rochelle,  and 
about  East  and  West  Chester,  in  order 
to  oppose  any  sudden  attempt  which 
might  be  made  to  land  above  Kings- 
bridge,  and  cut  off  the  communication 
with  the  country. 

Expecting  daily  to  be  attacked,  and 
believing  that  the  influence  of  the  first 
battle  would  be  extremely  important, 
Washington  employed  every  expedient 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


451 


1176. 


which  might  act  upon  that  enthusiastic 
love  of  liberty,  that  indignation  against 
the  invaders  )f  their  country,  and  that 
native  courage,  which  were  believed  to 
animate  the  bosoms  of  his  soldiers  ;  and 
which  were  relied  on  as  substitutes  for 
discipline  and  experience.  "  The  time," 
say  his  orders  issued  soon  after  the  ar 
rival  of  General  Howe  (Au 
gust  2d),  "is  now  near  at  hand, 
which  must  determine  whether  Ameri 
cans  are  to  be  freemen  or  slaves ; 
whether  they  are  to  have  any  property 
they  can  call  their  own  ;  whether  their 
houses  and  farms  are  to  be  pillaged  and 
destroyed,  and  themselves  consigned  to 
a  state  of  wretchedness  from  which  no 
human  efforts  will  deliver  them.  The 
fate  of  unborn  millions  will  now  depend, 
under  God,  on  the  courage  and  conduct 
of  this  army.  Our  cruel  and  unrelent 
ing  enemy  leaves  us  only  the  choice  of 
a  brave  resistance,  or  the  most  abject 
submission.  We  have  therefore  to  re 
solve  to  conquer  or  to  die.  Our  own, 
our  country's  honor,  call  upon  us  for  a 
vigorous  and  manly  exertion ;  and  if 
we  now  shamefully  fail,  we  shall  be 
come  infamous  to  the  whole  world. 
Let  us  then  rely  on  the  goodness  of  our 
c  i<e,  and  the  aid  of  the  Supreme  Be 
ing,  in  whose  hands  victory  is,  to  ani 
mate  and  encourage  us  to  great  and 
noble  actions.  The  eyes  of  all  our 
countrymen  are  now  upon  us,  and  we 
shall  have  their  blessings  and  praises, 
if  happily  we  are  the  instruments  of 
saving  them  from  the  tyranny  medi 
tated  against  them.  Let  us  therefore 


animate  and  encourage  each  other,  and 
show  the  whole  world  that  a  freeman 
contending  for  liberty,  on  his  own 
ground,  is  superior  to  any  slavish  mer 
cenary  on  earth."* 

To  the  officers,  he  recommended  cool 
ness  in  time  of  action ;  and  to  the  sol 
diers,  strict  attention  and  obedience, 
with  a  becoming  firmness  and  spirit. 

He  assured  them,  that  any  officer, 
soldier,  or  corps,  distinguished  by  any 
acts  of  extraordinary  bravery,  should 
most  certainly  meet  with  notice  and  re 
wards  ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  those 
who  should  fail  in  the  performance  of 
their  duty,  would  as  certainly  be  ex 
posed  and  punished. 

Whilst  preparations  were  making  foi 
the  expected  engagement,  intelligence 
was  received  of  the  repulse  of  the  Brit 
ish  squadron  which  had  attacked  Fort 
Moultrie.  Washington  availed  himself 
of  the  occasion  of  communicating  this 
success  to  his  army,  to  add  a  spirit  of 
emulation  to  the  other  motives  which 
should  impel  them  to  manly  exertions. 
"  This  glorious  example  of  our  troops," 
he  said,  "  under  the  like  circumstances 
with  ourselves,  the  general  hopes,  will 
animate  every  officer  and  soldier  to  imi 
tate,  and  even  to  out-do  them,  when  the 
enemy  shall  make  the  same  attempt  on 
us.  With  such  a  bright  example  before 
us  of  what  can  be  done  by  brave  men 


°  This  geueral  order  of  Washington  has  been  greatly 
admired  ;  and  frequently  published,  as  a  remarkably  fine 
specimen  of  military  eloquence.  It  is  indeed  fraught 
with  the  eloquence  which  is  brought  forth  from  a  strong 
mind  by  a  great  emergency. 


452 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


fighting  in  defence  of  their  country,  we 
shall  be  loaded  with  a  double  share  of 
shame  and  infamy,  if  we  do  not  acquit 
oui'selves  with  courage,  and  manifest 
a  determined  resolution  to  conquer  or 
die." 

As  the  crisis  approached,  his  anxiety 
increased.  Endeavoring  to  breathe  into 
his  army  his  own  spirit,  and  to  give 
them  his  own  feeling,  he  thus  addressed 
them  :  "  The  enemy's  whole  reinforce 
ment  is  now  arrived  ;  so  that  an  attack 
must,  and  will  soon  be  made.  The  gen 
eral,  therefore,  again  repeats  his  earnest 
request  that  every  officer  and  soldier 
will  have  his  arms  and  ammunition  in 
good  order ;  keep  within  his  quarters 
and  encampments  as  far  as  possible  ;  be 
ready  for  action  at  a  moment's  call ; 
and,  when  called  to  it,  remember,  that 
liberty,  property,  life,  and  honor,  are 
all  at  stake ;  that  upon  their  courage 
and  conduct,  rest  the  hopes  of  their 
bleeding  and  insulted  country ;  that 
their  wives,  children,  and  parents,  ex 
pect  safety  from  them  only;  and  that 
we  have  every  reason  to  believe,  that 
Heaven  will  crown  with  success  so  just 
a  cause. 

"  The  enemy  will  endeavor  to  intimi 
date  by  show  and  appearance  ;  but  re 
member,  they  have  been  repulsed  on 
various  occasions  by  a  few  brave  Amer 
icans  ;  their  cause  is  bad ;  and  if  op 
posed  with  firmness  and  coolness  on 
their  first  onset,  with  our  advantage  of 
works,  and  knowledge  of  the  ground, 
the  victory  is  most  assuredly  ours. 
Every  good  soldier  will  bs  silent  and 


attentive,  wait  for  orders,  and  reserve 
his  fire  until  he  is  sure  of  doing  execu 
tion  ;  of  this  the  officers  are  to  be  par 
ticularly  careful." 

He  directed  explicitly  that  any  sol 
dier  who  should  attempt  to  conceal 
himself,  or  retreat  without  orders,  should 
instantly  be  shot  down ;  and  solemnly 
promised  to  notice  and  reward  those 
who  should  distinguish  themselves. 
Thus  did  he,  by  infusing  those  senti 
ments  which  would  stimulate  to  the 
greatest  individual  exertion,  into  every 
bosom,  endeavor  to  compensate  for  the 
want  of  arms,  of  discipline,  and  of  num 
bers. 

As  the  defence  of  Long  Island  was 
intimately  connected  with  that  of  New 
York,  a  brigade  had  been  stationed  at 
Brooklyn,  a  post  capable  of  being  main 
tained  for  a  considerable  time.  An  ex 
tensive  camp  had  been  mai'ked  out  and 
fortified  at  the  same  place.  Brooklyn 
is  situated  on  a  small  peninsula  made 
by  East  River,  the  Bay,  and  Gowanus 
Bay.  The  encampment  fronted  the 
main  land  of  the  island,  and  the  works 
stretched  quite  across  the  peninsula, 
from  Wallabout  Bay  in  the  East  River 
on  the  left,  to  a  deep  marsh  on  a  creek 
emptying  into  Gowanus  Bay,  on  the 
right.  The  rear  was  covered  and  de 
fended  against  an  attack  from  the  ships, 
by  strong  batteries  on  Red  Hook  and 
on  Governor's  Island,  which  in  a  great 
measure  commanded  that  part  of  the 
bay,  and  by  other  batteries  on  East 
River,  which  kept  open  the  communi 
cation  with  York  Island.  In  front  of 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


453 


1776. 


the  camp  was  a  range  of  liills  covered 
with  thick  woods,  which  extended  from 
east  to  west  nearly  the  breadth  of  the 
island,  and  across  which  were  three  dif 
ferent  roads  leading  to  Brooklyn  Ferry. 
These  hills,  though  steep,  were  every 
where  passable  by  infantry. 

The  movements  of  General  Howe  in 
dicating  an  intention  to  make  his  first 
attack  on  Long  Island,  General  Sullivan 
was  strongly  reinforced.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  the  22d  of  August, 
the  principal  part  of  the  British 
army,  under  the  command  of  General 
Clinton,  landed  under  cover  of  the  guns 
of  the  fleet,  and  extended  from  the  ferry 
at  the  Narrows,  through  Utrecht  and 
Gravesend,  to  Flatlands. 

Confident  that  an  engagement  must 
soon  take  place,  Washington  made  still 
another  effort  to  inspire  his  troops  with 
the  most  determined  courage.  "  The 
enemy,"  said  he,  in  addressing  them, 
"  have  now  landed  on  Long  Island,  and 
the  hour  is  fast  approaching  on  which 
the  honor  and  success  of  this  army,  and 
the  safety  of  our  bleeding  country  de 
pend.  Remember,  officers  and  soldiers, 
that  you  are  freemen,  fighting  for  the 
blessings  of  liberty — that  slavery  will 
be  your  portion  and  that  of  your  pos 
terity,  if  you  do  not  acquit  yourselves 
like  men."  He  repeated  his  instructions 
respecting  their  conduct  in  action,  and 
concluded  with  the  most  animating  and 
encouraging  exhortations. 

Major-general  Putnam  was  now  di 
rected  to  take  command  at  Brooklyn, 
with  a  reinforcement  of  six  regiments ; 


and  he  was  charged  most  earnestly  by 
the  conimander-m-chief  to  be  in  con 
stant  readiness  for  an  attack,  and  to 
guard  the  woods  between  the  two  camps 
with  his  best  troops.  This  order  was 
obeyed  with  great  alacrity,  as  the  active 
and  indefatigable  veteran  was  heartily 
tired  of  his  monotonous  life  in  the  city. 

Washington  had  passed  the  day  at 
Brooklyn,  making  arrangements  for  the 
approaching  action ;  and,  at  night,  had 
returned  to  New  York. 

The  Hessians,  under  General  De 
Heister,  composed  the  centre  of  the 
British  army  at  Flatbush ;  Major-gen 
eral  Grant  commanded  the  left  wing 
which  extended  to  the  coast,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  British  forces  under 
General  Clinton,  Earl  Percy,  and  Lord 
Cornwallis,  turned  short  to  the  right, 
and  approached  the  opposite  coast  of 
Flatlands. 

The  two  armies  were  now  separated 
from  each  other  by  the  range  of  hills 
already  mentioned.  The  British  centre 
at  Flatbush  was  scarcely  four  miles  dis 
tant  from  the  American  lines  at  Brook 
lyn;  and  a  direct  road  led  across  the 
heights  from  the  one  to  the  other.  An 
other  road,  rather  more  circuitous  than 
the  first,  led  from  Flatbush  by  the  way 
of  Bedford,  a  small  village  on  the  Brook 
lyn  side  of  the  hills.  The  right  and 
left  wings  of  the  British  army  were 
nearly  equidistant  from  the  American 
works,  and  about  five  or  six  miles  from 
them.  The  road  leading  from  the  Nar 
rows  along  the  coast,  and  by  the  way  of 
Gowanus  Cove,  afforded  the  most,  direct 


454 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


route  to  their  left ;  and  their  right 
might  either  return  by  the  way  of  Flat- 
bush  and  unite  with  the  centre,  or  take 
a  more  circuitous  course,  and  enter  a 
road  leading  from  Jamaica  to  Bedford. 

O 

These  several  roads  unite  between  Bed 
ford  and  Brooklyn,  a  small  distance  in 
front  of  the  American  lines. 

The  direct  road  from  Flatbush  to 
Brooklyn  was  defended  by  a  fort  which 
the  Americans  had  constructed  in  the 
hills ;  and  the  coast  and  Bedford  roads 
were  guarded  by  detachments  posted  on 
the  hills  within  view  of  the  British 
camp.  Light  parties  of  volunteers  were 
directed  to  patrol  on  the  road  leading 
from  Jamaica  to  Bedford ;  about  two 
miles  from  which,  near  Flatbush,  Colonel 
Miles  of  Pennsylvania  was  stationed 
with  a  regiment  of  riflemen.  The  con 
vention  of  New  York  had  directed  a 
small  body  of  militia  to  be  assembled 
on  the  high  grounds,  near  the  enemy, 
under  the  command  of  General  Wood- 
hull,  for  the  purpose  of  interrupting 
their  communication  with  their  numer 
ous  friends  in  that  neighborhood ;  but 
he  was  not  placed  under  the  orders  of 
the  regular  officer  commanding  on  the 
island. 

About  nine  at  night,  General  Clinton 
silently  drew  off  the  van  of  the  British 
army  across  the  country,  in  order  to 
seize  a  pass  in  the  heights  about  three 
miles  east  of  Bedford,  on  the  Jamaica 
road.*  In  the  morning,  about  two 


0  The  arrangements  for  guarding  against  surprise  at 
this  point  were  very  incomplete,  and  the  neglect  to  occu 
py  it  with  a  strong  force  led  to  the  most  disastrous  con- 


hours  before  daybreak,  within  half  a 
mile  of  the  pass,  his  patrols  fell  in  with 
and  captured  one  of  the  American  par 
ties,  which  had  been  stationed  on  this 
road.  Learning,  to  his  great  surprise, 
from  his  prisoners  that  the  pass  was  un 
occupied,  General  Clinton  immediately 
seized  it;  and,  on  the  appearance  of 
day,  the  whole  column  passed  the 
heights,  and  advanced  into  the  level 
country  between  them  and  Brooklyn. 

Before  Clinton  had  secured  the  passes 
on  the  road  from  Jamaica,  General 
Grant  advanced  along  the  coast  at  the 
head  of  the  left  wing,  with  ten  pieces  of 
cannon.  As  his  first  object  was  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  Americans  from 
their  left,  he  moved  slowly,  skirmishing 
as  he  advanced  with  the  light  parties 
stationed  on  that  road. 

This  movement  was  soon  communi 
cated  to  General  Putnam,  who  reinforced 
the  parties  which  had  been  advanced  in 
front ;  and,  as  General  Grant  continued 
to  gain  ground,  still  stronger  detach 
ments  were  employed  in  this  service. 
About  three  in  the  morning,  Brigadier- 
general  Lord  Stirling  was  directed  to 
meet  the  enemy,  with  the  two  nearest 
regiments,  on  the  road  leading  from  the 


sequences.  "Most  unfortunately,  General  Greene  was 
seized  with  a  violent  fever  about  the  middle  of  August, 
and  the  command  devolved  on  General  Putnam,  whose 
want  of  thorough  knowledge  of  the  ground  led  to  the 
Jamaica  road  heing  left  without  sufficient  protection,  and 
most  unhappily  afforded  the  British  commander  an  op 
portunity  of  assaulting  the  Americans  in  front  and  rear 
at  the  same  time.  In  the  confusion  and  want  of  disci 
pline  which  prevailed,  the  orders  to  watch  and  guard  the 
passes  were  imperfectly  obeyed  ;  and,  as  Washington  ap 
prehended,  the  chances  of  success  were  greatly  in  favor 
of  the  enemy." — Spencer,  History  of  tht  United  Stales. 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


455 


Narrows.  Major-general  Sullivan,  who 
commanded  all  the  troops  without  the 
lines,  advanced  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
detachment  on  the  road  leading  directly 
to  Flatbush  ;  while  another  detachment 
occupied  the  heights  between  that  place 
and  Bedford. 

About  the  break  of  day,  Lord  Stir 
ling  reached  the  summit  of  the  hills, 
where  he  was  joined  by  the  troops 
which  had  been  already  engaged,  and 
were  retiring  slowly  before  the  enemy, 
who  almost  immediately  appeared  in 
sight.  A  warm  cannonade  was  com 
menced  on  both  sides,  which  continued 
for  several  hours ;  and  some  sharp,  but 
not  very  close  skirmishing  took  place 
between  the  infantry.  Lord  Stirling, 
being  anxious  only  to  defend  the  pass 
he  guarded,  could  not  descend  in  force 
from  the  heights ;  and  General  Grant 
did  not  wish  to  drive  him  from  them 
until  that  part  of  the  plan,  which  had 
been  intrusted  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton, 
should  be  executed. 

In  the  centre,  General  De  Heister, 
soon  after  daylight,  began  to  cannonade 
the  troops  under  General  Sullivan ;  but 
did  not  move  from  his  ground  at  Flat- 
bush  until  the  British  right  had  ap 
proached  the  left  and  rear  of  the  Amer 
ican  line.  In  the  mean  time,  in  order 
the  more  effectually  to  draw  their  at 
tention  from  the  point  where  the  grand 
attack  was  intended,  the  fleet  was  put 
in  motion,  and  a  heavy  cannonade  was 
commenced  on  the  battery  at  Red 
Hook. 

About    half-past   eight,    the    British 


right  having  then  reached  Bedford,  in 
the  rear  of  Sullivan's  left,  General  De 
Heister  ordered  Colonel  Donop's  corps 
to  advance  to  the  attack  of  the  hill ; 
following,  himself,  with  the  centre  of 
the  army.  The  approach  of  Clinton 
was  now  discovered  by  the  American 
left,  which  immediately  endeavored  to 
regain  the  camp  at  Brooklyn.  While 
retiring  from  the  woods  by  regiments, 
they  encountered  the  front  of  the 
British. 

About  the  same  time,  the  Hessians 
advanced  from  Flatbush  against  that 
part  of  the  detachment  which  occupied 
the  direct  road  to  Brooklyn.  Here, 
General  Sullivan  commanded  in  person ; 
but  he  found  it  difficult  to  keep  his 
troops  together  long  enough  to  sustain 
the  first  attack.  The  firing  heard  tow 
ards  Bedford  had  disclosed  the  alarm 
ing  fact,  that  the  British  had  turned 
their  left  flank,  and  were  getting  com 
pletely  into  their  rear.  Perceiving  at 
once  the  full  danger  of  their  situation, 
they  sought  to  escape  it  by  regaining 
the  camp  with  the  utmost  possible 
celerity.  The  sudden  rout  of  this  party 
enabled  De  Heister  to  detach  a  part  of 
his  force  against  those  who  were  en 
gaged  near  Bedford.  In  that  quarter, 
too,  the  Americans  were  broken,  and 
driven  back  into  the  woods ;  and  the 
front  of  the  column  led  by  General 
Clinton,  continuing  to  move  forward, 
intercepted  and  engaged  those  who 
were  retreating  along  the  direct  road 
from  Flatbush.  Thus  attacked  both  in 
front  and  rear,  and  alternately  driven 


456 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV. 


by  the  British  on  the  Hessians,  and  by 
the  Hessians  back  again  on  the  British, 
a  succession  of  skirmishes  took  place  in 
the  woods,  in  the  course  of  which  some 
parts  of  corps  forced  their  way  through 
the  enemy,  and  regained  the  lines  of 
Brooklyn,  and  several  individuals  saved 
themselves  under  cover  of  the  woods ; 
but  a  great  proportion  of  the  detach 
ment  was  killed  or  taken.  The  fugi 
tives  were  pursued  up  to  the  American 
works ;  and  such  is  represented  to  have 
been  the  ardor  of  the  British  soldiers, 
tli at  it  required  the  authority  of  their 
cautious  commander  to  prevent  an  im 
mediate  assault. 

The  fire  towards  Brooklyn  gave  the 
first  intimation  to  the  American  right, 
that  the  enemy  had  gained  their  rear. 
Lord  Stirling  perceived  the  danger,  and 
that  he  could  only  escape  it  by  retreat 
ing  instantly  across  the  creek.  This 
movement  was  immediately  directed ; 
and,  to  secure  it,  his  lordship  deter 
mined  to  attack,  in  person,  a  British 
corps  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  stationed 
at  a  house  rather  above  the  place  at 
which  he  intended  to  cross  the  creek. 
About  four  hundred  men  of  Sniallwood's 
regiment  were  drawn  out  for  this  pur 
pose,  and  the  attack  was  made  with 
great  spirit.  This  small  corps  was 
brought  up  several  times  to  the  charge  ; 
and  Lord  Stirling  stated  that  he  was  on 
the  point  of  dislodging  Lord  Cornwallis 
from  his  post ;  but  the  force  in  his  front 
increasing,  and  General  Grant  also  ad 
vancing  on  his  rear,  the  brave  men  he 
commanded  were  no  longer  able  to  op 


pose  the  superior  numbers  which  as 
sailed  them  on  every  quarter.  Upwards 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  Small  wood's 
regiment  were  killed,  and  those  who 
survived  were,  with  their  general,  made 
prisoners  of  war.  This  attempt,  though 
unsuccessful,  gave  an  opportunity  to  a 
large  part  of  the  detachment  to  save 
themselves  by  crossing  the  creek. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  American 
army  in  this  battle  could  not  be  accu 
rately  ascertained  by  either  party. 
Numbers  were  supposed  to  have  been 
drowned  in  the  creek,  or  suffocated  in 
the  marsh,  whose  bodies  were  never 
found ;  and  exact  accounts  from  the 
militia  are  seldom  to  be  obtained,  as 
the  list  of  the  missing  is  always  swelled 
by  those  who  return  to  their  homes. 
Washington  did  not  admit  it  to  exceed 
a  thousand  men  ;  but  in  this  estimate 
he  must  have  included  only  the  regular 
troops.  In  a  letter  written  by  Howe, 
the  amount  of  prisoners  is  stated  at 
one  thousand  and  ninety-seven  ;  among 
whom  were  Major-general  Sullivan,  and 
brigadiers  Lord  Stirling  and  Wood  hull, 
by  him  named  Udell.  He  computes 
the  loss  of  the  Americans  at  three  thou 
sand  three  hundred  men  ;  but  his  com 
putation  is  excessive.  The  actual  loss 
of  the  Americans  was  about  two  thou 
sand,  including  the  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners.  He  supposes,  too,  that 
the  troops  engaged  on  the  heights, 
amounted  to  ten  thousand  ;  but  they 
could  not  have  much  exceeded  half  that 
number.  His  own  loss  is  stated  at 
twenty-one  officers,  and  three  hundred 


CHAP.  VI.J 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


457 


and  forty-six  privates, — killed,  wound 
ed,  and  taken. 

As  the  action  became  warm.  Wash 
ington  passed  over  to  the  camp  at 
Brooklyn,  where  he  saw,  with  inexpress 
ible  anguish,  the  destruction  in  which 

O  ' 

his  best  troops  were  involved,  and  from 
which  it  was  impossible  to  extricate 
them.  Should  he  attempt  any  thing 
in  their  favor  with  the  men  remaining 
within  the  lines,  it  was  probable  the 
camp  itself  would  be  lost,  and  that 
whole  division  of  his  army  destroyed. 
Should  he  bring  over  the  remaining 
battalions  from  New  York,  he  would 
still  be  inferior  in  point  of  numbers ; 
and  his  whole  army,  perhaps  the  fate 
of  his  country,  might  be  staked  on  the 
issue  of  a  single  battle  thus  inauspi- 
ciously  commenced.  Compelled  to  be 
hold  the  carnage  of  his  troops,  without 
beino:  able  to  assist  them,  his  efforts 

O  ' 

were  directed  to  the  preservation  of 
those  which  remained. 

Believing  the  Americans  to  be  much 
stronger  than  they  were  in  reality,  and 
unwilling  to  commit  any  thing  to  haz 
ard,  General  Howe  made  no  immediate 
attempt  to  force  their  lines.  He  en 
camped  in  front  of  them ;  and,  on  the 
28th,  at  night,  broke  ground  in  form, 
within  six  hundred  yards  of  a  redoubt 
on  the  left. 

In  this  critical  state  of  things,  a  re 
treat  seemed  unavoidable ;  every  mo 
ment  was  precious,  since  a  sudden  shift 
of  wind,  by  bringing  the  British  fleet 
between  Brooklyn  and  New  York, 
would  cut  off  the  possibility  of  escape. 

VOL.  I.— 58 


It  was  known  besides,  that  Clinton  was 
threatening  to  send  part  of  his  army 
across  the  Sound,  thus  menacing  New 
York.  Washington  called  a  council  of 
war,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  retreat 
with  the  troops  at  once.  The  hour  of 
eight  in  the  evening  of  the  29th  of  Au 
gust  was  fixed  upon  for  the  embarka 
tion.  Every  thing  had  been  prepared, 
and  the  troops  were  ready  to  march 
down,  but  the  force  of  the  wind  and 
ebb  tide  delayed  them  for  some  hours, 
and  seemed  as  if  it  would  entirely  frus 
trate  the  enterprise.  The  enemy,  toil 
ing  hard  at  the  approaches,  were  now 
so  near,  that  the  blows  of  their  pickaxes 
and  instruments  could  be  distinctly 
heard,  while  the  noise  of  these  opera 
tions  deadened  all  sound  of  the  Ameri 
can  movements,  which  were  carried  on 
in  the  deepest  silence.  About  two  in 
the  morning,  a  thick  fog  settling  over 
Long  Island  prevented  all  sight  of  what 
was  going  on,  and  the  wind  shifting 
round  to  the  southwest,  the  soldiers 
entered  the  boats,  and  were  rapidly 
transferred  to  the  opposite  shore.  So 
complete  were  the  arrangements,  that 
almost  all  the  artillery,  with  the  pro 
visions,  horses,  wagons,  and  ammuni 
tion,  safely  crossed  over  to  New  York. 
Washington,  who  for  forty-eight  hours 
had  hardly  been  off  his  horse,  and  never 
closed  his  eyes,  though  repeatedly  en 
treated,  refused  to  enter  a  boat  until  all 
the  troops  were  embarked,  and  crossed 
the  river  in  the  last  boat  of  all.* 

0  The  service  of  managing  the  boats  was  performed  by 
Marblehead  fishermen.     Otherwise  the  result  might  have 


458 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Washington,  leaving  a  considerable 
force  in  the  city  of  New  York,  en 
camped  with  the  main  body  on  Har 
lem  Heights,  at  the  northern  end  of  the 

O  / 

island ;  he  was  also  prepared  to  retreat 
into  Westchester  county,  if  need  be. 
The  British  had  entire  possession  of 
Long  Island  ;  the  ships  of  war  anchored 
within  cannon-shot  of  the  city ;  and 
Howe  was  gradually  making  his  ar 
rangements  to  pursue  the  dispirited 
and  defeated  American  troops. 

It  was  under  no  ordinary  suffering 
of  mind  that  Washington  addressed 
the  President  of  Congress  on  the  2d 
of  September :  "  Our  situation  is  truly 
distressing.  The  check  our  detachment 
sustained  on  the  27th  ultimo,  has  dis 
pirited  too  great  a  proportion  of  our 
troops,  and  filled  their  minds  with  ap 
prehension  and  despair.  The  militia, 
instead  of  calling  forth  their  utmost 
efforts  to  a  brave  and  manly  opposi 
tion,  in  order  to  repair  our  losses,  are 
dismayed,  intractable,  and  impatient  to 
return.  Great  numbers  of  them  have 
gone  off;  in  some  instances,  almost  by 
whole  regiments,  by  half  ones,  and  by 
companies  at  a  time.  This  circumstance 
of  itself,  independent  of  others,  when 
fronted  by  a  well-appointed  enemy,  su- 


been  widely  different.  "Colonel  Glover,  who  belonged 
to  Marblehead,  was  called  upon  with  the  whole  of  his 
regiment  fit  for  duty,  to  take  the  command  of  the  vessels 
and  flat-bottomed  boats.  Most  of  the  men  were  formerly 
employed  in  the  fishery,  and  so  peculiarly  well  qualified 
for  the  service.  The  colonel  went  over  himself  from 
New  York  to  give  directions;  and,  about  seven  o'clock 
at  night,  officers  and  men  went  to  work  with  a  spirit  and 
resolution  peculiar  to  that  corps." — Gordon's  History  of 
(he  American  Re-olulion. 


perior  in  number  to  our  whole  collected 
force,  would  be  sufficiently  disagreea 
ble  ;  but,  when  their  example  has  in 
fected  another  part  of  the  army,  when 
their  want  of  discipline,  and  refusal  of 
almost  every  kind  of  restraint  and  gov 
ernment,  have  produced  a  like  conduct 
but  too  common  to  the  whole,  and  an 
entire  disregard  of  that  order  and  sub 
ordination  necessary  to  the  well-doing 
of  an  army,  and  which  had  been  incul 
cated  before,  as  well  as  the  nature  of 
our  military  establishment  would  ad 
mit  of, —  our  condition  becomes  still 
more  alarming ;  and,  with  the  deepest 
concern,  I  am  obliged  to  confess  my 
want  of  confidence  in  the  generality  of 
the  troops." 

This  unfortunate  state  of  things  in 
duced  Washington  again  to  repeat  the 
opinion,  which  he  had  so  often  ex 
pressed  to  Congress,  that  little  reliance 
could  be  placed  on  soldiers  enlisted  for 
short  periods.  The  only  means  of  pre 
serving  the  liberties  of  the  country,  he 
considered  to  be  the  enlistment  of 
troops  to  serve  during  the  whole  war. 

The  British  commanders  did  not 
seem  to  be  in  haste  to  press  the  advan 
tage  they  had  gained  by  the  battle  of 
Long  Island.  On  the  contrary,  they 
considered  the  present  a  favorable  time 
for  a  fresh  attempt  at  pacification.  To 
accomplish  this  object,  General  Sulli 
van,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  on 
Long  Island,  was  immediately  sent  on 
parole,  with  the  following  verbal  mes 
sage  from  Lord  Howe  to  Congress, 
"that  though  lie  could  not  at  present 


CHAP.  VI.] 


WASHINGTON"  IN  NEW  YORK. 


459 


treat  with  them  in  that  character,  yet 
he  was  very  desirous  of  having  a  con 
ference  with  some  of  the  members, 
whom  he  would  consider  as  private 
gentlemen  ;  that  he.  with  his  brother, 
the  general,  had  full  powers  to  compro 
mise  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain 
and  America,  upon  terms  advantageous 
to  both ;  that  he  wished  a  compact 
might  be  settled,  at  a  time  when  no 
decisive  blow  was  struck,  and  neither 
party  could  say  it  was  compelled  to 
enter  into  such  agreement ;  that  were 

O  / 

hey  disposed  to  treat,  many  things 
which  they  had  not  yet  asked,  might 
and  ought  to  be  granted,  and  that  if 
upon  conference  they  found  any  prob 
able  2f round  of  accommodation,  the  au- 

o  ' 

thority  of  Congress  would  be  after 
wards  acknowledged  to  render  the 
treaty  complete." 

Three  days  after  this  message  was  re 
ceived,  General  Sullivan  was  requested 
to  inform  Lord  Howe,  "  that  Congress 
being  the  representatives  of  the  free  and 
independent  States  of  America,  they 
cannot  with  propriety  send  any  of  their 
members  to  confer  with  his  lordship  in 
their  private  characters ;  but  that  ever 
desirous  of  establishing  peace  on  reason 
able  terms,  they  will  send  a  committee 
of  their  body,  to  know  whether  he  has 
any  authority  to  treat  with  persons 
authorized  by  Congress  for  that  pur 
pose,  on  behalf  of  America,  and  what 
that  authority  is ;  and  to  hear  such  pro 
positions  as  he  shall  think  fit  to  make 
respecting  the  same." 

They    elected     Dr.     Franklin,    John 


Adams,  and  Edward  Rutleclge,  their 
committee  for  this  purpose.  In  a  few 
days  they  met  Lord  Howe  on  Staten 
Island,  and  were  received  with  great 
politeness.  On  their  return  they  made 
a  report  of  their  conference,  which  they 
summed  up  by  saying,  "  It  did  not  ap 
pear  to  your  committee  that  his  lord 
ship's  commission  contained  any  other 
authority  than  that  expressed  in  the  act 
of  parliament — namely,  that  of  granting 
pardons,  with  such  exceptions  as  the 
commissioners  shall  think  proper  to 
make,  and  of  declaring  America,  or  any 
part  of  it,  to  be  in  the  king's  peace,  on 
submission :  for  as  to  the  power  of  in 
quiring  into  the  state  of  America,  which 
his  lordship  mentioned  to  us,  and  of 
conferring  and  consulting  with  any  per 
sons  the  commissioners  might  think 
proper,  and  representing  the  result  of 
such  conversation  to  the  ministry,  who, 
provided  the  colonies  would  subject 
themselves,  might  after  all,  or  might 
not,  at  their  pleasure,  make  any  altera 
tions  in  the  former  instructions  to  gov 
ernors,  or  propose  in  parliament  any 
amendment  of  the  acts  complained  of, 
we  apprehended  any  expectation  from 
the  effect  of  such  a  power  would  have 
been  too  uncertain  and  precarious  to 
be  relied  on  by  America,  had  she 
still  continued  in  her  state  of  depen 
dence." 

Lord  Howe  had  ended  the  conference 
on  his  part,  by  expressing  his  regard  for 
America,  and  the  extreme  pain  he  would 
suffer  in  being  obliged  to  distress  those 
whom  he  so  much  regarded.  Dr.  Frank- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


liu*  thanked  him  for  his  regards,  and 
assured  him  "  that  the  Americans  would 
show  their  gratitude,  by  endeavoring  to 
lessen  as  much  as  possible  all  pain  he 
might  feel  on  their  account,  by  exerting 
their  utmost  abilities  in  taking  good 
care  of  themselves." 

The  committee,  in  every  respect,  main 
tained  the  dignity  of  Congress.  Their 
conduct  and  sentiments  were  such  as 
became  their  character.  The  friends  to 
independence  rejoiced  that  nothing  re 
sulted  from  this  interview  that  might 
disunite  the  people.  Congress,  trusting 
to  the  good  sense  of  their  countrymen, 
ordered  the  whole  to  be  printed  for 
their  information.  All  the  States  would 
have  then  rejoiced  at  less  beneficial 
terms  than  they  obtained  about  seven 
years  after.  But  Great  Britain  counted 
on  the  certainty  of  their  absolute  con 
quest,  or  unconditional  submission.  Pier 
offers,  therefore,  comported  so  little 
with  the  feelings  of  America,  that  they 
neither  caused  demur  nor  disunion 
among  the  new-formed  States. 

While  Lord  Howe's  conciliatory  pro 
positions  to  Congress  were  under  dis 
cussion,  hostilities  advanced  slowly ;  but 
tory  emissaries  were  constantly  sent  into 
the  country  to  detach  as  many  of  the 
people  as  possible  from  the  cause  of 
freedom,  by  representing  the  great  dan 
ger  incurred  by  attempting  to  resist  the 
powerful  fleet  and  army  which  were  to 
carry  all  before  them  ;  and  by  offers  of 
pardon  and  reward  to  all  deserters.  As 

c  :See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


in  all  political  disputes,  many  were  hesi 
tating  which  party  to  join.  The  system 
adopted  by  the  enemy  was  retaliated. 

While  the  British,  by  their  manifes 
toes  and  declarations,  were  endeavoring 
to  separate  those  who  preferred  a  recon 
ciliation  with  Great  Britain  from  those 
who  were  the  friends  of  independence, 
Congress,  by  a  similar  policy,  was  at 
tempting  to  detach  the  foreigners,  who 
had  come  with  the  royal  troops,  from 
the  service  of  his  Brittannic  majesty. 
Before  hostilities  had  commenced,  the 
following  resolution  was  adopted  and 
circulated  among  those  on  whom  it  was 
intended  to  operate:  "Resolved,  that 
these  States  will  receive  all  such  for 
eigners  who  shall  leave  the  armies  of 
his  Brittannic  majesty  in  America,  and 
shall  choose  to  become  members  of  any 
of  these  States,  and  they  shall  be  pro 
tected  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  re 
spective  religions,  and  be  invested  with 
the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  of 
natives,  as  established  by  the  laws  of 
these  States,  and  moreover,  that  this 
Congress  will  provide  for  every  such 
person,  fifty  acres  of  unappropriated 
lands  in  some  of  these  States,  to  be  held 
by  him  and  his  heirs,  as  absolute  pro 
perty." 

Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Congress 
of  the  26th  of  August,  refers  to  these 
offers.  "The  papers,"  he  says,  "de 
signed  for  the  foreign  troops  have  been 
put  into  several  channels,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  conveyed  to  them;  and 
from  the  information  I  had  yesterday, 
I  have  reason  to  believe  many  have 


CHAP.  VI.J 


WASHINGTON  IN  NEW  YORK. 


461 


fallen  into  their  bunds."  Franklin  was 
one  of  the  committee  for  carrying  the 
resolutions  into  effect;  and  one  of  the 
expedients  adopted  was  worthy  his  in 
genuity.  In  a  letter  to  General  Gates,* 
he  says:  "The  Congress  being  advised 
that  there  was  a  probability  that  the 
Hessians  might  be  induced  to  quit  the 
British  service  by  offers  of  land,  they 
came  to  two  resolves  for  this  purpose, 
which,  being  translated  into  German, 
and  printed,  are  to  be  sent  to  Staten 
Island  to  be  distributed,  if  practicable, 
among  that  people.  Some  of  them  have 
tobacco  marks  on  the  back,  that  so  to 
bacco  being  put  up  in  them  in  small 
quantities,  as  the  tobacconists  use,  and 
suffered  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  these 
people,  they  might  divide  the  papers  as 

°  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  iv.  p.  6" 


plunder,  before  their  officers  could  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  contents,  and 
prevent  their  being  read  by  the  men. 
That  was  the  first  resolve.  A  second 
has  since  been  made  for  the  officers 
themselves.  I  am  desired  to  send  some 
of  both  sorts  to  you,  that,  if  you  find  it 
practicable,  you  may  convey  them 
among  the  Germans,  who  may  come 
against  you." 

Our  narrative  has  now  brought  us 
near  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1776; 
a  period  when  the  position  of  Washing 
ton  was  nearly  the  reverse  of  what  it 
had  been  at  the  same  season  of  the  pre 
ceding  year.  Then  he  was  besieging 
the  British  in  Boston.  Now  they  were 
endeavoring  to  entrap  him  in  New 
York.  We  shall  presently  see  that  his 
strategy  was  far  superior  to  theirs. 


DOCUMENTS    ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER   H. 


[A.] 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  BY  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE  IN  1776. 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  JUNE  11,  1T76. 

"  Voted,  That  Samuel  Curtis,  Timothy  Walker, 
and  John  Dudley,  Esquires,  be  a  committee  of 
this  House  to  join  a  committee  of  the  Honorable 
Board,  to  make  a  draft  of  a  Declaration  of  this 
General  Assembly  for  INDEPENDENCE  of  the 
united  colonies  on  Great  Britain. 

"JUNE  15,  1776. 

"  The  committee  of  both  houses,  appointed 
to  prepare  a  draft  setting  forth  the  sentiments 
and  opinion  of  the  Council  and  Assembly  of 
this  colony  relative  to  the  united  colonies  set 
ting  up  an  independent  State,  make  report  as 
on  file — which  report  being  read  and  consid 
ered, 

"  Voted  unanimously,  That  the  report  of  said 
committee  be  received  and  accepted,  and  that 
the  draft  by  them  brought  in  be  sent  to  our 
delegates  at  the  Continental  Congress  forthwith 
as  the  sense  of  the  House. 

"  The  draft  made  by  the  committee  of  both 
houses,  relating  to  independency,  and  voted  as 
the  sense  of  this  House,  is  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  Whereas  it  now  appears  an  undoubted  fact, 
that  notwithstanding  all  the  dutiful  petitions 
and  decent  remonstrances  from  the  American 
colonies,  and  the  utmost  exertions  of  their  best 
friends  in  England  on  their  behalf,  the  British 
ministry,  arbitrary  and  vindictive,  are  yet  de 
termined  to  reduce  by  fire  and  sword  our  bleed 
ing  country  to  their  absolute  obedience ;  and, 
for  this  purpose,  in  addition  to  their  own  forces, 
nave  engaged  great  numbers  of  foreign  merce 


naries,  who  may  now  be  on  their  passage  here, 
accompanied  by  a  formidable  fleet  to  ravish  and 
plunder  the  sea-coast ;  from  all  which  we  may 
reasonably  expect  the  most  dismal  scenes  of  dis 
tress  the  ensuing  year,  unless  we  exert  ourselves 
by  every  means  and  precaution  possible  ;  and 
whereas  we  of  this  colony  of  New  Hampshire, 
have  the  example  of  several  of  the  most  respect 
able  of  our  sister  colonies  before  us  for  entering 
upon  that  most  important  step  of  disunion  from 
Great  Britain,  and  declaring  ourselves  free  and 
independent  of  the  crown  thereof,  being  impelled 
thereto  by  the  most  violent  and  injurious  treat 
ment  ;  and  it  appearing  absolutely  necessary  in 
this  most  critical  juncture  of  our  public  affairs, 
that  the  Honorable  the  Continental  Congress, 
who  have  this  important  object  under  imme 
diate  consideration,  should  be  also  informed  of 
our  resolutions  thereon  without  loss  of  time  ; — 
we  do  hereby  declare,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of 
this  Assembly  that  our  delegates  at  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  should  be  instructed,  and  they 
are  hereby  instructed,  to  join  with  the  other 
colonies  in  declaring  the  thirteen  united  colo 
nies  a  free  and  independent  State, — solemnly 
pledging  our  faith  and  honor,  that  we  will  on 
our  parts  support  the  measure  with  our  lives 
and  fortunes, — and  that  in  consequence  thereof 
they,  the  Continental  Congress,  on  whose  wis 
dom,  fidelity,  and  integrity  we  rely,  may  enter 
into  and  form  such  alliances  as  they  may  judge 
most  conducive  to  the  present  safety  and  future 
advantage  of  these  American  colonies ;  pro 
vided,  the  regulation  of  our  internal  police  be 
under  the  direction  of  our  own  Assembly. 
"  Entered  according  to  the  original. 

'•'•Attest,         NOAH  EMKUY,  Clr.  D.  Reps" 

(Farmer  &,  Moore's  Historical  an<l  Miscellaneous  Collections.) 


/    *y 

u  TT  ^  T 
li  U  *.'  A 


Painte  d  IJJT  ALcmzo  C"happel 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


rejected  by  the  Assemblies  of  the  colonies,  be 
cause  it  gave  too  much  power  to  the  president- 
general.  After  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  he  was 
appointed  colonel  of  a  regiment,  and  he  re 
paired  to  the  frontiers,  and  built  a  fort. 

Higher  employments,  however,  at  length 
called  him  from  his  country,  which  he  was  des 
tined  to  serve  more  effectually  as  its  agent  in 
England,  whither  he  was  sent  in  1757.  The 
sta:;ip-act,  by  which  the  British  ministry  wished 
to  familiarize  the  Americans  to  pay  taxes  to  the 
mother  country,  revived  that  love  of  liberty 
which  had  led  their  forefathers  to  a  country  at 
that  time  a  desert.*  The  war  that  was  just  ter 
minated,  and  the  exertions  made  by  the  colo 
nists  to  support  it,  had  given  them  a  conviction 
of  their  strength  ;  they  opposed  the  stamp-act, 
and  the  minister  gave  way,  but  he  reserved  the 
means  of  renewing  the  attempt.  Once  cau 
tioned,  however,  they  remained  on  their  guard  ; 
liberty,  cherished  by  their  alarms,  took  deeper 
root ;  and  the  rapid  circulation  of  ideas  by 
means  of  newspapers,  for  the  introduction  of 
which  they  were  indebted  to  the  printer  of 
Philadelphia,  united  them  together  to  resist 
every  fresh  enterprise.  In  the  year  1766,  this 
printer,  called  to  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Com 
mons,  underwent  that  famous  interrogatory, 
which  placed  the  name  of  Franklin  as  high  in 
politics  as  in  natural  philosophy.  From  that 
time  he  defended  the  cause  of  America  with  a 
firmness  and  moderation  becoming  a  great  man, 
pointing  out  to  the  ministry  all  the  errors  they 
committed,  and  the  consequences  they  would 
produce,  till  the  period  when  the  tax  on  tea, 
meeting  the  same  opposition  as  the  stamp-act 
had  done,  England  blindly  fancied  herself  ca 
pable  of  subjecting,  by  force,  three  millions  of 
men  determined  to  be  free. 

In  1766,  he  visited  Holland  and  Germany, 
and  received  the  greatest  marks  of  attention 
from  men  of  science.  In  his  passage  through 
Holland,  he  learned  from  the  watermen  the 
effect  which  the  diminution  of  the  quantity  of 
water  in  canals  has  in  impeding  the  progress  of 
boats.  Upon  his  return  to  England,  he  was  led 


°  The  first  idea  of  a  colonial  congress  was  originated 
by  Franklin  in  1754,  at  the  conferences  at  Albany. 
VOL.   I.— 59 


to  make  a  number  of  experiments,  all  of  which 
tended  to  confirm  the  observation. 

In  the  following  year,  he  travelled  into 
France,  where  he  met  with  no  less  favorable 
reception  than  he  had  experienced  in  Germany. 
He  was  introduced  to  a  number  of  literary  char 
acters,  and  to  the  king,  Louis  XV. 

He  returned  to  America,  and  arrived  in  Phil 
adelphia  in  the  beginning  of  May,  1775,  and 
was  received  with  all  those  marks  of  esteem  and 
affection  which  his  eminent  services  merited. 
The  day  after  his  arrival,  lie  was  elected  by  the 
legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  a  member  of  Con 
gress. 

Almost  immediately  on  his  arrival  from  Eng 
land,  he  wrote  letters  to  some  of  his  friends  in 
that  country,  in  a  strain  fitted  to  inspire  lofty 
ideas  of  the  virtue,  resolution,  and  resources  of 
the  colonies.  "All  America,"  said  he  to  Dr. 
Priestley,  "is  exasperated,  and  more  firmly 
united  than  ever.  Great  frugality  and  great 
industry  are  become  fashionable  here.  Britain, 
I  conclude,  has  lost  her  colonies  forever.  She 
is  now  giving  us  such  miserable  specimens  of 
her  government,  that  we  shall  even  detest  and 
avoid  it,  as  a  complication  of  robbery,  murder, 
famine,  fire,  and  pestilence.  If  you  flatter  your 
selves  with  beating  us  into  submission,  you 
know  neither  the  people  nor  the  country.  You 
will  have  heard  before  this  reaches  you,  of  the 
defeat  of  a  great  body  of  your  troops  by  the 
country  people  at  Lexington,  of  the  action  at 
Bunker's  Hill,  &c.  Enough  has  happened,  one 
would  think,  to  convince  your  ministers,  that 
the  Americans  will  fight,  and  that  this  is  a 
harder  nut  to  crack  than  they  imagined. 
Britain,  at  the  expense  of  three  millions,  has 
killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  Yankees  this  cam 
paign.  During  the  same  time  sixty  thousand 
children  have  been  born  in  America.  From 
these  data  the  mathematical  head  of  our  dear 
good  friend,  Dr.  Price,  will  easily  calculate  the 
time  and  expense  necessary  to  kill  us  all,  and 
conquer  our  whole  territory.  Tell  him,  as  he 
sometimes  has  his  doubts  and  despondencies 
about  our  firmness,  that  America  is  determined 
and  unanimous." 

It  was  in  this  varied  tone  of  exultation,  re 
sentment,  and  defiance,  that  he  privately  com- 


4(>6 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


municated  with  Europe.  The  strain  of  the  pa 
pers  respecting  the  British  government  and 
nation,  which  he  prepared  for  Congress,  was 
deemed  by  his  colleagues  too  indignant  and  vi 
tuperative;  to  such  a  pitch  were  his  feelings 
excited  by  the  injuries  and  sufferings  of  his 
country,  and  so  anxious  was  he  that  the  strong 
est  impetus  should  be  given  to  the  national 
spirit.  His  anger  and  his  abhorrence  were 
real ;  they  endured  without  abatement  during 
the  whole  continuance  of  the  system  which  pro 
voked  them  ;  they  wore  a  complexion  which 
rendered  it  impossible  to  mistake  them  for  the 
offspring  of  personal  pique  or  constitutional  irri 
tability  ;  they  had  a  vindictive  power,  a  corro 
sive  energy,  proportioned  to  the  weight  of  his 
character,  and  the  dignity  of  the  sentiments 
from  which  they  sprung. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  Dr.  Franklin  ad 
dressed  that  memorable  and  laconic  epistle  to 
his  old  friend  and  companion,  Mr.  Strahan,  then 
king's  printer,  and  member  of  the  British  par 
liament,  of  which  the  following  is  a  correct  copy, 
and  of  which  a  fac-simile  is  given  in  the  last, 
and  most  correct  edition  of  his  works  : 

"PHILADA.,  July  5,  1775. 

"  MR.  STRAHAN  : — You  are  a  Member  of  Par 
liament,  and  one  of  that  Majority  which  has 
doomed  my  Country  to  Destruction. — You 
have  begun  to  burn  our  Towns,  and  murder 
our  People. — Look  upon  your  hands  ! — They 
are  stained  Avith  the  Blood  of  your  Relations ! 
— You  and  I  were  long  Friends : — You  are 
now  my  Enemy, — and 

"  I  am,  yours, 

"  B.  FRANKLIN." 

In  October,  1775,  Dr.  Franklin  was  appointed 
by  Congress,  jointly  with  Mr.  Harrison  and  Mr. 
Lynch,  a  committee  to  visit  the  American  camp 
at  Cambridge,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  (General  Washington),  to  en 
deavor  to  convince  the  troops,  whose  term  of 
enlistment  was  about  to  expire,  of  the  necessity 
of  their  continuing  in  the  field,  and  persevering 
in  the  cause  of  their  country. 

He  was  afterwards  sent  on  a  mission  to  Can 
ada,  to  endeavor  to  unite  that  country  to  the 
common  cause  of  liberty.  But  the  Canadians 


could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  oppose  the  meas 
ures  of  the  British  government. 

It  was  directed  that  a  printing  apparatus,  and 
hands,  competent  to  print  in  French  and  Eng 
lish,  should  accompany  this  mission.  Two  pa 
pers  were  written  and  circulated  very  exten 
sively  through  Canada;  but  it  was  not  until 
after  the  experiment  had  been  tried,  that  it  was 
found  not  more  than  one  person  in  rive  hun 
dred  could  read.  Dr.  Franklin,  who  was  accus 
tomed  to  make  the  best  of  every  occurrence, 
suggested  that  if  it  were  intended  to  send  an 
other  mission,  it  should  be  a  mission  composed 
of  schoolmasters. 

He  was,  in  1776,  appointed  a  committee  with 
John  Adams  and  Edward  Rutledge,  to  inquire 
into  the  powers  with  which  Lord  Howe  was 
invested  in  regard  to  the  adjustment  of  our  dif 
ferences  with  Great  Britain.  When  his  lord 
ship  expressed  his  concern  at  being  obliged  to 
distress  those  whom  he  so  much  regarded,  Dr. 
Franklin  assured  him,  that  the  Americans,  out 
of  reciprocal  regard,  would  endeavor  to  lessen, 
as  much  as  possible,  the  pain  which  he  might 
feel  on  their  account,  by  taking  the  utmost  care 
of  themselves.  In  the  discussion  of  the  great 
question  of  independence,  he  was  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  measure. 

In  July,  1776,  he  was  called  to  add  to  his  fed 
eral  duties,  those  of  president  of  a  convention 
held  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
a  new  constitution  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  unbounded  confidence  reposed  in  his  sa 
gacity  and  wisdom,  induced  the  convention  to 
adopt  his  favorite  theory  of  a  plural  executive 
and  single  legislature,  which  the  experience  of 
modern  times  has  justly  brought  into  disrepute. 
It  may  be  said  to  be  the  only  instance  in  which 
he  cherished  a  speculation  that  experiment 
would  not  confirm. 

Franklin  early  conjectured  that  it  would  be 
come  necessary  for  America  to  apply  to  some 
foreign  power  for  assistance.  To  prepare  the 
way  for  this  step,  and  ascertain  the  probability 
of  its  success,  he  had,  towards  the  close  of  1775, 
opened,  under  the  sanction  of  Congress,  a  cor 
respondence  with  Holland,  which  he  managed 
with  admirable  judgment.  When,  at  the  end 
of  1776,  our  affairs  had  assumed  so  threatening 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


467 


an  aspect,  the  hopes  of  Congress  were  naturally 
turned  to  Europe,  and  to  France  particularly, 
the  inveterate  and  most  powerful  rival  of  Eng 
land.  Every  eye  rested  on  Franklin  as  a  provi 
dential  instrument  for  sustaining  the  American 
cause  abroad  ;  and  though  he  had  repeatedly 
signified  from  London,  his  determination  to  re 
visit  Europe  no  more,  yet,  having  consecrated 
himself  anew  to  the  pursuit  of  national  inde 
pendence,  he  accepted,  without  hesitation,  in 
his  seventy-first  year,  the  appointment  of  com 
missioner-plenipotentiary  to  the  court  of  France. 

He  wished,  partly  with  a  view  to  protect  his 
person,  in  case  of  capture  on  the  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic,  to  carry  with  him  propositions  for 
peace  with  England,  and  submitted  to  the  secret 
committee  of  Congress,  a  series  of  articles,  which 
his  grandson  has  published.  We  are  especially 
struck  with  that  one  of  them  which  asks  the 
cession  to  the  United  States,  of  Canada,  Nova 
Scotia,  the  Floridas,  &c.,  and  the  explanation 
annexed  to  the  article  by  this  long-sighted 
statesman,  is  not  a  little  remarkable :  "  It  is 

worth  our  while  to  offer  such  a  sum  for 

the  countries  to  be  ceded,  since  the  vacant  lands 
will  in  time  sell  for  a  great  part  of  what  we 
shall  give,  if  not  more  ;  and  if  we  are  to  obtain 
them  by  conquest,  after  perhaps  a  long  war, 
they  will  probably  cost  us  more  than  that  sum. 
It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  us  to  have  them 
for  our  own  security  ;  and  though  the  sum  may 
seem  large  to  the  present  generation,  in  less 
than  half  the  term  of  years  allowed  for  their 
payment,  it  will  be  to  the  whole  United  States 
a  mere  trifle."  Who  does  not,  on  reading  this 
passage,  recollect  with  gratitude,  and  feel  dis 
posed  to  honor  as  a  master-stroke,  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  accomplished  by  Franklin's  suc 
cessor  in  the  mission  to  France  ? 

In  the  month  of  October,  1776,  our  philos 
opher  set  sail  on  his  eventful  mission,  having  first 
deposited  in  the  hands  of  Congress  all  the  money 
he  could  raise,  between  three  and  four  thousand 
pounds,  as  a  demonstration  of  his  confidence  in 
their  cause,  and  an  incentive  for  those  who  might 
be  able  to  assist  it  in  the  same  way.  His  pas 
sage  to  France  was  short,  but  extremely  bois 
terous.  During  some  part  of  the  month  of  De 
cember,  he  remained  at  the  c-oimtry-seat  of  an 


opulent  friend  of  America,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Nantz,  in  order  to  recover  from  the  fatigues 
of  the  voyage,  and  to  ascertain  the  posture  of 
American  affairs  at  Paris,  before  he  approached 
that  capital.  With  his  usual  sound  discretion 
he  forbore  to  assume,  at  the  moment,  any  pub 
lic  character,  that  he  might  not  embarrass  the 
court  which  it  was  his  province  to  conciliate,  nor 
subject  the  mission  to  the  hazard  of  a  disgrace 
ful  repulse. 

From  the  civilities  with  which  he  was  loaded 
by  the  gentry  of  Nantz,  and  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  lively  satisfaction  with  which 
they  appeared  to  view  his  supposed  errand,  he 
drew  auguries  that  animated  him  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  first  duties  at  Paris.  The  recep 
tion  given  to  him  and  his  colleagues,  by  M.  de 
Vergennes,  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  at  the 
private  audience  to  which  they  were  admitted, 
towards  the  end  of  December,  was  of  a  nature 
to  strengthen  his  patriotic  hopes,  and  eminently 
to  gratify  his  personal  feelings.  The  particular 
policy  of  the  French  cabinet  did  not  admit,  at 
this  period,  of  a  formal  recognition  of  the  Amer 
ican  commissioners.  Franklin  abstained  from 
pressing  a  measure  for  which  circumstances  were 
not  ripe,  but  urged,  without  delay,  in  an  argu 
mentative  memorial,  the  prayer  of  Congress  for 
substantial  aid. 

History  presents  no  other  case  in  which  the 
interests  of  a  people  abroad  derived  so  much 
essential,  direct  aid  from  the  auspices  of  an  indi 
vidual  ;  there  is  no  other  instance  of  a  concur 
rence  of  qualities  in  a  national  missionary,  so  full 
and  opportune.  Foreign  assistance  had  become, 
as  it  was  thought,  indispensable  for  the  rescue 
of  the  colonies :  France  was  the  only  sufficient 
auxiliary ;  and  by  her  intervention,  and  the  in 
fluences  of  her  capital,  alone,  could  any  counte 
nance  or  supplies  be  expected  from  any  other 
European  power.  Her  court,  though  naturally 
anxious  for  the  dismemberment  of  the  British 
empire,  shrunk  from  the  risks  of  a  war;  and 
could  be  prevented  from  stagnating  in  irresolu 
tion  only  by  a  strong  current  of  public  opinion. 
Her  people,  already  touched  by  the  causes  and 
motives  of  the  colonial  struggle,  required,  how 
ever,  some  striking,  immediate  circumstance,  to 
be  excited  to  a  clamorous  sympathy.  It  was 


468 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK   IV. 


from  Paris  that  the  impulse  necessary  to  foster 
and  fructify  this  useful  enthusiasm  was  to  be  re 
ceived,  as  well  by  the  whole  European  conti 
nent,  as  by  the  mass  of  the  French  nation.  At 
the  time  when  Franklin  appeared  in  Paris,  the 
men  of  letters  and  of  science  possessed  a  remark 
able  ascendency  over  all  movement  and  judg 
ment  ;  they  gave  the  tone  to  general  opinion, 
and  contributed  to  decide  ministerial  policy. 
Fashion,  too,  had  no  inconsiderable  share  in 
moulding  public  sentiment  and  regulating 
events ;  and  at  this  epoch,  beyond  any  other,  it 
was  determined,  and  liable  to  be  kindled  into 
passion,  by  anomalous  or  fanciful  external  ap 
pearances,  however  trivial  in  themselves,  and 
moral  associations  of  an  elevated  or  romantic 
cast. 

Observing  the  predilection  of  the  people  of 
France  for  the  American  cause,  the  rapid  diffu 
sion  of  a  lively  sympathy  over  the  whole  con 
tinent,  the  devotion  of  the  literary  and  fashion 
able  circles  of  Paris  to  his  objects,  the  diligent 
preparations  for  war  made  daily  in  France,  and 
the  frozen  mien  of  all  the  continental  powers 
towards  Great  Britain,  Franklin  did  not  allow 
himself  to  be  discouraged  by  the  reserve  of  the 
court  of  Versailles :  and,  in  order  to  counter 
act  its  natural  effect,  and  that  of  other  adverse 
appearances  upon  the  resolution  of  his  country 
men,  he  emphatically  detailed  those  circum 
stances,  in  his  correspondence  with  America ; 
adding,  at  the  same  time,  accounts  of  the  do 
mestic  embarrassments  and  growing  despair  of 
the  enemy. 

When  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne 
reached  France  in  October,  1777,  and  produced 
there  an  explosion  of  public  opinion,  he  seized 
upon  the  auspicious  crisis  to  make  his  decisive 
effort,  by  urging  the  most  persuasive  motives  for 
a  formal  recognition  and  alliance.  The  epoch 
of  the  treaty  concluded  with  the  court  of  Ver 
sailles  on  the  6th  of  February,  1778,  is  one  of 
the  most  splendid  in  his  dazzling  career. 

In  conjunction  with  Mr.  John  Adams,  Mr. 
Jay,  and  Mr.  Laurens,  he  signed  the  provisional 
articles  of  peace,  November  30,  1 782,  and  the 
definitive  treaty,  September  30, 1783.  While  he 
was  in  France  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  com 
missioners  to  examine  Mesmer's  animal  magnet 


ism.  In  1784,  being  desirous  of  returning  to 
his  native  country,  he  requested  that  an  am 
bassador  might  be  appointed  in  his  place,  and 
on  the  arrival  of  his  successor,  Mr.  Jefferson,  he 
immediately  sailed  for  Philadelphia,  where  he 
arrived  in  September,  1785.  lie  was  received 
with  universal  applause,  and  was  soon  appointed 
president  of  the  supreme  executive  council,  in 

1787,  he  was  a   delegate  to  the   grand  conven 
tion  which  formed  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.     In  this  convention  he  had  differed  in 
some  points  from  the  majority;  but  when  the 
articles  were  ultimately  decreed,  he  said  to  his 
colleagues,  "  We  ought  to  have  but  one  opinion  ; 
the  good  of  our  country  requires  that  the  reso 
lution  should  be  unanimous  ;"  and  he  signed. 

Dr.  Franklin's  third  and  last  term  of  office  as 
president  of  Pennsylvania  expired  in  October, 

1 788.  The  short  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed 
in  retirement  at  his  residence  in  Market-street, 
Philadelphia. 

On  the  17th  of  April,  1790,  in  the  eighty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age,  he  expired  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia;  encountering  this  last  solemn  con 
flict  with  the  same  philosophical  tranquillity  and 
pious  resignation  to  the  will  of  Heaven,  which 
had  distinguished  him  through  all  the  various 
events  of  his  life. 

He  was  interred  on  the  21st  of  April,  and 
Congress  ordered  a  general  mourning  for  him 
throughout  America,  of  one  month.  In  France, 
the  expression  of  public  grief  was  scarcely  less 
enthusiastic.  There  the  event  was  solemnized, 
under  the  direction  of  the  municipality  of  Paris, 
by  funeral  orations ;  and  the  National  Assembly, 
his  death  being  announced  in  a  very  eloquent 
and  pathetic  discourse,  decreed  that  each  of  the 
members  should  wear  mourning  for  three  days, 
"  in  commemoration  of  the  event ;"  and  that  a 
letter  of  condolence,  for  the  irreparable  loss 
they  had  sustained,  should  be  directed  to  the 
American  Congress; — honors  extremely  glorious 
to  his  memory,  and  such,  it  has  been  remarked, 
as  were  never  before  paid  by  any  public  body 
of  one  nation  to  the  citizen  of  another. 

He  lies  buried  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
Christ  churchyard,  Philadelphia;  distinguished 
from  the  surrounding  dead  by  the  humility  of 
his  sepulchre.  He  is  covered  by  a  small  marble 


CHAP.  VI.] 


DOCUMKNTS. 


409 


slab,  on  a  level  with  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  bearing  the  single  inscription  of  his  name, 
with  that  of  his  wife.  A  monument  sufficiently 
corresponding  to  the  plainness  of  his  manners, 
little  suitable  to  the  splendor  of  his  virtues. 

lie  had  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
and  several  grandchildren,  who  survived  him. 
The  son,  who  had  been  governor  of  New  Jersey, 
under  the  British  government,  adhered,  during 
the  Revolution,  to  the  royal  party,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  England.  The  daughter 

o  o 

married  Mr.  Bache,  of  Philadelphia,  whose  de 
scendants  yet  reside  in  that  city. 

Franklin  enjoyed,  during  the  greater  part  of 
his  life,  a  healthy  constitution,  and  excelled  in 
exercises  of  strength  and  activity.  In  st.iture  he 
was  above  the  middle  sixe ;  manly,  athletic,  and 
well  proportioned.  His  countenance,  as  it  is 
represented  in  his  portrait,  is  distinguished  by 
in  air  of  serenity  and  satisfaction ;  the  natural 
sonsequences  of  a  vigorous  temperament,  of 
strength  of  mind,  and  conscious  integrity.  It  is 
also  marked,  in  visible  characters,  by  deep 
thought  and  inflexible  resolution. 

The  whole  life  of  Franklin,  his  meditations 
ami  his  labors,  have  all  been  directed  to  public 
utility;  but  the  grand  object  that  he  had  al 
ways  in  view,  did  not  shut  his  heart  against 
private  friendship  ;  he  loved  his  family,  and  his 
friends,  and  was  extremely  beneficent.  In  so 
ciety  he  was  sententious,  but  not  fluent ;  a  list 
ener  rather  than  a  talker ;  an  informing  rather 
than  a  pleasing  companion :  impatient  of  inter 
ruption,  he  often  mentioned  the  custom  of  the 
Indians,  who  always  remain  silent  some  time  be 
fore  they  give  an  answer  to  a  question,  which 
they  have  heard  attentively ;  unlike  some  of  the 
politest  societies  in  Europe,  where  a  sentence 
can  scarcely  be  finished  without  interruption. 
In  the  midst  of  his  greatest  occupations  for  the 
liberty  of  his  country,  he  had  some  physical  ex 
periments  always  near  him  in  his  closet ;  and  the 
sciences,  which  he  had  rather  discovered  than 
studied,  afforded  him  a  continual  source  of  pleas 
ure.  He  made  various  bequests  and  donations 
to  cities,  public  bodies,  and  individuals. 

The  following  epitaph  was  written  by  Dr. 
Franklin,  for  himself,  when  he  was  only  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  as  appears  by  the  original 


(with    various    corrections)    found     among     his 
papers,  and  from  which  this  is  a  faithful  copy : 

"The  body  of 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 

PRINTER, 

(like  the  cover  of  an  old  book, 

its  contents  torn  out, 
and  stript  of  its  lettering  and  gilding), 

lies  here,  food  for  worms  : 

but  the  work  shall  not  be  lost, 

for  it  will  (as  he  believed)  appear  once  more, 

in  a  new,  and  more  elegant  edition, 

revised  and  corrected 

by 
THE  AUTHOR." 

The  name  of  Dr.  Franklin,  says  a  British 
writer,*  has  long  been  a  household  word  in 
America — he  was  her  moralist,  statesman,  and 
philosopher:  his  discoveries  in  electricity  have 
given  him  a  permanent  place  in  scientific  history; 
and  he  deserves  highest  honor  from  all  mankind, 
because  of  his  services  to  the  cause  of  rational 
liberty  and  the  independence  of  nations.  We 
mu°t  omit  all  details  concerning  Franklin's  early 
life;  however,  if  any  one  would  sustain  hope 
amid  unpromising  labor — discern  the  inestimable 
value  of  small  portions  of  time  economized  and 
put  scrupulously  to  uses — or  learn  how  cheer 
fulness,  patience,  and  fortitude,  guided  by  good 
sense  and  integrity,  must  ever  command  success, 
he  will  find  nowhere  better  instruction  than  in 
that  graphic  narrative  of  the  events  and  strug 
gles  of  his  opening  manhood,  by  which  Frank 
lin  has  let  us  into  the  innermost  being  of  the 
journeyman  printer  of  Philadelphia.  Distin 
guished  no  less  by  practical  benevolence,  than 
by  an  almost  intuitive  appreciation  of  the  wants 
and  character  of  early  American  society,  Frank- 
lin  could  not  fail  to  rise  into  authority  among 
his  countrymen :  accordingly  we  find  him  their 
favorite  counsellor  in  most  of  the  grave  difficul 
ties  belonging  to  that  epoch  of  American  his 
tory.  Commencing  public  life  in  the  struggle 
between  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
old  proprietary  governors — we  again  meet  him 
proposing  to  the  different  States  a  project  of 
union,  which  afterwards  became  the  basis  of  the 
confederacy :  then,  on  a  mission  to  England  re- 


Professor  Nidioll. 


470 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


yarding  the  American  stamp-act:  afterwards, 
driven  from  his  loyalty,  ambassador  to  France 
on  the  part  of  his  countrymen  ;  the  observed  of 
all  observers  in  Paris,  soliciting  aid  in  arms  from 
the  court  of  Versailles :  finally  minister  to  Eng 
land,  signing  the  treaty  by  which  the  mother 
country,  in  due  humiliation,  bowed  her  head  be 
fore  the  independence  of  her  former  colonies. 
It  has  been  said  that  Franklin  represented  the 
practical  genius,  the  moral  and  political  spirit 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  Voltaire  repre 
sented  its  metaphysical  and  religious  skepticism  : 
this,  at  least,  is  certain — no  man  saw  more 
clearly,  or  felt  more  profoundly  in  his  own  per 
son,  the  political  and  moral  ideas  which  neces 
sarily  bear  sway  in  a  strictly  industrial  com 
munity  like  the  one  emerging  from  infancy  in 
the  Xew  World.  Unconnected  with  England 
by  birth  or  close  association,  he  looked  only  with 
astonishment  on  those  pretensions  to  preroga 
tive,  which  certainly  could  find  no  natural  soil 
where  all  men  were  socially  equal ;  and  his  sys 
tem  of  morals  included  every  sanction  and  pre 
cept,  likely  to  recommend  themselves  to  a  peo 
ple,  who  could  never  reach  prosperity  unless 
through  patient  industry,  and  the  exercise  of  the 
prudential  virtues.  His  code  was,  "  The  Way 
to  Wealth  ;"  and  the  wisdom  of  "  Poor  Richard" 
instructed  every  man,  how  by  the  strength  of 
his  arm,  and  dominion  over  his  passions,  wealth 
might  be  attained  and  made  secure.  Since 
Franklin's  time  a  new  element  has  arisen  in 
America;  powerful  tendencies  are  developing 
with  higher  aims  than  mere  wealth,  and  which 
demand  a  larger  code  than  the  utilitarian. 
Franklin  did  not  recognize,  or  rather  had  not 
foreseen,  the  necessary  advent  of  that  specula 
tive  habit  now  very  rapidly  becoming  dominant 


over  American  thought ;  but  in  his  treatment 
of  the  equally  powerful  tendency  of  which  he 
saw  the  influence,  and  whereof  he  himself  so 
largely  partook,  his  "  Poor  Richard"  is  com 
plete  ;  he  threw  off  all  prerogative  and  tradition, 
and  looked  at  things  as  they  are.  Temperance, 
silence,  order,  resolution,  frugality,  activity,  sin 
cerity,  justice,  moderation,  cleanliness,  tranquil 
lity,  chastity,  humility — these  are  his  virtues; 
and  Franklin  teaches  how  to  acquire  them,  by- 
precepts,  which,  in  earlier  times,  would  have 
ranked  as  golden  verses;  they  are  as  valuable 
as  any  thing  that  has  descended  from  Pythag 
oras.  It  is  rare  that  a  single  mind  establishes 
claims  so  various  as  those  of  Franklin  :  he  ranks 
also  among  the  foremost  as  a  physical  inquirer 
and  discoverer.  Attracted  by  the  opening  sub 
ject  of  electricity,  he  was  the  first  who  reduced 
it  to  order;  and  that  grand  step  is  owing  to 
him  which  identified  the  attraction  and  repul 
sion  of  rubbed  glass  and  amber,  with  the  energy 
that  produces  lightning,  and  causes  the  most 
imposing  of  meteorological  phenomena.  II  is 
memoirs  on  electricity  and  other  physical  sub 
jects,  still  astonish  one  by  their  clearness  and 
chastity,  and  the  precision  and  elegance  of  their 
method ;  their  style  and  manner  are  as  worthy 
of  admiration  as  their  doctrines.  They  gained 
for  the  author  immediate  admission  to  the 
highest  scientific  societies  in  Europe.  In  his 
personal  bearing  Franklin  was  sedate  and 
weighty.  He  had  no  striking  eloquence;  he 
spoke  sententiously ;  but  men  instinctively  felt 
his  worth,  and  submitted  themselves  to  his  wis 
dom.  Except  Washington,  whom  in  many 
qualities  he  much  resembled,  the  New  World 
yet  ranks  among  her  dead  nowhere  so  threat  a 
man 


CHAPTER    VII. 

1776, 

WASHINGTON      CROSSES      THE      HUDSON. 

Dime  iltios  of  Washington's  position. — His  system  of  defence  the  best  possible  for  the  time. — His  contempt  of  igno 
rant  censure. — Position  of  the  two  armies. — Howe's  preparations  for  attacking  New  York. — Washington  removes 
stores. — Council  of  war  decides  to  hold  New  York. — Washington's  letter  to  Congress. — A  middle  course  adopted. 
— Army  divided. — Howe's  plan  to  inclose  the  American  army  in  New  York.— Council  of  war  decides  to  evacuate 
the  city. — The  British  land  at  Kipp's  Bay. — Disgraceful  conduct  of  the  troops  at  that  post. — Washington's  emo 
tion  at  seeing  it. — Putnam  retreats  from  the  city. — Washington  at  Harlem  Heights. — He  meets  Hamilton. — 
Anecdote  from  Gordon. — Fire  in  New  York. — Howe's  position. — Spirited  skirmish. — Death  of  Knowlton. — State 
of  the  army. — Washington's  letter  to  Congress. — Congress  adopts  the  suggestions  of  Washington  for  remodelling 
the  army. — Washington's  gratification. — Prisoners  exchanged. — Tories  forming  a  partisan  force. — De  Lancey. — 
Rogers. — Howe's  plan  to  surround  the  army. — Frigates  ascend  the  Hudson. — Howe  lands  a  force  at  Frog's  Neck. 
—  Washington  checks  him  there. — Council  of  war  decides  to  hold  Fort  Washington. — Howe  lands  at  Pell's 
Point. — Washington  at  New  Rochelle. — Battle  of  White  Plains. — Washington  expects  to  have  his  camp  as- 
saulted.—  Strengthens  his  works. — Howe  waits  for  reinforcements. — They  arrive. — A  storm. — No  assault. — Howe 
determines  to  make  a  dash  at  Fort  Washington. — Washington  penetrates  his  design. — His  letter  to  Congress, 
and  to  the  Governor  of  New  Jersey. — To  Greene. — Washington  crosses  the  Hudson. — Siege  of  Fort  Washington 
— Brave  defence. — Its  fall. — Washington's  distress  at  sight  of  the  Hessian  barbarities. — Capture  of  Fort  Lee  — 
Affairs  at  the  North.— Arnold's  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain. — Sir  Guy  Carleton  builds  a  fleet  to  oppose  it. — Naval 
action  on  the  Lake. — Arnold  defeated. — Crown  Point  taken. — Ticonderoga  still  held  by  the  Americans. 


AFTER  the  disastrous  battle  of  Long 
Island,  the  situation  of  Washington  in 
New  York  was  one  of  the  most  trying 
in  which  he  had  ever  been  placed.  He 
was  not  only  embarrassed  by  doubt  as 
to  the  enemy's  intentions,  and  by  the 
weakness,  discontent,  and  positive  mis 
conduct  of  the  army,  but  by  the  clamors 
of  that  noisy  portion  of  the  community 
called  "the  public,"  who  were  incapa 
ble  of  estimating  the  difficulties  of  his 
position,  or  the  motives  of  his  conduct. 

Before  the  British  landed,  it  was  im 
possible  to  tell  what  place  would  be 
first  attacked.  This  made  it  necessary 
to  erect  works  for  the  defence  of  a  va 


riety  of  places,  as  well  as  of  New  York 
Though  every  thing  was  abandoned 
when  the  crisis  came  that  either  the 
city  must  be  relinquished,  or  the  army 
risked  for  its  defence,  yet,  from  the  de 
lays  occasioned  by  the  redoubts  and 
other  works,  which  had  been  erected 
on  the  idea  of  making  the  defence  of 
the  States  a  war  of  posts,  a  whole 
campaign  was  lost  to  the  British  and 
saved  to  the  Americans.  The  year 
began  with  hopes  that  Gre^t  Britain 
would  recede  from  her  demands,  and 
therefore  every  plan  of  defence  was  on 
a  temporary  system.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence,  which  the  violence  of 


47'2 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Great   Britain    forced   the    colonies   to 
adopt  in  July,  thonsrli  neither  foreseen 

*/  ' 

nor  intended  at  the  commencement  of 
the  year,  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
organizing  an  army,  on  new  terms,  cor 
responding  to  the  enlarged  objects  for 
which  they  had  resolved  to  contend. 
Congress  accordingly  determined  some 
time  after  to  raise  eighty-eight 
''  battalions,  to  serve  during  the 


1776. 


war.  Under  these  circumstances, 
to  wear  away  the  campaign  with  as  lit 
tle  misfortune  as  possible,  and  thereby 
to  gain  time  for  raising  a  permanent 
army  against  the  next  year,  was  to  the 
Americans  a  matter  of  the  last  impor 
tance.  Though  Washington  abandoned 
those  works,  which  had  engrossed  much 
time  and  attention,  yet  the  advantage 
resulting  from  the  delays  they  occa 
sioned,  far  overbalanced  the  expense 
incurred  by  their  erection. 

The  same  short-sighted  politicians 
who  had  before  censured  Washington 
for  his  cautious  conduct  in  not  storming 
the  British  lines  at  Boston,  renewed 
their  clamors  against  him  for  adopting 
this  evacuating  and  retreating  system. 
Supported  by  a  consciousness  of  his  own 
integrity,  and  by  a  full  conviction  that 
these  measures  were  best  calculated  for 
securing  the  independence  of  America, 
he,  for  the  good  of  his  country,  volun 
tarily  subjected  his  fame  to  be  over 
shadowed  by  a  temporary  cloud.  We 
now  return  to  the  events  of  the  tedious 
and  difficult,  though,  in  its  results,  suc 
cessful  campaign. 

The  British  army,  now  in  full  posses 


sion  of  Long  Island,  was  posted  from 
Bedford  to  llellgate  ;  and  thus  fronted 
and  threatened  New  York  from  its  ex 
treme  southern  point,  to  the  part  oppo 
site  the  northern  boundary  of  Long 
Island,  a  small  distance  below  the 
Heights  of  Harlem  ;  comprehending  a 
space  of  about  nine  miles. 

Immediately  after  the  victory  at 
Brooklyn,  dispositions  were  made  by 
the  enemy  to  attack  New  York,  and  a 
part  of  the  fleet  sailed  round  Long 
Island,  and  appeared  in  the  Sound. 
Two  frigates  passed  up  the  East  River, 
without  receiving  any  injury  from  the 
batteries,  and  anchored  behind  a  small 
island  which  protected  them  from  the 
American  artillery.  At  the  same  time, 
the  main  body  of  the  fleet  lay  at  anchor 
close  in  with  Governor's  Island,  from 
which  the  American  troops  had  been 
withdrawn,  ready  to  pass  up  either  the 
North  or  East  River,  or  both,  and  act 
against  any  part  of  the  Island. 

These  movements  indicated  a  dispo 
sition  not  to  make  an  attack  directly 
on  New  York,  as  had  been  expected, 
but  to  land  near  Kingsbridge,  and  take 
a  position  which  would  cut  oft'  the  com 
munication  of  the  American  army  with 
the  country. 

Aware  of  the  danger  of  his  situation, 
General  Washington  began  to  remove 
such  stores  as  were  not  immediately 
necessary ;  and  called  a  council  of  war 
to  decide  whether  New  York  should  be 
at  once  abandoned,  or  longer  defended. 

Some  of  the  general  officers  who  com 
posed  the  council  were  in  favor  of  evac- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CKOSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


473 


uating  the  city  at  once,  assigning  as  rea 
sons  the  possibility  of  its  being  speedily 
bombarded  by  the  fleet ;  the  distance 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  army  from 
each  other,  its  extremes  being  not  less 
than  sixteen  miles  apart ;  and  the  ad 
vantage  to  be  gained  by  concentrating 
the  army,  preserving  the  stores  and 
heavy  artillery,  and  depriving  the 
enemy  of  the  advantage  of  their  ships. 
Putnam,  and  Washington  himself,  held 
these  views.  General  Greene,  detained 
from  the  council  by  sickness,  in  a  letter 
to  Washington,  dated  September  5th, 
went  still  further,  and  recommended 
the  burning  of  the  city,  assigning, 
among  other  reasons  for  this  proceed 
ing,  that  two-thirds  of  the  city  and 
suburbs  belonged  to  tories.  Other 
members  of  the  council  were  for  hold 
ing  the  city  till  the  army  was  absolutely 
driven  out.  General  Mimin,  in  a  let 
ter,  assigned  as  a  reason  for  this  opinion, 
that  the  acquisition  of  New  York  would 
give  great  eclat  to  the  arms  of  Great 
Britain,  afford  the  soldiers  good  quar 
ters,  arid  furnish  a  safe  harbor  for  the 
fleet.* 

In  his  letter,  communicating  to  Con 
gress  the  result  of  this  council,  which 
was  against  an  immediate  evacuation, 
Washington  manifested  a  conviction  of 
the  necessity  of  that  measure,  though 
lie  yielded  to  that  necessity  with  reluc- 


0  It  was  at  this  time,  that  Washington  called  on  Colo 
nel  Knowlton  to  find  a  suitable  person  to  cross  to  Long 
Island  to  learn  something  of  the  enemy's  intentions,  and 
through  him  obtained  the  services  of  Nathan  Hale.  See 
Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.--«-iO 


tance.  Speaking  of  the  enemy,  he  ob 
served  : 

"  It  is  now  extremely  obvious  from 
their  movements,  from  our  intelligence, 
and  from  every  other  circumstance, 
that,  having  their  whole  army  upon 
Long  Island,  except  about  four  thou 
sand  men  who  remain  on  Staten  Island, 
they  mean  to  inclose  us  in  this  island, 
by  taking  post  in  our  rear,  while  their 
ships  effectually  secure  the  front ;  and 
thus,  by  cutting  off  our  communication 
with  the  country,  oblige  us  to  fight 
them  on  their  own  terms,  or  surren 
der  at  discretion  ;  or,  if  that  shall  be 
deemed  more  advisable,  by  a  brilliant 
stroke  endeavor  to  cut  this  army  to 
pieces,  and  secure  the  possession  of 
arms  and  stores,  which  they  well  know 
our  inability  to  replace. 

"  Having  their  system  unfolded  to  us, 
it  becomes  an  important  consideration 
how  it  could  be  most  successfully  op 
posed.  On  every  side  there  is  a  choice 
of  difficulties,  and  experience  teaches 
us,  that  every  measure  on  our  part 
(however  painful  the  reflection)  must 
be  taken  with  some  apprehension,  that 
all  our  troops  will  not  do  their  duty. 

"  In  deliberating  upon  this  great 
question,"  he  added,  "it  was  impossible 
to  forget  that  history,  our  own  experi 
ence,  the  advice  of  our  ablest  friends 
in  Europe,  the  fears  of  the  enemy, 
and  even  the  declarations  of  Congress, 
demonstrate  that,  on  our  side,  the 
war  should  be  defensive — (it  has  ever 
been  called  a  war  of  posts) ; — that  we 
should,  on  all  occasions,  avoid  a  general 


474 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


action,  iior  put  any  thing  to  the  risk, 
unless  compelled  by  necessity,  into 
which  we  ouq;ht  never  to  be  drawn." 

O 

After  communicating  the  decision 
which  had  been  made  by  the  council 
of  officers,  he  stated  the  opinion  of  those 
who  were  in  favor  of  an  immediate 
evacuation  with  such  force,  as  to  con 
firm  the  belief  that  it  remained  his  own. 

The  majority,  who  overruled  this 
opinion,  did  not  expect  to  be  able  to 
defend  the  city,  permanently,  but  to 
defer  the  time  of  losing  it,  in  the  hope 
of  wasting  so  much  of  the  campaign, 
before  General  Howe  could  obtain  pos 
session  of  it,  as  to  prevent  his  under 
taking  any  thing  further  until  the  fol 
lowing  year.  They  therefore  advised 
a  middle  course  between  abandoning 
the  town  absolutely,  and  concentrating 
their  whole  strength  for  its  defence. 
This  was,  to  form  the  army  into  three 
divisions  ;  one  of  which  should  remain 
in  New  York ;  the  second  be  stationed 
at  Kingsbridge  ;  and  the  third  occupy 
the  intermediate  space,  so  as  to  support 
either  extreme.  The  sick  were  to  be 
immediately  removed  to  Orange  in 
New  Jersey.  A  belief  that  Congress 
was  inclined  to  maintain  New  York  at 
every  hazard,  and  a  dread  of  the  unfa 
vorable  impression  which  its  evacuation 
might  make  on  the  people,  seem  to 
have  had  great  influence  in  producing 
the  determination  to  defend  the  place 
a  short  time  longer. 

This  opinion  was  soon  changed.  The 
movements  of  the  British  general  indi 
cated  clearly  an  intention  either  to 


break  their  line  of  communication,  or 
to  inclose  the  whole  army  in  New 
York.  His  dispositions  were  alike  cal 
culated  to  favor  the  one  or  the  other 
of  those  objects.  Washington,  who 
had  continued  to  employ  himself  assid 
uously  in  the  removal  of  the  military 
stores  to  a  place  of  safety,  called  a 
second  council  to  deliberate  on  the  fur 
ther  defence  of  the  city,  which  deter 
mined,  by  a  large  majority,  that  it  had 
become  not  only  prudent,  but  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  withdraw  the  army 
from  New  York. 

In  consequence  of  this  determination. 
Brigadier-general  Mercer,  who  com 
manded  the  flying-camp  on  the  Jersey 
shore,  was  directed  to  move  up  the 
North  River  to  Fort  Lee,  the  post  op 
posite  Fort  Washington  ;  and  every  ef 
fort  was  used  to  expedite  the  removal 
of  the  stores. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifteenth,  three 
ships  of  war  proceeded  up  the  North 
River  as  hicrh  as  Bloomingdale ;  a 

<*j  o 

movement  which  entirely  stopped  the 
further  removal  of  stores  by  water. 
About  eleven  o'clock  on  the  same  day, 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  a  division  of 
four  thousand  men  who  had  embarked 
at  the  head  of  Newtown  Bay,  where 
they  had  lain  concealed  from  the  view 
of  the  troops  posted  on  York  Island, 
proceeded  through  that  bay  into  the 
East  River,  which  he  crossed  ;  and,  un 
der  cover  of  the  fire  of  five  men-of-war, 
landed  at  a  place  called  Kipp's  Bay, 
about  three  miles  above  New  York. 
The  works  thrown  up  to  oppose  a 


CFIAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


landing  at  this  place,  were  of  consider 
able  strength,  and  capable  of  being  de 
fended  for  some  time  ;  but  the  troops 
stationed  in  them  abandoned  them 
without  waiting  to  be  attacked,  and 
fled  with  precipitation.  On  the  com 
mencement  of  the  cannonade,  General 
Washington  ordered  the  brigades  of 
Parsons  and  Fellowes  to  the  support 
of  the  troops  posted  in  the  lines,  and 
rode  towards  the  scene  of  action.  The 
panic  of  those  who  had  fled  from  the 
works,  was  communicated  to  the  troops 
ordered  to  sustain  them  ;  and  the  com 
mand  er-in-chief  had  the  extreme  morti 
fication  to  meet  the  whole  party  re 
treating  in  the  utmost  disorder,  totally 
regardless  of  the  efforts  made  by  their 
generals  to  stop  their  disgraceful  flight. 
Whilst  Washington  was  exerting1  him- 

O  O 

self  to  rally  them,  a  small  corps  of  the 
enemy  appeared  ;  and  they  again  broke 
and  fled  in  confusion.  Though  the 
British  in  sight  did  not  exceed  sixty, 
he  could  not,  either  by  example,  en 
treaty,  or  authority,  prevail  on  a  supe 
rior  force  to  stand  their  ground  and 
face  that  inconsiderable  number  Such 
dastardly  conduct  raised  a  tempest  in 
the  usually  tranquil  mind  of  Washing 
ton.  Having  embarked  in  the  cause 
from  the  purest  principles,  he  viewed 
with  infinite  concern  this  shameful  be 
havior  as  threatening  ruin  to  his  coun 
try  ;  and  impressed  with  these  ideas  he 
hazarded  his  person  xor  some  considera 
ble  time  in  the  rear  of  his  own  men,  and 
ia  front  of  the  enemy,  with  his  horse's 
head  towards  the  latter,  as  if  in  expec 


tation  that  by  an  honorable  death  he 
might  escape  the  infamy  he  dreaded 
from  the  dastardly  conduct  of  troops 
on  whom  he  could  place  no  dependence. 
His  aids  and  the  confidential  friend* 
around  his  person,  by  indirect  violence, 
compelled  him  to  retire.  In  conse 
quence  of  their  address  and  importu 
nity,  a  life  was  saved  for  public  service, 
which  otherwise,  from  a  sense  of  honor, 
seemed  to  be  devoted  to  almost  certain 
destruction. 

The  troops  who  fled  on  this  occasion 
amounted,  in  all,  to  eiorht  regiments. 

l  1  O  O 

They  took  refuge  in  the  encampment  of 
the  main  body  at  Harlem  Plains. 

In  consequence  of  their  misconduct  in 
not  resisting  the  landing  of  the  British, 
General  Putnam,  who  held  the  com 
mand  in  New  York,  was  compelled  to 
make  a  hasty  retreat  from  the  city,  los 
ing  fifteen  men  killed,  and  three  hun 
dred  taken  prisoners.  Most  of  the 
heavy  cannon,  and  a  large  amount  of 
baggage,  stores,  and  provisions,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Washington  now  drew  all  his  forces 
together,  within  the  lines  on  Harlem 
Heights,  and  fixed  his  head-quarters  at 
Colonel  Roger  Morris's  house,  near 
Monnt  Washington,  ten  miles  from  New 
York. 

While  he  was  occupying  this  position, 
Washington  paid  much  attention  to  the 
fortifying  of  his  line  by  redoubts  and 
intrenchments.  In  his  rounds  for  the 
personal  inspection  of  the  works,  he  ob 
served  some  which  were  constructed 
with  an  unusual  degree  of  science  and 


470 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


skill ;  and  on  inquiring  for  the  engineer 
who  had  planned  them,  he  was  intro 
duced  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  then  a 
captain  of  artillery.  Washington  at 
once  entered  into  conversation  with  this 
talented  young  officer,  invited  him  to 
his  marquee,  and  then  and  there  com 
menced  a  life-long  friendship,  the  results 
of  which  were  not  less  important  to  the 
country  than  to  themselves. 

"  When  the  Americans  were  with 
drawn  from  the  city,"  says  Gordon, 
"  and  no  prospect  of  action  remained, 
the  British  generals  repaired  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Robert  Murray,  a  gentle 
man  of  the  Quaker  persuasion.  The 
lady  of  the  house  being  at  home,  enter 
tained  them  most  civilly  with  what 
served  for,  or  was,  cakes  and  wine. 
They  were  well  pleased  with  the  enter 
tainment,  and  tarried  there  near  two 
hours  or  more,  Governor  Tryon  season 
ing  the  repast,  at  times,  by  joking  Mrs. 
Murray  about  her  American  friends ; 
for  she  was  known  to  be  a  steady  advo 
cate  for  the  liberties  of  the  country. 
Meanwhile  the  Hessians  and  British, 
except  a  strong  corps  which  marched 
down  the  road  to  take  possession  of  the 
city,  remained  upon  their  arms  inactive  ; 
which  gave  General  Putnam  the  oppor 
tunity  of  escaping.  Nothing  could  have 
been  easier,  however,  than  to  have  pre 
vented  it.  A  good  body  of  troops,  with 
two  field-pieces,  in  about  twenty  minutes 
more  or  less,  could  have  taken  such  a 
position  as  would  necessarily  have  cut 
off  Putnam's  retreat.  Colonel  Gray- 
son  repeatedly  said,  speaking  humor 


ously,  '  Mrs.  Murray  saved  the  Amer 
ican  army.' ': 

The  royal  troops  on  entering  the  city 
were  warmly  received  by  the  tories. 
The  state  of  feeling  existing  between 
the  two  hostile  parties,  was  fearfully 
exemplified  by  means  of  an  accident 
that  occurred  a  few  nights  after  the 

O 

occupation.  This  was  a  fire,  which 
broke  out  in  the  dead  of  the  night  of 
September  21st,  and  owing  to  the 
drought  of  the  season  and  a  strong 
south  wind,  increased  with  alarming 

7  O 

rapidity.  Upwards  of  a  thousand  build 
ings,  Trinity  church  among  the  number, 
were  consumed,  and  but  for  the  exer 
tions  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  the 
whole  city  would  probably  have  been 
destroyed.  In  the  excited  state  of  party 
feeling,  it  was  said  that  the  "  Sons  of 
Liberty"  were  the  incendiaries,  with  a 
view  to  drive  out  the  army,  and  several 
suspected  persons  were  hurled  into  the 
blazing  buildings  by  the  British  sol 
diers. 

Having  taken  possession  of  New  York, 
General  Howe  stationed  a  few  troops 
in  the  town ;  and,  with  the  main  body 
of  his  army,  encamped  near  the  Amer 
ican  lines.  His  right  was  at  Horen's 
Hook  on  the  East  River,  and  his  left 
reached  the  North  River  near  Bloom- 
ingdale ;  so  that  his  encampment  ex 
tended  quite  across  the  island,  which  is, 
in  this  place,  scarcely  two  miles  wide ; 
and  both  his  flanks  were  covered  by 
his  ships. 

The  strongest  point  of  the  Ameri 
can  lines  was  at  Kingsbridge,  both  sides 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


479 


doubt,  that  unless  some  speedy  and 
effectual  measures  are  adopted  by  Con 
gress,  our  cause  will  be  lost. 

"  It  is  in  vain  to  expect  that  any,  or 
more  than  a  trifling  part  of  this  army, 
will  engage  again  in  the  service,  on  the 
encouragement  offered  by  Congress. 
When  men  find  that  their  townsmen 
and  companions  are  receiving  twenty, 
thirty,  and  more  dollars,  for  a  few 
months'  service  (which  is  truly  the  case), 
this  cannot  be  expected,  without  using 
compulsion ;  and  to  force  them  into  the 
service  would  answer  no  valuable  pur 
pose.  When  men  are  irritated,  and 
their  passions  inflamed,  they  fly  hastily 
and  cheerfully  to  arms ;  but  after  the 
first  emotions  are  over,  to  expect  among 
such  people  as  compose  the  bulk  of  an 
army,  that  they  are  influenced  by  any 
other  motives  than  those  of  interest,  is 
to  look  for  what  never  did,  and  I  fear 
never  will,  happen ;  the  Congress  will 
deceive  themselves,  therefore,  if  they 
expect  it. 

"  A  soldier,  reasoned  with  upon  the 
goodness  of  the  cause  he  is  engaged  in, 
and  the  inestimable  rights  he  is  con 
tending  for,  hears  you  with  patience, 
and  acknowledges  the  truth  of  your 
observations ;  but  adds,  that  it  is  of 
no  more  consequence  to  him  than  to 
others.  The  officer  makes  you  the 
same  reply,  with  this  further  remark, 
that  his  pay  will  not  support  him,  and 
he  cannot  ruin  himself  and  family  to 
serve  his  country,  when  every  member 
of  the  community  is  equally  benefited 
and  interested  by  his  labors.  The 


few,  therefore,  who  act  upon  pririci 
pies  of  disinterestedness,  are,  compara 
tively  speaking,  no  more  than  a  drop 
in  the  ocean.  It  becomes  evident!) 
clear,  then,  that  as  this  contest  is  not 
likely  to  become  the  work  of  a  day ; 
as  the  war  must  be  carried  on  system 
atically  ;  and  to  do  it,  you  must  have 
good  officers  ;  there  is,  in  my  judgment, 
no  other  possible  means  to  obtain  them, 
but  by  establishing  your  army  upon  a 
permanent  footing,  and  giving  your 
officers  good  pay.  This  will  induce 
gentlemen,  and  men  of  character,  to  en 
gage  ;  and,  until  the  bulk  of  your  offi 
cers  are  composed  of  such  persons  as 
are  actuated  by  principles  of  honor  and 
a  spirit  of  enterprise,  you  have  little 
to  expect  from  them.  They  ought  to 
have  such  allowances  as  will  enable 
them  to  live  like,  and  support  the  char 
acter  of,  gentlemen  ;  and  not  be  driven 
by  a  scanty  pittance  to  the  low  and 
dirty  arts  which  many  of  them  prac 
tise,  to  filch  the  public  of  more  than 
the  difference  of  pay  would  amount  to, 
upon  an  ample  allowance.  Besides, 
something  is  due  to  the  man  who  puts 
his  life  in  your  hands,  hazards  his 
health,  and  forsakes  the  sweets  of  do 
mestic  enjoyments.  Why  a  captain  in 
the  continental  service  should  receive 
no  more  than  five  shillings  currency  per 
day,  for  performing  the  same  duties 
that  an  officer  of  the  same  rank  in  the 
British  service  receives  ten  shillings 
sterling  for,  I  never  could  conceive ; 
especially,  when  the  latter  is  provided 
with  every  necessary  he  requires,  upon 


480 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK   IV. 


the  best  terms,  and  the  former  can 
scarcely  procure  them  at  any  rate. 
There  is  nothing  that  gives  a  man  con 
sequence,  and  renders  him  fit  for  com 
mand,  like  a  support  that  renders  him 
independent  of  everybody  but  the 
State  he  serves. 

"  With  respect  to  the  men,  nothing 
but  a  good  bounty  can  obtain  them 
upon  a  permanent  establishment,  and 
for  no  shorter  time  than  the  continu 
ance  of  the  war  ought  they  to  be  en 
gaged  ;  as  facts  incontestably  prove 
that  the  difficulty  and  cost  of  enlist 
ments  increase  with  time.  When  the 
army  was  first  raised  at  Cambridge,  I 
am  persuaded  the  men  might  have  been 
got,  without  a  bounty,  for  the  war  :* 
after  that,  they  began  to  see  that  the 
contest  was  not  likely  to  end  so  speedily 
as  was  imagined,  and  to  feel  their  con 
sequence,  by  remarking,  that  to  get 
their  militia,  in  the  course  of  the  last 
year,  many  towns  were  induced  to  give 
them  a  bounty.  Foreseeing  the  evils 
resulting  from  this,  and  the  destructive 
consequences  which  would  unavoidably 
follow  short  enlistments,  I  took  the  lib 
erty,  in  a  long  letter  (date  not  now  rec 
ollected,  as  my  letter-book  is  not  here), 

°  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark,  that  Con 
gress  and  the  people  were  extremely  jealous  of  military 
power  ;  and  this  was  the  reason  for  refusing  to  make 
long  enlistments.  They  were  afraid  of  a  standing  army. 
The  example  of  Cromwell,  displacing  the  Long  Parlia 
ment,  was  comparatively  recent ;  and  the  members  of 
Congress  were  well-read  in  British  history.  Washington 
asked  Congress  for  a  permanent  army  during  the  siege 
of  Boston  ;  hut  could  not  obtain  it.  They  were  at  last 
forced,  by  dire  necessity,  into  enlistments,  to  last  during 
the  war. 


to  recommend  the  enlistments  for  arid 
during  the  war,  assigning  such  reasons 
for  it  as  experience  has  since  convinced 
me  were  well  founded.  At  that  time, 
twenty  dollars  would,  I  am  persuaded. 
have  engaged  the  men  for  this  term  : 
but  it  will  not  do  to  look  back, — and  if 
the  present  opportunity  is  slipped,  I 
am  persuaded  that  twelve  months  more 
will  increase  our  difficulties  fourfold. 
I  shall  therefore  take  the  liberty  of 
giving  it  as  my  opinion,  that  a  good 
bounty  be  immediately  offered,  aided 
by  the  proffer  of  at  least  a  hundred,  or 
a  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  and  a 
suit  of  clothes,  and  a  blanket,  to  each 
non-commissioned  officer  and  soldier,  as 
I  have  good  authority  for  saying,  that 
however  high  the  men's  pay  may  ap 
pear,  it  is  barely  sufficient,  in  the 
present  scarcity  and  dearness  of  all 
kinds  of  goods,  to  keep  them  in  clothes, 
much  less  to  afford  support  to  their 
families.  If  this  encouragement,  then, 
is  given  to  the  men,  and  such  pay  al 
lowed  to  the  officers,  as  will  induce  gen 
tlemen  of  liberal  character  and  liberal 
sentiments  to  engage  ;  and  proper  care 
and  caution  be  used  in  the  nomination 
(having  more  regard  to  the  characters 
of  persons  than  the  number  of  men 
they  can  enlist),  we  should,  in  a  little 
time,  have  an  army  able  to  cope  with 
any  that  can  be  opposed  to  it,  as  there 
are  excellent  materials  to  form  one  out 
of:  but  whilst  the  only  merit  an  officer 
possesses  is  his  ability  to  raise  men  ; 
whilst  those  men  consider  and  treat 
him  as  an  equal,  and,  in  the  character 


CHAP.  VII] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


of  an.  officer,  regard  him  no  more  than 
a  broomstick,  being  mixed  together  as 
one  common  herd ;  no  order  nor  disci 
pline  can  prevail,  nor  will  the  officer 
ever  meet  with  that  respect  which  is 
essentially  necessary  to  due  subordina 
tion.* 

"  To  place  any  dependence  upon  mili 
tia,  is  assuredly  resting  upon  a  broken 
staff.  Men  just  dragged  from  the  ten 
der  scenes  of  domestic  life  ;  unaccus 
tomed  to  the  din  of  arms  ;  totally  unac 
quainted  with  every  kind  of  military 
skill,  which,  being  followed  by  a  want 
of  confidence  in  themselves,  when  op 
posed  to  troops  regularly  trained,  dis 
ciplined,  and  appointed — superior  in 
knowledge,  and  superior  in  arms — makes 
them  timid,  and  ready  to  fly  from  their 
own  shadows.  Besides,  the  sudden 
change  in  their  manner  of  living,  par 
ticularly  in  their  lodging,  brings  on 
sickness  in  many,  impatience  in  all ; 
and  such  an  unconquerable  desire  of 
returning  to  their  respective  homes, 
that  it  not  only  produces  shameful  and 
scandalous  desertions  among  themselves, 
but  infuses  the  like  spiiit  into  others. 
Again,  men  accustomed  to  unbounded 
freedom  and  no  control,  cannot  brook 
the  restraint  which  is  indispensably 
necessary  to  the  good  order  and  gov 
ernment  of  an  army;  without  which, 
licentiousness,  and  every  kind  of  dis 
order,  triumphantly  reign.  To  bring 

*  In  the  recent  disgraceful  affair,  on  the  landing  of 
the  British  at  Kipp's  Bay,  the  officers  had  set  the  exam 
ple  of  running  away.  Washington's  vivid  recollection 
of  this  scene,  must  have  influenced  him  in  the  above 
remarks. 

VOL.  I.    -61 


1TT6. 


men  to  a  proper  degree  of  subordina 
tion,  is  not  the  work  of  a  day,  a  month, 
or  a  year ;  and  unhappily  for  us,  and 
the  cause  we  are  engaged  in,  the  little 
discipline  I  have  been  laboring  to  es 
tablish  in  the  army  under  my  imme 
diate  command,  is  in  a  manner  done 
away  by  having  such  a  mixture  of 
troops  as  have  been  called  together 
within  these  few  months."  f 

The  frequent  remonstrances  of  Wash 
ington  ;  the  opinions  of  all  military  men ; 
and  the  severe,  but  correcting 
hand  of  experience,  had  at 
length  produced  some  effect  on  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  Union  ; — and  soon  after 
the  defeat  on  Long  Island,  Congress 
had  directed  the  committee  composing 
the  board  of  war,  to  prepare  a  plan 
of  operations  for  the  next  campaign. 
Their  report  proposed  a  permanent 
army,  to  be  enlisted  for  the  war,  and 
to  be  raised  by  the  several  States,  in 
proportion  to  their  ability.  A  bounty 
of  twenty  dollars  was  offered  to  each 
recruit ;  and  small  portions  of  land  to 
every  officer  and  soldier. 

The  resolutions  adopting  this  report 
were  received  by  Washington  soon  after 
the  transmission  of  the  foregoing  letter. 
Believing  the  inducements  they  held 
forth  for  the  completion  of  the  army 
to  be  still  insufficient,  he,  in  his  letter 


f  Remarks  similar  to  these,  and  almost  in  the  same 
language,  with  respect  to  the  feelings  of  the  militia,  occur 
in  a  letter  of  General  Greene's,  written  about  the  same 
time.  Both  letters  suggest  to  the  reader's  mind,  a  host 
of  appalling  difficulties  surrounding  Washington,  and 
embarrassing  the  operations  of  all  the  leading  officers  of 
the  army. 


482 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


acknowledging  the  receipt  of  them, 
urged,  in  the  most  serious  terms,  the 
necessity  of  raising  the  pay  of  the  offi 
cers,  and  the  bounty  offered  to  recruits  : 

"  Give  me  leave  to  say,  sir,"  he  ob 
served,  "I  say  it  with  due  deference 
and  respect  (and  my  knowledge  of  the 
facts,  added  to  the  importance  of  the 
cause,  and  the  stake  I  hold  it  in,  must 
justify  the  freedom),  that  your  affairs 
are  in  a  more  unpromising  way  than 
you  seem  to  apprehend. 

"  Your  army,  as  mentioned  in  my 
last,  is  upon  the  eve  of  political  disso 
lution.  True  it  is,  you  have  voted  a 
larger  one  in  lieu  of  it ;  but  the  season 
is  late,  and  there  is  a  material  difference 
between  voting  battalions,  and  raising 
men.  In  the  latter,  there  are  more  dif 
ficulties  than  Congress  seem  aware  of; 
which  makes  it  my  duty  (as  I  have 
been  informed  of  the  prevailing  senti 
ments  of  this  army)  to  inform  them, 
that  unless  the  pay  of  the  officers  (es 
pecially  that  of  the  field-officers)  is 
raised,  the  chief  part  of  those  that  are 
worth  retaining  will  leave  the  service 
at  the  expiration  of  the  present  term  ; 
as  the  soldiers  will  also,  if  some  greater 
encouragement  is  not  offered  them,  than 
twenty  dollars  and  one  hundred  acres 
of  land." 

After  urging  in  strong  terms  the  ne 
cessity  of  a  more  liberal  compensation 
to  the  army,  and  stating  that  the  Brit 
ish  were  actually  raising  a  regiment 
with  a  bounty  of  ten  pounds  sterling 
for  each  recruit,  he  added : 

"  When  the  pay  and  establishment 


of  an  officer  once  become  objects  of  in 
terested  attention,  the  sloth,  negligence, 
and  even  disobedience  of  orders,  which 
at  this  time  but  too  generally  prevail, 
will  be  purged  off; — but  while  the  ser 
vice  is  viewed  with  indifference ;  while 
the  officer  conceives  that  he  is  rather 
conferring  than  receiving  an  obligation  : 
there  will  be  a  total  relaxation  of  all 
order  and  discipline  ;  and  every  thing 
will  move  heavily  on,  to  the  great  det 
riment  of  the  service,  and  inexpressible 
trouble  and  vexation  of  the  general. 

"  The  critical  situation  of  our  affairs 
at  this  time  will  justify  my  saying,  that 
no  time  is  to  be  lost  in  making  fruitless 
experiments.  An  unavailing  trial  of  a 
month,  to  get  an  army  upon  the  terms 
proposed,  may  render  it  impracticable 
to  do  it  at  all,  and  prove  fatal  to  our 
cause ;  as  I  am  not  sure  whether  any 
rubs  in  the  way  of  our  enlistments,  or 
unfavorable  turn  in  our  affairs,  may  not 
prove  the  means  of  the  enemy's  recruit 
ing  men  faster  than  we  do." 

After  stating  at  large  the  confusion 
and  delay,  inseparable  from  the  circum 
stance  that  the  appointments  for  the 
new  army  were  to  be  made  by  the 
States,  the  letter  proceeds  : 

"  Upon  the  present  plan,  I  plainly 
foresee  an  intervention  of  time  between 
the  old  and  new  army,  which  must  be 
filled  with  militia,  if  to  be  had,  with 
whom  no  man,  who  has  any  regard  for 
his  own  reputation,  can  undertake  to  be 
answerable  for  consequences.  I  shall 
also  be  mistaken  in  my  conjectures,  if 
we  do  not  lose  the  most  valuable  offi- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


483 


cers  in  this  army,  under  the  present 
mode  of  appointing  them  ;  consequent 
ly,  if  we  have  an  army  at  all,  it  will  be 
composed  of  materials  not  only  entirely 
raw,  but,  if  uncommon  pains  are  not 
taken,  entirely  unfit :  and  I  see  such  a 
distrust  and  jealousy  of  military  power, 
that  the  commander-in-chief  has  not  an 
opportunity,  even  by  recommendation, 
to  give  the  least  assurances  of  reward 
for  the  most  essential  services. 

"  In  a  word,  such  a  cloud  of  perplex 
ing  circumstances  appears  before  me, 
without  one  flattering  hope,  that  I  am 
thoroughly  convinced,  unless  the  most 
vigorous  and  decisive  exertions  are 
immediately  adopted  to  remedy  these 
evils,  the  certain  and  absolute  loss  of 
our  liberties  will  be  the  inevitable  con 
sequence  :  as  one  unhappy  stroke  will 
throw  a  powerful  weight  into  the  scale 
against  us,  and  enable  General  Howe 
to  recruit  his  army,  as  fast  as  we  shall 
ours ;  numbers  being  disposed,  and 
many  actually  doing  so  already.  Some 
of  the  most  probable  remedies,  and 
such  as  experience  has  brought  to  my 
more  intimate  knowledge,  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  point  out ;  the  rest  I  beg 
leave  to  submit  to  the  consideration  of 
Congress. 

"  I  ask  pardon  for  taking  up  so  much 
of  their  time  with  my  opinions,  but  I 
should  betray  that  trust  which  they  and 
my  country  have  reposed  in  me,  were  I 
to  be  silent  upon  matters  so  extremely 
interesting." 

On  receiving  this  very  serious  letter, 
Congress  passed  resolutions  conforming 


to  many  of  its  suggestions.  The  pay  of 
the  officers  was  raised,  and  a  suit  of 
clothes  allowed  an.  ually  to  each 

17T6. 

soldrer.  The  legislatures  of  the 
States  having  troops  in  the  continental 
service,  either  at  New  York,  Ticonder- 
oga,  or  New  Jersey,  were  requested  to 
depute  committees  to  those  places,  in 
order  to  officer  the  regiments  on  the 
new  establishment ;  and  it  was  recom 
mended  to  the  committees  to  consult 
Washington  on  the  subject  of  appoint 
ments. 

These  measures  afforded  much  grati 
fication  to  Washington.  He  was  also 
greatly  relieved  by  effecting  an  ex 
change  of  prisoners  with  General  Howe, 
in  which  those  captured  in  Canada  were 
included.  Among  the  officers  restored 
to  the  army  by  this  exchange  were 
Lord  Stirling  and  Captain  Daniel  Mor 
gan,*  who  had  served  at  the  siege  of 
Quebec  with  Arnold  and  Montgomery. 
Washington  recommended  Morgan  to 
Congress  for  the  command  of  a  regiment 
of  riflemen  about  to  be  raised ;  an  ap 
pointment  which  was  made  with  signal 
advantage  to  the  service. 

Washington  now  learned  that  the 
tories  were  forming  military  organiza 
tions  to  aid  the  enemy.  Oliver  De 
Lancey,  a  conspicuous  man  in  New 
York,  was  actually  appointed  brigadier- 
general  by  Lord  Howe,  with  authority 
to  raise  a  brigade  ;  and  he  was  offering 
liberal  pay  for  soldiers,  and  commissions 
to  those  who  would  bring  in  a  given 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


484 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV. 


number  of  recruits.  Robert  Rogers,  of 
New  Hampshire,  who  had  served  with 
credit  in  the  French  war,  and  who  had 
since  served  the  enemy  as  a  spy  in 
Canada,  been  arrested,  and  afterwards 
liberated  on  promise  of  good  behavior, 
was  also  enlisting  a  regiment  of  tories. 
He  had  obtained  a  colonel's  commission, 
and  his  regiment  was  to  be  called  the 
Queen's  Rangers.  This  man  was  one  of 
the  most  infamous  traitors  in  the  Brit 
ish  service;  and  the  Americans,  both 
officers  and  men,  were  especially  desirous 
to  capture  and  punish  him. 

The  armies  did  not  long  retain  their 
position  on  York  Island.  General 
Howe  was  sensible  of  the  strength  of 
the  American  camp,  and  was  not  dis 
posed  to  force  it.  His  plan  was  to  com 
pel  Washington  to  abandon  it,  or  to  give 
battle  in  a  situation  in  which  a  defeat 
must  be  attended  with  the  total  destruc 
tion  of  his  army.  With  this  view,  after 
throwing  up  intrenchments  on  McGow- 
an's  Hill  for  the  protection  of  New  York, 
he  determined  to  gain  the  rear  of  the 
American  camp  by  the  New  England 
road,  and  also  to  possess  himself  of  the 
North  River  above  Kingsbridge.  To 
assure  himself  of  the  practicability  of 
acquiring  the  command  of  the  river, 
three  frigates,  the  Phoenix,  Roebuck, 
and  Tartar,  passed  up  it  under  the  fire 
from  Fort  Washington,  and  from  the 
opposite  post  on  the  Jersey  shore,  after 
wards  called  Fort  Lee,  without  sustain 
ing  any  injury  from  the  batteries,  or 
being  impeded  by  the  chevaux-de-frise 
which  had  been  sunk  in  the  channel  be 


tween  those  forts,  under  the  direction 
of  General  Putnam. 

This  point  being  ascertained,  he  em 
barked  a  great  part  of  his  army  on 
board  flat-bottomed  boats,  and,  passing 
through  Hell  Gate  into  the  Sound, 
landed  at  Frog's  Neck,  about  nine  miles 
from  the  camp  on  the  Heights  of  Har 
lem. 

In  consequence  of  this  movement, 
Washington  strengthened  the  post  at 
Kingsbridge,  and  detached  some  regi 
ments  to  West  Chester  for  the  purpose 
of  skirmishing  with  the  enemy,  so  soon 
as  he  should  march  from  the  ground  he 
occupied.  The  road  from  Frog's  Point 
to  Kingsbridge  leads  through  a  strong 
country,  intersected  by  numerous  stone 
fences,  so  as  to  render  it  difficult  to 
move  artillery,  or  even  infantry,  in  com 
pact  columns,  except  along  the  main 
road,  which  had  been  broken  up  in 
several  places.  Washington,  therefore, 
entertained  sanguine  hopes  of  the  event, 
should  a  direct  attack  be  made  on  his 
camp. 

General  Howe,  if  we  may  believe  his 
own  account,  continued  some  days  wait 
ing  for  his  artillery,  military  stores,  and 
reinforcements  from  Staten  Island,  which 
were  detained  by  unfavorable  winds. 
The  Americans,  however,  attributed  his 
delay  to  the  destruction  of  the  cause 
way  leading  from  his  position  to  the 
main  land;  and  the  menacing  attitude 
of  the  American  batteries,  and  the  de 
tachments  from  Washington's  army,  by 
whom  he  was  inclosed. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  propriety  of 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


485 


removing  the  American  army  from  its 
present  situation,  was  submitted  to  a 
council  of  general  officers.  After  much 
investigation,  it  was  declared  to  be  im 
practicable,  without  a  change  of  posi 
tion,  to  keep  up  their  communication 
with  the  country,  and  avoid  being  com 
pelled  to  fight  under  great  disadvan 
tages,  or  to  surrender  themselves  pris 
oners  of  war.  General  Lee,  who  had 
just  arrived  from  the  south,  and  whose 
experience  as  well  as  late  success  gave 
great  weight  to  his  opinions,  urged  the 
necessity  of  this  movement  with  much 
earnestness.*  It  was,  at  the  same  time, 
determined  to  hold  Fort  Washington, 
and  to  defend  it  as  long  as  possible.  A 
resolution  of  Congress  of  the  llth  of 
October,  desiring  General  Washington, 
by  every  art  and  expense,  to  obstruct, 
if  possible,  the  navigation  of  the  river, 
contributed,  not  inconsiderably,  to  this 
determination. 

In  pursuance  of  this  opinion  of  the 
military  council,  Washington  began 
moving  the  army  up  the  North  River, 
so  as  to  extend  its  front,  or  left,  towards 
the  White  Plains,  beyond  the  British 
right,  and  thus  keep  open  its  communi 
cation  with  the  country.  The  right,  or 
rear  division,  remained  a  few  days  longer 
about  Kiugsbridge,  under  the  command 
of  General  Lee,  for  the  security  of  the 

"  Lee  was  always  overrated,  till  he  fell  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  The  success  of  the  Americans  in  repel 
ling  the  enemy's  attack  on  Charleston,  was  due  to  Moul- 
trie  and  the  brave  fellows  who  defended  the  Palmetto 
Fort,  and  not  at  all  to  Lee,  who  was  in  favor  of  abandon 
ing  the  fort  as  a  means  of  defence  ;  but  was  fortunately 
overruled  by  the  opinions  of  the  other  officers. 


heavy  baggage  and  military  stores, 
which,  in  consequence  of  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  wagons,  could  be  but 
slowly  removed. 

General  Howe,  checked  at  Frog's 
Neck,  abandoned  that  post,  and  after 
uniting  his  forces  at  Pell's  Point,  moved 
forward  his  whole  army,  except  four 
brigades  destined  for  the  defence  of 
New  York,  through  Pelham's  Manor, 
towards  New  Rochelle.  Some  skir 
mishes  took  place  on  the  march  with 
a  part  of  Glover's  brigade,  in  which  the 
conduct  of  the  Americans  was  men 
tioned  with  satisfaction  by  the  com- 
inander-in-chief ;  and,  as  Howe  took  post 
at  New  Rochelle,  Washington  occupied 
the  heights  between  that  place  and  the 
North  River. 

At  New  Rochelle,  the  British  army 
was  joined  by  the  second  division  of 
Germans,  under  the  command  of  Gen 
eral  Knyphausen,  and  by  an  in 
complete  regiment  of  cavalry 
from  Ireland,  some  of  whom  had  been 
captured  on  their  passage.  Both  armies 
now  marched  towards  the  White  Plains, 
a  piece  of  ground  already  occupied  by 
a  detachment  of  militia.  The  main 
body  of  the  American  troops  formed  a 
long  line  of  intrenched  camps,  extend 
ing  from  twelve  to  thirteen  miles,  on 
the  different  heights  from  Valentine's 
Hill,  near  Kingsbridge,  to  the  White 
Plains,  fronting  the  British  line  of 
march,  and  the  Bronx,  which  divided 
the  two  armies.  The  motions  of  Gen 
eral  Howe  were  anxiously  watched,  not 
only  for  the  purposes  of  security,  and  of 


1TT6. 


486 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV 


avoiding  a  general  action,  but  in  order 
to  seize  any  occasion  which  might  pre 
sent  itself  of  engaging  his  outposts  with 
advantage. 

O 

While  the  British  army  lay  at  New 
Rochelle,  the  position  of  a  corps  of 
American  loyalists  commanded  by  that 
infamous  traitor,  Colonel  Rogers,  was 
supposed  to  furnish  such  an  occasion. 
He  was  advanced  further  eastward, 
to  Mamaroneck,  on  the  Sound,  wrhere 
he  was  believed  to  be  covered  by 
the  other  troops.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  surprise  him  in  the  night,  by 
a  detachment  which  should  pass  be 
tween  him  and  the  main  body  of  the 
British  army,  and,  by  a  coup  de  main, 
bear  off  his  whole  corps.  Rogers  was 
surprised,  and  about  sixty  of  his  regi 
ment  killed  and  taken,  the  traitor  him 
self  escaping  capture.*  The  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  only  two  killed,  and 
eight  or  ten  wounded ;  among  the  lat 
ter  was  Major  Green  of  Virginia,  a 
brave  officer,  who  led  the  detachment, 
and  who  received  a  ball  through  his 
body. 

Not  long  afterwards,  a  regiment  of 
Pennsylvania  riflemen,  under  Colonel 
Hand,  engaged  an  equal  number  of 
Hessian  chasseurs,  with  some  advan 
tage. 

The  caution  of  the  English  general 
was  increased  by  these  evidences  of  en 
terprise  in  his  adversary.  His  object 
seems  to  have  been  to  avoid  skirmishes, 

6  Rogers,  says  Irving  skulked  off  in  tne  dark  at  the 
first  fire.  He  was  too  old  a  partisan  to  be  easily  en 
trapped. 


and  to  bring  on  a  general  action,  if  that 
could  be  effected  under  favorable  cir 
cumstances;  if  not,  he  calculated  on 
nearly  all  the  advantages  of  a  victory 
from  the  approaching  dissolution  of  the 
American  army.  He  proceeded  there 
fore  slowly.  His  march  was  in  close 
order,  his  encampments  compact,  and 
well  guarded  with  artillery;  and  the 
utmost  circumspection  was  used  to  leave 
no  vulnerable  point. 

As  the  sick  and  baggage  reached  a 
place  of  safety,  Washington  gradually 
drew  in  his  outposts,  and  took  posses 
sion  of  the  heights  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Bronx,  fronting  the  head  of  the 
British  columns,  at  the  distance  of  seven 
or  eight  miles  from  them.  Here  he 
was  soon  joined  by  Lee,  who,  after  se 
curing  the  sick  and  the  baggage,  had, 
with  considerable  address,  brought  up 
the  rear  division  of  the  army ;  an  opera 
tion  the  more  difficult,  as  the  deficiency 
of  teams  was  such  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  labor  usually  performed  by 
horses  or  oxen  devolved  on  men. 

Washington  was  encamped  on  high 
broken  ground,  with  his  right  flank  on 
the  Bronx.  This  stream  meandered  so 
as  also  to  cover  the  front  of  his  right 
wing,  which  extended  along  the  road 
leading  towards  New  Rochelle,  as  far 
as  the  brow  of  the  hill  where  his  centre 
was  posted.  His  left,  which  formed 
almost  a  right  angle  with  his  centre,  and 
was  nearly  parallel  to  his  right,  extend 
ed  along  the  hills  northward,  so  as  to 
keep  possession  of  the  commanding 
ground,  and  secure  a  retreat,  should  it 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


487 


be  necessary,  to  a  still  stronger  position 
in  his  rear.* 

On  the  right  of  the  army,  and  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Bronx,  about  one  mile 
from  camp,  on  a  road  leading  from  the 
North  River,  was  a  hill,  of  which  Gen 
eral  M'Dougal  was  ordered  to  take  pos 
session,  for  the  purpose  of  covering  the 
right  flank.  His  detachment  consisted 


°  Gordon  gives  the  following  anecdotes  of  this  period 
of  the  war  : 

General  Lee,  while  at  White  Plains,  lodged  in  a  small 
house  close  in  with  the  road,  by  which  General  Washing 
ton  had  to  pass  when  out  reconnoitering.  Returning  with 
his  officers  they  called  in  and  took  dinner.  They  were 
no  sooner  gone  than  Lee  told  his  aids,  "  You  must  look 
me  out  another  place,  for  I  shall  have  Washington  and 
all  his  puppies  continually  calling  on  me,  and  they  will 
eat  me  up."  The  next  day,  Lee  seeing  Washington  out 
upon  the  like  business,  and  supposing  that  he  should 
have  another  visit,  ordered  his  servant  to  write  with 
chalk  upon  the  door,  no  victuals  dressed  here  to-day.  When 
the  company  approached  and  saw  the  writing,  they  pushed 
off  with  much  good-humor  for  their  own  table,  without 
resenting  the  habitual  oddity  of  the  man. 

It  happened  that  a  garden  of  a  widow  woman,  which 
lay  between  the  two  camps,  was  robbed  at  night.  Her 
Bon,  a  mere  boy,  and  little  of  his  age,  asked  leave  for 
finding  out  and  securing  the  pilferer,  in  case  he  should 
return  ;  which  being  granted,  he  concealed  himself  with 
a  gun  among  the  weeds.  A  British  grenadier,  a  strapping 
Highlander,  came  and  filled  his  large  bag  ;  when  he  had 
it  on  his  shoulder,  the  boy  left  his  covert,  came  softly 
behind  him,  cocked  his  gun,  and  called  out  to  the  fel 
low,  "You  are  my  prisoner;  if  you  attempt  to  throw 
your  bag  down  I  will  shoot  you  dead  :  go  forward  in  that 
road."  The  boy  kept  close  to  him,  threatened,  and  was 
always  prepared  to  execute  his  threatening.  Thus  the 
boy  drove  him  into  the  American  camp,  where  he  was 
secured.  When  the  grenadier  was  at  liberty  to  throw 
down  his  bag,  and  saw  who  had  made  him  prisoner,  he 
was  most  horribly  mortified,  and  exclaimed,  "  A  British 
grenadier  made  prisoner  by  such  a  d — d  brat,  by  such  a 
d — d  brat!"  The  American  officers  were  highly  enter 
tained  with  the  adventure  ;  made  a  collection  for  the 
boy,  and  gave  him  some  pounds.  He  returned  fully 
satisfied  with  the  losses  his  mother  had  sustained.  The 
soldier  had  side-arms,  but  they  were  of  no  use,  as  he 
could  not  get  rid  of  his  bag. 


IT  76. 


of  about  sixteen  hundred  men,  princi 
pally  militia ;  and  his  communication 
with  the  main  army  was  open,  that  part 
of  the  Bronx  being  passable  without 
difficulty. 

Intrenchments  were  thrown  up  to 
strengthen  the  lines. 

General  Howe,  having  made  arrange 
ments  to  attack  Washington  in  his  camp, 
advanced  early  in  the  morning  (Octo 
ber  25th)  in  two  columns,  the 
right  commanded  by  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  and  the  left  by  General  Knyp- 
hausen ;  and,  about  ten,  his  van  ap 
peared  in  full  view,  on  which  a  can 
nonade  commenced  without  much  exe 
cution  on  either  side. 

The  British  right  formed  behind  a 
rising  ground,  about  a  mile  in  front  of 
the  American  camp,  and  extending  from 
the  road  leading  from  Mamaroneck  to 
wards  the  Bronx,  stood  opposed  to  the 
American  centre. 

On  viewing  Washington's  situation, 
Howe,  who  accompanied  Knyphausen, 
determined  to  carry  the  hill  occupied 
by  M'Dougal,  as  preliminary  to  an  at 
tack  on  the  centre  and  right  of  the 
American  camp.  He  therefore  directed 
Colonel  Rahl,  with  a  brigade  of  Hes 
sians,  to  cross  the  Bronx  and  make  a 
circuit  so  as  to  turn  M'Dougal's  right 
flank,  while  Brigadier-general  Leslie, 
with  a  strong  corps  of  British  and  Hes 
sian  troops,  should  attack  him  in  front. 

When  Rahl  had  gained  his  position, 
the  detachment  commanded  by  Leslie 
also  crossed  the  Bronx,  and  commenced 
a  vigorous  attack.  The  militia  in  the 


488 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


front  line  immediately  fled ;  but  the 
regulars  maintained  their  ground  with 
great  gallantry.  Colonel  Smallwood's 
regiment  of  Maryland,  and  Colonel 
Reitzimer's  of  New  York,  advanced 
boldly  towards  the  foot  of  the  hill  to 
meet  Leslie,  but,  after  a  sharp  encoun 
ter,  were  overpowered  by  numbers,  and 
compelled  to  retreat. 

General  Leslie  then  attacked  the  re 
maining  part  of  M'Dougal's  forces,  who 
were  soon  driven  from  the  hill,  but  kept 
up  for  some  time  an  irregular  fire  from 
the  stone  walls  about  the  scene  of  ac 
tion.  General  Putnam,  with  Beal's 
brigade,  was  ordered  to  support  them ; 
but  not  having  arrived  till  the  hill 
was  lost,  the  attempt  to  regain  it  was 
deemed  unadvisable,  and  the  troops  re 
treated  to  the  main  army. 

In  this  animated  engagement,  com 
monly  called  the  battle  of  White  Plains, 
the  loss  was  supposed  to  be  nearly  equal. 
That  of  the  Americans  was  between 
three  and  four  hundred  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  taken.  Colonel  Small- 
wood  was  among  the  wounded. 

Washington  continued  in  his  lines 
expecting  an  assault.  But  a  consider 
able  part  of  the  day  having  been  ex 
hausted  in  gaining  the  hill  which  had 
been  occupied  by  M'Dougal,  the  medi 
tated  attempt  on  his  intreuchments  was 
postponed  until  the  next  morning  ;  and 
the  British  army  lay  on  their  arms  the 
following  night,  in  order  of  battle,  on 
the  ground  taken  during  the  day. 

This  interval  was  employed  by  Wash 
ington  in  strengthening  his  works,  re 


moving  his  sick  and  baggage,  and  pre 
paring  for  the  expected  attack  by  adapt 
ing  the  arrangement  of  nis  troops  to  the 
existing  state  of  things.  His  left  main 
tained  its  position ;  but  his  right  was 
drawn  back  to  stronger  ground.  Per 
ceiving  this,  and  being  unwilling  to 
leave  any  thing  to  hazard,  Howe  re 
solved  to  postpone  further  offensive 
operations,  until  Lord  Percy  should 
arrive  with  four  battalions  from  New 
York,  and  two  from  Mamaroneck. 
This  reinforcement  was  received  on  the 
evening  of  the  30th,  and  preparations 
were  then  made  to  force  the  American 
intrenchments  the  next  morning.  In 
the  night,  and  during  the  early  part  of 
the  succeeding  day,  a  violent  rain  still 
further  postponed-  the  assault. 

Having  now  removed  his  provisions 
and  heavy  baggage  to  much  stronger 
ground,  and  apprehending  that  the 
British  general,  whose  left  wing  ex 
tended  along  the  height  taken  from 
M'Dougal,  to  his  rear,  might  turn  his 
camp,  and  occupy  the  strong  ground  to 
which  he  designed  to  retreat,  should  an 
attempt  on  his  lines  prove  successful, 
Washington  changed  his  position  in  the 
night,  and  withdrew  to  the  Heights  of 
North  Castle,  about  five  miles  from  the 
White  Plains. 

Deeming  this  position  too  strong  to 
be  attempted  with  prudence,  General 
Howe  determined  to  change  his  plan  of 
operations,  and  to  give  a  new  direction 
to  his  efforts. 

While  forts  Washington  and  Lee 
were  held  by  the  Americans,  his'  move- 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


489 


1776. 


ments  were  checked,  and  New  York 
insecure.  With  a  view  to  the  acquisi 
tion  of  these  posts,  he  directed  Gen 
eral  Knyphausen  to  take  possession  of 
Kingsbridge,  which  was  defended  by  a 
small  party  of  Americans  placed  in 
Fort  Independence.  On  his  approach, 
this  party  retreated  to  Fort  Washing 
ton  ;  and  Knyphausen  encamped  be 
tween  that  place  and  Kingsbridge. 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Howe  re 
tired  slowly  down  the  North  River. 
His  designs  were  immediately  pene 
trated  by  Washington,  who  per 
ceived  the  necessity  of  passing 
a  part  of  his  army  into  Jersey,  but  was 
restrained  from  immediately  leaving  the 
strong  ground  he  occupied  by  the  ap 
prehension  that  his  adversary  might,  in 
that  event,  return  suddenly  and  gain 
his  rear.  A  council  of  war  was  called, 
which  determined  unanimously,  that, 
should  General  Howe  continue  his 
march  towards  New  York,  all  the 
troops  raised  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Hudson  should  cross  that  river,  to  be 
afterwards  followed  by  those  raised  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  continent,  leav 
ing  three  thousand  men  for  the  defence 
of  the  Highlands  about  the  North 
River. 

In  a  letter  to  Congress,  communicat 
ing  this  movement  of  the  British  army, 
and  this  determination  of  the  council, 
the  general  said,  "  I  cannot  indulge  the 
idea  that  General  Howe,  supposing  him 
to  be  going  to  New  York,  means  to 
close  the  campaign,  and  to  sit  down 
without  attempting  something  more. 

VOL.  I.— 62 


I  think  it  highly  probable,  and  almost 
certain,  that  he  will  make  a  descent 
with  part  of  his  troops  into  the  Jer 
seys  ;  and,  as  soon  as  I  am  satisfied  that 
the  present  manoeuvre  is  real,  and  not 
a  feint,  I  shall  use  all  the  means  in  my 
power  to  forward  a  part  of  our  force  to 
counteract  his  designs.  I  expect  the 
enemy  will  bend  their  force  against 
Fort  Washington,  and  invest  it  imme 
diately.  From  some  advices,  it  is  an 
object  that  will  attract  their  earliest 
attention." 

He  also  addressed  a  letter  to  the  gov 
ernor  of  New  Jersey,  expressing  a  de 
cided  opinion  that  General  Howe  would 
not  content  himself  with  investing  Fort 
Washington,  but  would  invade  the  Jer 
seys  ;  and  urging  him  to  put  the  militia 
in  the  best  possible  condition  to  rein 
force  the  army,  and  to  take  the  place 
of  the  new  levies,  who  could  not,  he 
suggested,  be  depended  on  to  continue 
in  service  one  day  longer  than  the  1st 
of  December,  the  time  for  which  they 
engaged. 

Immediate  intelligence  of  this  move 
ment  was  likewise  given  to  General 
Greene,  who  commanded  in  the  Jer 
seys  ;  and  his  attention  was  particu 
larly  pointed  to  Fort  Washington. 

As  the  British  army  approached 
Kingsbridge,  three  ships  of  war  passed 
up  the  North  River,  notwithstanding 
the  fire  from  forts  Washington  and  Lee, 
and  notwithstanding  the  additional  ob 
structions  which  had  been  placed  in  the 
channel. 

On  being  informed  of  this,  another 


490 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


letter  was  addressed  to  General  Greene, 
stating  that  this  fact  was  so  plain  a 
proof  of  the  inefficacy  of  all  the  ob 
structions  thrown  in  the  river,  as  to 
justify  a  change  in  the  dispositions 
which  had  been  made.  "  If,"  continued 
the  letter,  "we  cannot  prevent  vessels 
from  passing  up,  and  the  enemy  are 
possessed  of  the  surrounding  country, 
what  valuable  purpose  can  it  answer  to 
attempt  to  hold  a  post  from  which  the 
expected  benefit  cannot  be  derived  ?  I 
am  therefore  inclined  to  think  it  will 
not  be  prudent  to  hazard  the  men  and 
stores  at  Mount  Washington  ;  but  as 
you  are  on  the  spot,  I  leave  it  to  you 
to  give  such  orders  respecting  the  evac 
uation  of  the  place,  as  you  may  think 
most  advisable ;  and  so  far  revoke  the 
orders  given  to  Colonel  Magaw  to  de 
fend  it  to  the  last." 

Measures  were  now  taken  to  cross 
the  North  River  with  the  troops  which 
had  been  raised  on  its  western 
side,  and  Washington  deter 
mined  to  accompany  that  division  of 
the  army.  The  eastern  regiments  re 
mained  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river, 
under  the  command  of  Lee,  with  orders 
to  join  the  commander-in-chief,  should 
the  British  army  cross  the  Hudson. 

After  visiting  the  posts  about  Peeks- 
kill,  and  making  all  the  arrangements 
in  his  power  for  their  defence,  Wash 
ington  passed  the  North  River  in  the 
rear  of  the  troops  designed  to  act  in  the 
Jerseys,  and  proceeded  to  the  quarters 
of  General  Greene,  near  Fort  Lee. 

From  too  great  a  confidence  in  the 


1TT6. 


strength  of  Fort  Washington,  and  a 
conviction  of  its  importance,  General 
Greene  had  not  withdrawn  its  garrison 
under  the  discretionary  orders  he  had 
received,  but  still  indulged  a  hope  that 
the  post  might  be  maintained,  or, 
should  its  situation  become  desperate, 
that  means  might  be  found  to  trans 
port  the  troops  across  the  river  to  the 
Jersey  shore,  which  was  defended  by 
Fort  Lee. 

Mount  Washington  is  a  high  piece  of 
rocky  ground,  near  the  North  River, 
very  difficult  of  ascent,  especially  to 
wards  the  north,  or  Kingsbridge.  The 
fort  was  capable  of  containing  about 
one  thousand  men ;  but  the  lines  and 
outworks,  which  were  chiefly  on  the 
southern  side,  towards  New  York,  were 
drawn  quite  across  the  island.  The 
ground  was  naturally  strong,  the  ap 
proaches  difficult,  and  the  fortifications, 
though  not  sufficient  to  resist  heavy  ar 
tillery,  were  believed  to  be  in  a  condi 
tion  to  resist  any  attempt  to  carry  them 
by  storm.  The  garrison  consisted  of 
troops,  some  of  whom  were  among  the 
best  in  the  American  army ;  and  the 
command  had  been  given  to  Colonel 
Magaw,  a  brave  and  intelligent  officer, 
in  whom  great  confidence  was  placed. 

General  Howe,  after  retiring  from  the 
White  Plains,  encamped  at  a  small  dis 
tance  from  Kingsbridge,  on  the  Heights 
of  Fordham ;  and,  having  made  the 
necessary  preparations  for  an  assault, 
summoned  the  garrison  to  surrender,  on 
pain  of  being  put  to  the  sword.  Colonel 
Magaw  replied  that  he  should  defend 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


491 


the  place  to  the  last  extremity,  and 
communicated  the  summons  to  General 
Greene  at  Fort  Lee,  who  transmitted  it 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  then  at  Hack- 
ensack.  He  immediately  rode  to  Fort 
Lee,  and,  though  it  was  late  in  the 
night,  was  proceeding  to  Fort  Washing 
ton,  where  he  expected  to  find  Generals 
Putnam  and  Greene,  when,  in  crossing 
the  river,  he  met  those  officers  return 
ing  from  a  visit  to  that  fort.  They 
reported  that  the  garrison  was  in  high 
spirits,  and  would  make  a  good  defence  ; 
on  which  he  returned  with  them  to 
Fort  Lee. 

Early  next  morning,  Colonel  Magaw 
posted  his  troops,  partly  on  a  command 
ing  hill  north  of  the  fort,  partly  in  the 
outermost  of  the  lines  drawn  across  the 
island  on  the  south  of  the  fort,  and 
partly  between  those  lines,  on  the  woody 
and  rocky  heights  fronting  Harlem 
River,  where  the  ground  being  ex 
tremely  difficult  of  ascent,  the  works 
were  not  closed.  Colonel  Rawlings,  of 
Maryland,  commanded  on  the  hill  to 
wards  Kingsbridge ;  Colonel  Cadwal- 
lader,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  lines,  and 
Colonel  Magaw  himself  continued  in  the 
fort. 

The  strength  of  the  place  had  not 
deterred  the  British  general  from  re 
solving  to  carry  it  by  storm;  and,  on 
receiving  the  answer  of  Colonel  Magaw, 
arrangements  were  made  for  a  vigorous 
attack  next  day.  About  ten,  the  assail 
ants  appeared  before  the  works,  and 
moved  to  the  assault  in  four  different 
quarters.  Their  first  division  consisting 


of  Hessians  and  Waldeckers,  amounting 
to  about  five  thousand  men,  under  the 
command  of  General  Knyphausen,  ad 
vanced  on  the  north  side  of  the  fort, 
against  the  hill  occupied  by  Colonel 
Rawlings,  who  received  them  with  great 
gallantry.  The  second,  on  the  east,  con 
sisting  of  the  British  light-infantry  and 
guards,  was  led  by  Brigadier-general 
Matthews,  supported  by  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  at  the  head  of  the  grenadiers  and 
the  thirty-third  regiment.  These  troops 
crossed  Harlem  River  in  boats,  under 
cover  of  the  artillery  planted  in  the 
works  which  had  been  erected  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  landed 
within  the  third  line  of  defence  which 
crossed  the  island.  The  third  division 
was  conducted  by  Lieutenant-colonel 
Stirling,  who  passed  the  river  higher 
up ;  and  the  fourth  by  Lord  Percy,  ac 
companied  by  General  Howe  in  person. 
This  division  was  to  attack  the  lines  in 
front,  on  the  south  side. 

The  attacks  on  the  north  and  south 
by  General  Knyphausen  and  Lord 
Percy,  were  made  about  the  same  in 
stant,  on  Colonels  Rawlings  and  Cad- 
wallader,  who  maintained  their  ground 
for  a  considerable  time  ;  but,  while 
Colonel  Cadwallader  was  engaged  in 
the  first  line  against  Lord  Percy,  the 
second  and  third  divisions  which  had 
crossed  Harlem  River  made  good  their 
landing,  and  dispersed  the.  troops  front 
ing  that  river,  as  well  as  a  detachment 
sent  by  Colonel  Cadwallader  to  support 
them.  These  being  overpowered,  and 
the  British  advancing  between  the  fort 


492 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


and  the  lines,  it  became  necessary  to 
abandon  them.  In  retreating  to  the 
fort,  some  of  the  men  were  intercepted 
by  the  division  under  Colonel  Stirling, 
and  made  prisoners. 

The  resistance  on  the  north  was  of 
longer  duration.  Rawlings  maintained 
his  ground  with  firmness,  and  his  rifle 
men  did  vast  execution.  A  three-gun 
battery  also  played  on  Knyphausen 
with  great  effect.  At  length,  the  Hes 
sian  columns  gained  the  summit  of  the 
hill  ;  after  which,  Colonel  Rawlings, 
Avho  perceived  the  danger  which  threat 
ened  his  rear,  retreated  under  the  guns 
of  the  fort. 

Having  carried  the  lines,  and  all  the 
strong  ground  adjoining  them,  the 
British  general  again  summoned  Colonel 
Magaw  to  surrender.  While  the  capitu 
lation  was  in  a  course  of  arrangement, 
a  Captain  Gooch  boldly  ventured  to 
cross  over  from  Fort  Lee,  with  a  letter 
from  General  Washington  to  Colonel 
Magaw,  acquainting  him  that  if  he 
could  hold  out  till  night,  the  garrison 
should  be  taken  off.  He  delivered  the 
letter,  pushed  through  the  fire  of  the 
enemy,  preferring  that  danger  to  being 
made  a  prisoner,  and  escaped  unhurt. 
Washington  could  view  several  parts  of 
the  attack ;  and  when  he  saw  his  men 
bayoneted,  and  in  that  way  killed  while 
begging  quarter,  he  cried  with  the  ten 
derness  of  a  child,  and  exclaimed  at  the 
barbarity  that  was  practised.  His  heart 
had  not  been  steeled  by  plunging  into 
acts  of  cruelty.  When  General  Lee 
read  the  letter  sent  by  express,  giving 


an  account  of  Fort  Washington's  being 
taken,  resentment  and  vexation  led  him, 
unfeeling  as  he  was  in  common,  to  weep 
plentifully.  He  wrote  on  the  19th  to 
the  commander-in-chief,  "  Oh  !  general, 
why  would  you  be  over-persuaded  by 
men  of  inferior  judgment  to  your  own  ? 
It  was  a  cursed  affair."  He  had  ex 
claimed  before,  upon  hearing  that  the 
defence  of  it  was  to  be  risked,  "  Then 
we  are  undone."* 

When  Colonel  Magaw  received  Wash 
ington's  communication,  requesting  him 
to  hold  out  till  evening,  he  had  pro 
ceeded  too  far  to  retreat;  and  it  is 
probable  the  place  could  not  have  re 
sisted  an  assault  from  so  formidable  a 
force  as  threatened  it.  The  greatest 
difficulties  had  been  overcome ;  the  fort 
was  too  small  to  contain  all  the  men ; 
and  their  ammunition  was  nearly  ex 
hausted.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  garrison  became  prisoners  of  war. 

The  loss  on  this  occasion  was  the 
greatest  the  Americans  had  ever 
sustained.  The  garrison  was 
stated  by  Washington  at  about  two 
thousand  men.  Yet,  in  a  report  pub 
lished  as  from  Howe,  the  number  of 
prisoners  is  said  to  be  two  thousand  and 
six  hundred,  exclusive  of  officers.  Either 
Howe  must  have  included  in  his  report 
persons  who  were  not  soldiers,  or  Wash 
ington  must  have  comprehended  the 
regulars  only  in  his  letter.  The  last 
conjecture  is  most  probably  correct. 
The  loss  of  the  assailants,  according  to 

°  Gordon,  History  of  the  American  Revolution. 


1T76. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


493 


Mr.  Stedman,*  amounted  to  eight  hun 
dred  men.  This  loss  fell  heaviest  on 
the  Germans. 

On  the  surrender  of  Fort  Washing 
ton,  it  was  determined  to  evacuate  Fort 
Lee ;  and  a  removal  of  the  stores  was 
immediately  commenced.  Before  this 
operation  could  be  completed,  a  detach 
ment  commanded  by  Lord  Cornwallis, 
amounting  to  about  six  thousand  men, 
crossed  the  North  River  below  Dobb's 
Ferry,  and  endeavored,  by  a  rapid 
march,  to  inclose  the  garrison  between 
the  North  and  Hackensack  rivers.  An 
immediate  retreat  from  that  narrow 
neck  of  land  had  become  indispensable, 
and  was  with  difficulty  effected.  All 
the  heavy  cannon  at  Fort  Lee,  except 
two  twelve-pounders,  with  a  consider 
able  quantity  of  provisions  and  military 
stores,  including  three  hundred  tents, 
were  lost. 

Before  following  Washington  in  his 
retreat  through  "  the  Jerseys,"  we  will 
notice  some  events  which  had  trans 
pired  in  the  north  during  his  recent 
operations  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Hudson. 

In  our  account  of  the  invasion  of 
Canada  by  Montgomery  and  Arnold, 
we  brought  the  narrative  up  to  the 
point  where  that  country  was  evacuated 
by  the  Americans,  in  June.  They  still 
occupied  Crown  Point  and  Ti- 
conderoga.  They  also  had  com 
mand  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  Sir  Guy 
Carleton,  the  British  commander-in- 

°  A  British  writer,  author  of  the  History  of  the  American 
War. 


1TT6. 


chief  in  Canada,  deemed  it  prudent  to 
wrest  it  from  them  before  he  advanced 
further.  To  effect  this  he  must  build 
a  fleet,  which  required  time  and  labor. 
Mean  time,  General  Gates  was  ordered 
to  take  command  of  the  northern  army, 
which  was  to  be  reinforced  with  six 
thousand  militia. 

In  characterizing  the  recent  attempt 
to  conquer  Canada,  Marshall  makes  the 
following  very  judicious  remarks :  It 
was  a  bold,  and  at  one  period,  prom 
ised  to  be  a  successful  effort  to  annex 
that  extensive  province  to  the  united 
colonies.  The  dispositions  of  the  Ca 
nadians  favored  the  measure ;  and  had 
Quebec  fallen,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
the  colony  would  have  entered  cordially 
into  the  union.  Had  a  few  incidents 
turned  out  fortunately ;  had  Arnold 
been  able  to  reach  Quebec  a  few  days 
sooner,  or  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence  on 
his  first  arrival — or  had  the  gallant 
Montgomery  not  fallen  in  the  assault  of 
the  31st  December,  it  is  probable  the 
expedition  would  have  been  crowned 
with  complete  success.  But  the  radical 
causes  of  failure,  putting  fortune  out  of 
the  question,  were  to  be  found  in  the 
lateness  of  the  season  when  the  troops 
were  assembled,  in  a  defect  of  the  prepa 
rations  necessary  for  such  a  service,  and 
still  more  in  the  shortness  of  the  time 
for  which  the  men  were  enlisted.  Had 
the  expedition  been  successful,  the  prac 
ticability  of  maintaining  the  country  is 
much  to  be  doubted.  Whilst  General 
Montgomery  lay  before  Quebec,  and 
expected  to  obtain  possession  of  the 


494 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


place,  he  extended  his  views  to  its  pres 
ervation.  His  plan  required  a  perma 
nent  army  of  ten  thousand  men ;  strong 
fortifications  at  Jacques  Cartier,  and 
the  rapids  of  Richelieu ;  and  armed 
vessels  in  the  river,  above  the  last 
place.  AVith  this  army  and  these  pre 
cautions,  he  thought  the  country  might 
be  defended ;  but  not  with  an  inferior 
force. 

It  seems,  therefore,  to  have  been  an 
enterprise  requiring  means  beyond  the 
ability  of  Congress ;  and  the  strength 
exhausted  on  it  would  have  been  more 
judiciously  employed  in  securing  the 
command  of  the  lakes  George  and 
Champlain,  and  the  fortified  towns 
upon  them. 

While  General  Carleton  was  making 
preparations  to  enter  the  lakes,  General 
Schuyler  was  using  his  utmost  exertions 
to  retain  the  command  of  them.  But, 
so  great  was  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
workmen  and  materials,  that  he  found 
it  impossible  to  equip  a  fleet  which 
would  be  equal  to  the  exigency.  It 
consisted  of  only  fifteen  small  vessels; 
the  largest  of  which  was  a  schooner 
mounting  twelve  guns,  carrying  six 
and  four  pound  balls.  The  command 
of  this  squadron,  at  the  instance  of 
Washington,  was  given  to  General 
Arnold. 

General  Carleton  evinced  great  ac 
tivity  and  enterprise  in  preparing  a 
fleet  to  encounter  that  of  Arnold  on 
Lake  Champlain.  Thirty  vessels  were 
required  to  give  a  decided  superiority 
on  those  waters,  the  access  to  which  by 


the  Sorel  was  impracticable  to  ships, 
and  most  difficult  and  laborious  to 
boats  on  account  of  numerous  shallows, 
falls,  and  rapids. 

The  frame-work  of  some  vessels  was 
sent  for  to  England,  but  this  required 
time.  Carleton  therefore  sent  detach 
ments  from  the  king's  ships  stationed 
at  Quebec,  with  volunteers  from  the 
transports  and  a  corps  of  artillery — in 
all  about  seven  hundred  men — to  fell 
timber  and  to  occupy  a  favorable  post 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain.  The 
keel  and  floor-timbers  of  the  Inflexible, 
a  ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  which  had 
been  laid  at  Quebec,  were  taken  to 
pieces,  carried  over  to  St.  John's,  and 
laid  down  again  at  a  corner  of  the  lake 
where  a  little  dock-yard  was  impro 
vised  ;  thirty  long-boats,  many  large 
batteaux  or  flat-bottomed  boats,  and 
a  gondola  of  thirty  tons  were  carried 
up  to  the  spot,  partly  by  land  and 
partly  by  being  dragged  up  the  shoals 
and  rapids  of  the  river  Sorel  at  an 
extraordinary  expense  of  human  la 
bor. 

Lieutenant  Schanck,  an  officer  who 
possessed  great  mechanical  ingenuity, 
superintended  the  works  at  the  dock 
yard,  where  timber  which  had  been 
growing  in  the  forest  in  the  morning, 
was  turned  into  part  of  a  ship  before 
night. 

In  twenty-eight  days  from  the  re 
laying  her  keel,  the  Inflexible  was 
launched,  rigged,  armed  with  eighteen 
twelve-pounders,  and  equipped  for  ser 
vice  ;  two  schooners,  the  Maria  arid 


CHAP.  VII.] 


WASHINGTON  CROSSES  THE  HUDSON. 


495 


Carleton,  were  put  together  with  equal 
rapidity ;  and  .the  flotilla  was  completed 
by  the  Loyal  Convert  gondola,  the 
Thunder,  a  kind  of  flat-bottomed  raft 
carrying  twelve  heavy  guns  and  two 
howitzers,  and  twenty-four  boats  armed 
each  with  a  field-piece  or  carriage-gun. 
The  whole  thing  seemed  like  magic  ! 
In  a  few  weeks  the  British,  from  not 
having  a  single  boat,  had  a  force  suffi 
cient  to  sweep  the  lakes  Champlain 
and  George  from  end  to  end. 

This  formidable  fleet,  having  on  board 
General  Carleton  himself,  and  navigated 
by  seven  hundred  prime  seamen  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Pringle,  pro 
ceeded  immediately  in  quest  of  Ar 
nold,  who  was  advantageously  posted 
between  the  island  of  Valicour  and  the 
western  main.* 

Notwithstanding  the  disparity  of 
force,  a  warm  action  ensued.  A  wind, 
unfavorable  to  the  British,  kept  the 
Inflexible  and  some  other  large  vessels 
at  too  great  a  distance  to  render  any 
service.  This  circumstance  enabled  Ar 
nold  to  keep  up  the  engagement  until 
night,  when  Captain  Pringle  discon 
tinued  it,  and  anchored  his  whole  fleet 
in  a  line,  as  near  the  vessels  of  his  ad 
versary  as  was  practicable.  In  this  en- 


°  An  English  writer  says  :  "Sir  Guy  Carleton  himself 
embarked  with  the  squadron — the  strangest  squadron 
that  ever  English  seamen  had  seen.  Captain  Pringle 
was  commodore,  with  his  pennant  on  the  Inflexible  ; 
and  among  those  young  officers  who  were  appointed  to 
the  Carleton  schooner,  was  one  who  was  destined  to  be 
come  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  British  naval  com 
manders, — this  was  Edward  Pellew,  then  a  midshipman, 
afterwards  Admiral  Viscount  Exmouth. 


gagement,  the  best  schooner  belonging 
to  the  American  flotilla  was  burnt,  and 
a  gondola  was  sunk. 

In  the  night,  Arnold  attempted  to 
escape  to  Ticonderoga ;  and,  the  next 
morning,  was  out  of  sight ;  but,  being 
immediately  pursued,  was  overtaken 
about  noon,  and  brought  to  action  a 
few  leagues  short  of  Crown  Point.  He 
kept  up  a  warm  engagement  for  about 
two  hours,  during  which  the  vessels  that 
were  most  ahead  escaped  to  Ticonde 
roga.  Two  galleys  and  five  gondolas, 
which  remained,  made  a  desperate  re 
sistance.  At  length  one  of  them  struck ; 
after  which  Arnold  ran  the  remaining 
vessels  on  shore,  and  blew  them  up ; 
having  first  saved  his  men,  though  great 
efforts  were  made  to  take  them. 

On  the  approach  of  the  British  army, 
a  small  detachment,  which  had  occupied 
Crown  Point  as  an  outpost,  evacuated 
the  place,  and  retired  to  Ticonderoga, 
which  Schuyler  determined  to  defend 
to  the  last  extremity. 

General  Carleton  took  possession  of 
Crown  Point,  f  and  advanced  a  part  of 
his  fleet  into  Lake  George,  within  view 
of  Ticonderoga.  His  army  also  ap 
proached  that  place,  as  if  designing  to 
invest  it ;  but,  after  reconnoitering  the 

•f-  During  Carleton' s  stay  at  Crown  Point,  young  Pel- 
lew  nearly  succeeded  in  capturing  Arnold.  That  gen 
eral,  having  ventured  upon  the  lake  in  a  boat,  was 
observed,  and  chased  so  closely  by  the  midshipman, 
that,  when  he  reached  the  shore  and  escaped,  he  left  his 
stock  and  buckle  in  the  boat  behind  him.  "  This,"  says 
the  biographer  of  Exmouth,  "is  still  preserved  by  Mr. 
Pellew' s  elder  brother,  to  whom  Arnold's  son,  not  many 
years  ago,  confirmed  the  particulars  of  his  father's  es 
cape." — Ostler,  Life  of  Admiral  Viscount  Exmouth. 


496 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


works,  and  observing  the  steady  coun 
tenance  of  the  garrison,  he  thought  it 
too  late  to  lay  siege  to  the  fortress. 
Re-embarking  his  army,  he  returned  to 
Canada,  where  he  placed  it  in  winter- 


quarters  ;  making  the  Isle  aux  Noix  his 
most  advanced  post. 

In  the  next  chapter,  we  return  to 
Washington  with  the  remnant  of  his 
army  at  Hackensack. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  VII. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  MORGAN. 

THIS  officer,  who,  with  his  rifle  company,  ar 
rived  in  the  camp  at  Cambridge  in  the  summer 
of  1775,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of 
his  age.  His  history  is  like  a  romance.  From 
the  situation  of  a  wagoner,  he  rose  to  be  a 
brigadier-general  of  the  Virginia  line  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  deservedly  ranked  among 
the  best  and  most  efficient  officers  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  born  in  Durham  township, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  from  whence  he 
emigrated  to  New  Jersey,  and  from  thence  to 
Virginia,  in  1755.  Like  many  of  the  greatest 
men  of  every  country,  his  native  condition  was 
indigent,  so  much  so  as  to  render  it  necessary 
for  young  Morgan  to  enter  into  service  as  a 
laborer  for  daily  wages. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Virginia  he  obtained 
employment  from  farmer  Roberts,  near  Charles 
ton,  in  the  county  of  Jefferson  (then  Berkely). 

Afterwards  he  was  engaged  to  drive  a  wagon 
for  John  Ashley,  overseer  for  Nathaniel  Burrel, 
Esq.,  at  his  estate  on  the  Shenandoah  River,  in 
Frederick  county,  near  Berry's  ferry.  When  he 
left  Ashley,  Morgan  had,  by  his  care  and  in 
dustry,  amassed  enough  cash  to  purchase  a 
wagon  and  team,  which  he  did,  and  soon  after 
wards  entered  with  it  into  the  employment  of 
Mr.  John  Ballantine,  at  his  establishment  on 
Occoquan  Creek.  At  the  expiration  of  his  year, 
Braddock's  expedition  was  spoken  of  as  an  event 
certainly  to  take  place  in  the  course  of  the  en 
suing  summer.  Morgan  reserved  himself,  wagon, 
&c.,  for  this  expedition ;  when  he  joined  the 
army,  but  in  what  character  is  not  known. 

He  received,  during  his  military  service,  a  se 
vere  wound  in  the  face,  the  scar  of  which  was 
VOL.  I.— 63 


through  life  very  visible.  We  do  not  under 
stand  in  what  affair  this  happened ;  but  it  was 
from  a  rifle  or  musket,  aimed,  as  he  said  himself, 
by  an  Indian.  The  bullet  entered  the  back  of 
his  neck,  and  passed  through  his  left  cheek, 
knocking  out  all  his  hind  teeth  on  that  side. 

In  the  course  of  the  campaign  he  was  unjustly 
punished,  by  being  brought  to  the  halbert,  under 
a  charge  of  contumely  to  a  British  officer,  where 
he  received  five  hundred  lashes.  The  officer 
being  afterwards  convinced  of  his  cruel  error, 
made  every  amend  in  his  power  to  the  mal 
treated  Morgan ;  who,  satisfied  with  the  contri 
tion  evinced  by  the  officer,  magnanimously  for 
gave  him.  Nor  did  the  recollection  of  this  per 
sonal  outrage  operate  in  the  least  to  the  preju 
dice  of  the  British  officers  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Many  of  them,  as  is  well  known,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Morgan,  and  invariably  received 
from  him  compassionate  and  kind  treatment. 

The  general  would  often,  among  his  intimate 
friends,  recur  to  this  circumstance,  the  narrative 
whereof  he  generally  concluded  by  saying,  in  a 
jocular  way,  that  "  King  George  was  indebted 
to  him  one  lash  yet;  for  the  drummer  mis 
counted  one,  and  he  knew  well  when  he  did  it ; 
so  that  he  only  received  four  hundred  and 
ninety-nine,  when  he  promised  him  five  hun 
dred." 

When  he  returned  from  Braddock's  expedi 
tion  he  reassumed  his  former  employment,  and 
drove  his  own  wagon.  In  a  few  years  his  pre 
vious  savings,  added  to  the  little  he  earned  in 
the  campaign,  enabled  him  to  purchase  a  small 
tract  of  land  from  a  Mr.  Blackburn,  in  the 
county  of  Frederick,  on  which  he  erected  a 
handsome  mansion-house,  with  suitable  accom 
panying  improvements,  and  called  it  Saratoga, 
in  commemoration  of  the  signal  victory  obtained 


498 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


by  General  Gates,  to  which  he  had  himself  prin 
cipally  contributed.  On  this  farm  Morgan,  hav 
ing  married  shortly  after  his  return  from  his 
military  tour,  resided  when  the  Revolutionary 
War  broke  out. 

The  smattering  of  experience  gained  during 
Braddock's  expedition,  pointed  him  out  to  the 
leading  men  of  Frederick,  as  qualified  to  com 
mand  the  first  company  of  riflemen  raised  in 
that  county  in  defence  of  our  country.  He 
speedily  completed  his  company,  as  all  the  finest 
youth  of  Frederick  flocked  to  him ;  among  whom 
was  lieutenant,  afterwards  colonel,  Heth,  and 
many  others,  who  in  the  course  of  the  war  be 
came  approved  officers.  With  this  company 
Morgan  hastened  to  the  American  army  en 
camped  before  Boston,  in  1774,  and  soon  after 
wards  was  detached  by  the  commander-in-chief 
under  Arnold,  in  his  memorable  expedition 
against  Quebec. 

The  bold  and  disastrous  assault,  planned  and 
executed  by  the  celebrated  Montgomery  against 
that  city,  gave  opportunity  for  the  display  of 
heroism  to  individuals,  and  furnished  cause  of 
deep  regret  to  the  nation  by  the  loss  of  the  much 
beloved  Montgomery.  No  officer  more  distin 
guished  himself  than  did  Captain  Morgan. 
Arnold  commanded  the  column  to  which  Mor 
gan  was  attached  ;  but  being  disabled  by  a  ball 
through  his  leg  early  in  the  action,  he  was  car 
ried  off  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Our  troops  having  lost  their  leader,  each  corps 
pressed  forward  as  the  example  of  its  officer 
invited.  Morgan  took  the  lead,  and  preceded 
by  sergeant,  afterwards  lieutenant-colonel,  Por- 
terfield  (who  unfortunately  fell  at  the  battle  of 
Camden,  when  his  life  might  have  saved  an 
army),  mounted  the  first  barrier;  and,  rushing 
forward,  passed  the  second  barrier,  Lieutenant 
Heth  and  Sergeant  Porterfield  only  before  him. 
In  this  point  of  the  assault,  a  group  of  noble 
spirits  united  in  surmounting  the  obstacles  op 
posed  to  their  progress ;  among  them  was 
Greene  and  Thayer  of  Rhode  Island,  Hen- 
dricks  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Humphreys  of  Vir 
ginia;  the  two  last  of  whom  were  killed. 

Vain  was  this  blaze  of  glory.  Montgomery's 
fall  stopped  the  farther  advance  of  the  principal 
column  of  attack  ;  and  the  severity  of  the  raging 


storm,  the  obstacles  of  nature  and  of  art  in  our 
way,  and  the  combined  attack  of  the  enemy's 
force,  no  longer  divided  by  attention  to  the 
column  of  Montgomery,  overpowered  all  resist 
ance.  Morgan  (with  most  of  the  corps  of 
Arnold)  was  taken,  and  experienced  a  different 
treatment  from  Sir  Guy  Carleton  than  was  at 
that  period  customary  for  British  officers  to  dis 
pense  to  American  prisoners.  The  kindness  of 
Carleton,  from  motives  of  policy,  applied  mort 
forcibly  to  the  privates  than  to  our  officers,  and 
produced  a  durable  impression. 

While  Morgan  was  in  confinement  at  Quebec, 
the  following  anecdote,  told  by  himself,  mani 
fests  the  high  opinion  entertained  by  the  enemy 
of  his  military  talents  from  his  conduct  in  this 
assault.  lie  was  visited  occasionally  by  a  British 
officer,  to  him  unknown ;  but,  from  his  uniform, 
he  appeared  to  belong  to  the  navy,  and  to  be  an 
officer  of  distinction.  During  one  of  his  visits, 
after  conversing  upon  many  topics,  "  he  asked 
Morgan  if  he  did  not  begin  to  be  convinced  that 
the  resistance  of  America  was  visionary  ?  and 
he  endeavored  to  impress  him  with  the  disas 
trous  consequences  which  must  infallibly  ensue, 
if  the  idle  attempt  was  persevered  in,  and  very 
kindly  exhorted  him  to  renounce  the  ill-advised 
undertaking.  He  declared,  with  seeming  sin 
cerity  and  candor,  his  admiration  of  Morgan's 
spirit  and  enterprise,  which  he  said  was  worthy 
of  a  better  cause ;  and  told  him,  if  he  would 
agree  to  withdraw  froin  the  American,  and  join 
the  British  standard,  he  was  authorized  to  prom 
ise  him  the  commission,  rank,  and  emoluments 
of  a  colonel  in  the  royal  army."  Morgan  re 
jected  the  proposal  with  disdain  ;  and  concluded 
his  reply,  by  observing,  "  that  he  hoped  he 
would  never  again  insult  him  in  his  distressed 
and  unfortunate  situation,  by  making  him  offers 
which  plainly  implied  that  he  thought  him  a 
rascal."  The  officer  withdrew,  and  the  offer 
was  never  repeated. 

As  soon  as  our  prisoners  were  exchanged, 
Morgan  hastened  to  the  army ;  and  by  the 
recommendations  of  General  Washington,  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  a  regiment.  In 
this  station  he  acted  under  the  commander-in- 
chief,  in  1777,  when  a  select  rifle  corps  was 
formed  out  of  the  others  in  the  army,  and  com- 


CHAP.  VIL] 


DOCUMENTS. 


499 


mitted  to  his  direction,  seconded  by  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Richard  Butler,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Major  Morris,  of  New  Jersey,  two  officers  of 
high  talents,  and  specially  qualified  for  the  en 
terprising  service  to  which  they  were  assigned. 
Morgan  and  his  riflemen  were  singularly  useful 
to  Washington ;  but  our  loss  of  Ticonderoga, 
and  the  impetuous  advance  of  Burgoyne,  pro 
claimed  so  loudly  the  gloomy  condition  of  our 
affairs  in  the  North,  that  the  general,  who 
thought  only  of  the  public  good,  deprived  him 
self  of  Morgan,  and  sent  him  to  Gates,  where 
he  was  persuaded  his  services  were  most  re 
quired. 

The  splendid  part  he  acted  on  that  occasion, 
and  how  much  his  exertions  contributed  to  the 
glorious  triumph  achieved  afterwards,  are  cir 
cumstances  generally  known. 

After  the  return  of  Morgan  to  the  main  army, 
he  continued  actively  employed  by  the  coin- 
man  der-in-chief,  and  never  failed  to  promote  the 
good  of  the  service  by  his  sagacity,  his  vigilance, 
and  his  perseverance.  In  1780,  his  health  be 
came  much  impaired,  and  he  obtained  leave  of 
absence,  when  he  returned  to  his  family  in 
Frederick,  where  he  continued  until  after  the 
fall  of  Charleston. 

When  General  Gates  was  called  to  the  chief 
command  in  the  South,  he  visited  Morgan,  and 
urged  the  colonel  to  accompany  him.  Morgan 
did  not  conceal  his  dissatisfaction  at  the  treat 
ment  he  had  heretofore  received,  and  proudly 
ppoke  of  the  important  aid  he  had  rendered 
him,  and  the  ungrateful  return  he  had  ex 
perienced.  Being  some  few  weeks  afterwards 
promoted  by  Congress  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  by  brevet,  with  a  view  of  detaching  him 
to  the  South,  he  repaired  to  the  army  of  Gates, 
'but  did  not  reach  Carolina  in  time  to  take  a 
part  in  the  battle  of  Caniden.  He  joined  Gates 
at  Hillsborough,  and  was  sent  under  Smallwood 
to  Salisbury,  with  all  the  force  fitted  for  service. 
Gates,  as  soon  as  he  had  prepared  the  residue 
of  his  army,  followed,  and  gave  to  Morgan,  in 
his  arrangements  for  the  field,  the  command  of 
the  light  troops. 

Greene  now  arrived  as  the  successor  of  Gates, 
which  was  followed  by  that  distribution  of  his 
force  which  led  to  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens ; 


the  influence  of  which  was  felt  in  every  subse 
quent  step  of  the  war  in  the  Carolinas. 

Morgan's  good  conduct  in  the  battle  of  Cow- 
pens  was  appreciated  by  Congress,  who  honored 
him  with  a  gold  medal  for  his  services  on  that 
memorable  day. 

Greene  was  now  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  South.  After  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens, 
a  controversy  ensued  between  that  general  and 
Morgan,  as  to  the  route  which  the  latter  should 
observe  in  his  retreat.  He  insisted  on  passing 
the  mountains  ;  a  salutary  precaution,  if  applied 
to  himself,  but  which  was  at  the  same  time  fatal 
to  the  operations  of  Greene.  He  informed  the 
general  that  if  that  route  was  denied  him,  he 
would  not  be  responsible  for  the  consequences. 
"  Neither  shall  you,"  replied  the  restorer  of  the 
South  ;  "  I  will  assume  them  all  on  myself." 
Morgan  continued  in  his  command  until  the 
two  divisions  of  the  army  united  at  Guilford 
court-house,  when  neither  persuasion,  entreaty, 
nor  excitement  could  induce  him  to  remain  in 
the  service  any  longer.  He  retired  and  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  the  improvement  of  his 
farm  and  of  his  fortune. 

He  remained  here,  in  the  bosom  of  retirement, 
at  Frederick,  until  he  was  summoned  by  Presi 
dent  Washington  to  repress,  by  the  force  of  the 
bayonet,  the  insurrection  in  the  western  coun 
ties  of  Pennsylvania.  The  executive  of  Virginia 
then  detached  Morgan  to  take  the  field,  at  the 
head  of  the  militia  of  that  State. 

Upon  the  retreat  of  the  main  body,  Morgan 
remained  in  the  country  of  the  insurgents  until 
the  ensuing  spring,  when  he  received  orders 
from  the  President  to  withdraw.  For  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  he  now  appears  to  have  enter 
tained  ideas  of  political  distinction.  Baffled  in 
his  first  attempt,  he  succeeded  in  his  second, 
and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  of  the  United  States,  for  the  district 
of  Frederick.  Having  served  out  the  constitu 
tional  term,  he  declined  another  election.  His 
health  being  much  impaired,  and  his  constitu 
tion  gi-adually  sinking,  he  removed  from  Sara 
toga  to  the  scene  of  his  juvenile  years,  Berrys- 
ville  (Battletown),  and  from  thence  to  Win 
chester,  where,  in  the  year  1791,  he  closed  hia 
long,  laborious,  and  useful  life. 


500 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Brigadier  Morgan  was  stout  and  active,  six 
feet  in  height,  strong,  not  too  much  encumbered 
with  flesh,  and  was  exactly  fitted  for  the  toils 
and  pomp  of  war.  His  mind  was  discriminating 
and  solid,  but  not  comprehensive  and  combin 
ing.  His  manners  plain  and  decorous,  neither 
insinuating  nor  repulsive.  His  conversation 
grave,  sententious,  and  considerate ;  unadorned 
and  uncaptivating.  He  reflected  deeply,  spoke 
little,  and  executed  with  keen  perseverance 
whatever  he  undertook.  He  was  indulgent  in 
his  military  command,  preferring  always  the 
affection  of  his  troops,  to  that  dread  and  awe 
which  surround  the  rigid  disciplinarian. 


[B.] 
NATHAN  HALE. 

This  celebrated  youthful  hero  and  martyr  of 
the  Revolutionary  War,  was  a  native  of  Coven 
try,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut.  He  received 
his  education  at  Yale  College,  where  he  gradu 
ated  in  1773.  The  ardent  glow  of  patriotic 
feeling,  and  the  deep  interest  which  he  took  in 
the  cause  of  his  injured  country,  induced  him, 
at  an  early  period  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
to  offer  to  it  his  services ;  and  having  obtained 
a  commission,  he  entered  the  army  in  the  ca 
pacity  of  captain  in  Colonel  Knowlton's  regi 
ment  of  light-infantry. 

The  following  narrative  exhibits  a  case  analo 
gous  to  that  of  Major  Andre,  and  surely  while 
the  Americans  regret  the  fate  of  an  enemy,  the 
heroic  sufferings  of  their  own  countrymen  should 
not  be  forgotten  or  unlamented. 

After  the  defeat  the  American  arms  sustained 
from  the  British  on  Long  Island,  August  27, 
1776,  General  Washington  called  a  council  of 
war,  who  determined  on  an  immediate  retreat 
to  New  York,  which  was  executed  in  a  masterly 
style,  as  recorded  in  the  text. 

This  retreat  left  the  British  in  complete  pos 
session  of  Long  Island.  What  would  be  their 
future  operations  remained  uncertain.  To  ob 
tain  information  of  their  strength,  situation,  and 
future  movements,  was  of  high  importance. 
For  this  purpose,  General  Washington  applied 
to  Colonel  Knowlton,  who  commanded  a  regi 


ment  of  light-infantry,  which  formed  the  van  of 
the  American  army,  and  desired  him  to  adopt 
some  mode  of  gaining  the  necessary  informa 
tion.  Colonel  Knowlton  communicated  this  re 
quest  to  Captain  Nathan  Hale,  of  Connecticut, 
who  was  then  a  captain  in  his  regiment. 

This  young  officer,  animated  by  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  considering  that  an  opportunity  pre 
sented  itself  by  which  he  might  be  useful  to  his 
country,  at  once  offered  himself  a  volunteer  for 
this  hazardous  service.  He  passed  in  disguise 
to  Long  Island,  examined  every  part  of  the 
British  army,  and  obtained  the  best  possible  in 
formation  respecting  their  situation  and  future 
operations. 

In  his  attempt  to  return  he  was  apprehended, 
carried  before  Sir  William  Howe,  and  the  proof 
of  his  object  was  so  clear,  that  he  frankly  ac 
knowledged  who  he  was,  and  what  were  his 
views. 

Sir  William  Howe  at  once  gave  an  order  to 
the  provost-marshal  to  execute  him  the  next 
morning. 

This  order  was  accordingly  executed  in  a 
most  unfeeling  manner,  and  by  as  great  a  sav 
age  as  ever  disgraced  humanity.  A  clergyman, 
whose  attendance  he  desired,  was  refused  him ; 
a  Bible,  for  a  few  moments  devotion,  was  not 
procured,  although  he  requested  it.  Letters, 
which,  on  the  morning  of  his  execution,  he 
wrote  to  his  mother  and  other  friends,  were 
destroyed  ;  and  this  very  extraordinary  reason 
given  by  the  provost-marshal :  "  That  the  rebels 
should  not  know  they  had  a  man  in  their  army 
who  could  die  with  so  much  firmness." 

Unknown  to  all  around  him,  without  a  single 
friend  to  offer  him  the  least  consolation,  thus 
fell  as  amiable  and  as  worthy  a  young  man  as 
America  could  boast,  with  this,  as  his  dying 
observation  :  that  "  he  only  lamented  that  he 
had  but  one  life  to  lose  for  his  country." 

Although  the  manner  of  this  execution  will 
ever  be  abhorred  by  every  friend  to  humanity 
and  religion,  yet  there  cannot  be  a  question  but 
that  the  sentence  was  conformable  to  the  rules  of 
war  and  the  practice  of  nations  in  similar  cases. 

It  is,  however,  a  justice  due  to  the  character 
of  Captain  Hale  to  observe,  that  his  motives  for 
engaging  in  this  service  were  entirely  different 


CHAP.  VII.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


501 


from  those  which  generally  influence  others  in 
similar  circumstances. 

Neither  expectation  of  promotion,  nor  pecu 
niary  reward,  induced  him  to  this  attempt.  A 
sense  of  duty,  a  hope  that  he  might  in  this  way 
be  useful  to  his  country,  and  an  opinion  which 
he  had  adopted,  that  every  kind  of  service 
necessary  to  the  public  good  became  honorable 
by  being  necessary  ;  were  the  great  motives 
which  induced,  him  to  engage  in  an  enterprise 
by  which  his  connections  lost  a  most  amiable 
friend,  and  his  country  one  of  its  most  promis 
ing  supporters. 

The  fate  of  this  unfortunate  young  man  ex 
cites  the  most  interesting  reflections. 

To  see  such  a  character,  in  the  flower  of 
youth,  cheerfully  treading  in  the  most  hazard 
ous  paths,  influenced  by  the  purest  intentions, 
and  only  emulous  to  do  good  to  his  country, 
without  the  imputation  of  a  crime,  fall  a  victim 
to  policy,  must  have  been  wounding  to  the  feel 
ings  even  of  his  enemies. 

Captain  Hale  possessed  a  fine  genius,  had 
received  an  excellent  education,  and  disclosed 
high  promise  of  future  talents  and  usefulness. 
He  was  open,  generous,  and  brave,  and  enthu 
siastic  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  his  country, 
in  which  he  had  engaged,  and  for  which  he  was 
destined  to  die  an  early  martyr.  The  fate  of 
Hale,  it  will  be  observed,  was  in  almost  every 
respect  strikingly  similar  to  that  of  Major  An 
dre.  As  it  respects  character,  qualifications,  and 
personal  interest,  Hale  would  not  suffer  from  a 
comparison  with  Andre.  Yet,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  the  fate  of  Andre,  even  in  America, 
has  been  universally  lamented,  and  his  memory 
universally  respected ;  whilst  it  is  scarcely 
known  that  there  was  ever  such  a  man  as 
Nathan  Hale.  Andre  has  had  a  monument 
erected  to  his  memory  by  his  country,  and  the 
most  distinguished  honors  and  rewards  confer 
red  upon  his  family  ;  but  what  has  our  coun 
try  done  for  the  memory  of  Hale  ?  No  stone, 
however  humble,  has  been  erected  to  it ;  no 
memorial  has  rescued  it  from  oblivion ;  and 
no  inscription  has  preserved  his  ashes  from 
insult : 

Thus,  while  fond  Virtue  wished  in  vain  to  save, 
HALE,  bright  and  generous,  found  a  hapless  grave. 


With  genius'  living  flame  his  bosom  glowed, 
And  Science  charmed  him  to  her  sweet  abode. 
In  worth's  fair  path  his  feet  had  ventured  far, 
The  pride  of  peace,  the  rising  grace  of  war. 
In  duty  firm,  in  danger  calm  as  even, 
To  friends  unchanging,  and  sincere  to  Heaven. 
How  short  his  course,  the  prize,  how  early  won, 
While  weeping  Friendship  mourns  her  favorite  gone. 


[C.] 
COLONEL  KNOWLTON. 

Thomas  Knowlton,  a  brave  and  distinguished 
officer  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  was  a  native 
of  Ashford,  Connecticut.  He  was  among  the 
first  who  rallied  around  the  standard  of  inde 
pendence,  giving  the  country  that  warlike  atti 
tude  so  necessary  to  sustain  it.  At  the  battle 
of  Long  Island,  and  in  the  memorable  retreat  of 
the  American  army  to  New  York,  in  August, 
1776,  he  commanded  a  regiment  of  light-in 
fantry,  which  formed  the  van  of  the  American 
army.  It  was  Colonel  Knowlton,  to  whom 
General  Washington  applied  to  devise  some 
mode  of  obtaining  information  of  the  strength 
and  future  movements  of  the  British  army. 
Colonel  Knowlton  communicated  the  views  and 
wishes  of  the  Commander-in-chief  to  Captain 
Nathan  Hale,  an  officer  in  his  regiment,  and 
whose  ardent  patriotism,  and  bold  adventurous 
spirit,  were  well  known.  Captain  Hale,  as  has 
already  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  docu 
ment,  immediately  offered  himself  a  volunteer 
in  this  difficult  and  hazardous  enterprise.  He 
fell  a  martyr  to  the  liberties  of  his  country,  and 
no  officer  in  the  American  army  lamented  his 
early  fall  more  than  Colonel  Knowlton.  He, 
however,  did  not  long  survive  his  young  friend 
Hale.  In  September,  1776,  a  skirmish  took 
place  between  two  battalions  of  light-infantry 
and  Highlanders,  commanded  by  Brigadier- 
general  Leslie,  and  some  detachments  from  the 
American  army,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Knowlton,  and  Major  Leitch,  of  Virginia.  The 
colonel  was  killed,  and  the  major  badly  wounded. 
The  officers  and  men  fought  with  great  bravery, 
and  fairly  beat  their  adversaries  from  the  field. 
Thus  fell  the  brave  Colonel  Knowlton,  who  had 
early  embarked  in  the  Revolutionary  contest, 
and  sacrificed  his  life  for  his  country. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


1776, 

WASHINGTON'S  MASTERLY  RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 

State  of  affairs  after  the  fall  of  Forts  Washington  and  Lee. — Washington's  letter  on  the  subject. — Position  of  tho 
army. — Prospects. — Washington's  firmness. — Reinforcements  ordered  from  Schuyler,  Lee,  and  Mercer. — Capture 
of  Rhode  Island. — Washington  takes  post  at  Newark. — Mifflin  sent  to  Pennsylvania,  and  Reed  to  the  govern 
ment  of  New  Jersey,  to  seek  aid. — Lee  ordered  to  join  him. — Insurrection  in  Monmouth  county.— Conversation 
between  Washington  and  Reed. — Washington's  constancy  and  indomitable  perseverance. — Maryland  and  Jersey 
troops  leave  the  army. — Vain  attempts  to  supply  their  places. — Cornwallis  advances. — Washington  retires  to 
Trenton. — Sends  his  stores  and  baggage  over  the  Delaware. — Want  of  cavalry,  artillery,  and  supplies. — Disaffec 
tion  of  the  Jerseymen. — Proclamation  of  the  Howes. — Washington's  firmness. — Sends  a  detachment  to  Prince 
ton.- — Remonstrances  of  Washington  to  Congress  on  short  enlistments. — Mifflin  obtains  soldiers  in  Philadelphia. 
— Washington's  march  towards  Princeton. — Cornwallis  advances  and  attempts  to  surround  him. — Washington 
crosses  the  Delaware. — Cornwallis  threatens  to  follow. — He  is  deterred  by  the  menacing  front  of  Washington  on 
the  river. — Exertions  to  raise  troops. — Capture  of  Lee. — Its  effect. — Gates  and  Sullivan  join  Washington. — The 
British  army  go  into  cantonments  for  the  winter. — Washington  places  a  force  at  Morristown. — Howe's  measures 
examined. — Washington's  superior  generalship. 


WE  left  Washington  at  Hackensack, 
having  just  witnessed  the  capture  of 
Forts  Washington  and  Lee.  In  a  letter 
to  his  brother,  John  Augustine  Wash 
ington,  dated  Hackensack,  November 
19,  1776,  we  find  his  commentary  on 
the  recent  disaster,  and  a  vivid  account 
of  his  difficult  position  in  one  of  the 
darkest  periods  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  "  This  is  a  most  unfortunate 
affair,"  he  writes,  "  and  has  given  me 
great  mortification,  as  we  have  lost  not 
only  two  thousand  men  that  were  there, 
but  a  good  deal  of  artillery,  and  some 
of  the  best  arms  we  had.  And  what 
adds  to  my  mortification  is,  that  this 
post,  after  the  last  ships  went  past  it, 
was  held  contrary  to  my  wishes  and 


opinions,  as  I  conceived  it  to  be  a  haz 
ardous  one ;  but,  it  having  been  deter 
mined  on  by  a  full  council  of  general 
officers,  and  a  resolution  of  Congress 
having  been  received  strongly  expres 
sive  of  their  desire,  that  the  channel  of 
the  river,  which  we  had  been  laboring 
to  stop  for  a  long  time  at  that  place, 
might  be  obstructed  if  possible ;  and 
knowing  that  this  could  not  be  done, 
unless  there  were  batteries  to  protect 
the  obstruction,  I  did  not  care  to  give 
an  absolute  order  for  withdrawing  the 
garrison,  till  I  could  get  round  and  see 
the  situation  of  things,  and  then  it  be 
came  too  late,  as  the  fort  was  invested 
Upon  the  passing  of  the  last  ships,  I 
had  given  it  as  my  opinion  to  General 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 


508 


Greene,  under  whose  care  it  was,  that 
it  would  be  best  to  evacuate  the  place ; 
but,  as  the  order  was  discretionary,  and 
his  opinion  differed  from  mine,  it  un 
happily  was  delayed  too  long,  to  my 
great  grief;  as  I  think  General  Howe, 
considering  his  army  and  ours,  would 
have  but  a  poor  tale  to  tell  without  it, 
and  would  have  found  it  difficult,  unless 
some  southern  expedition  may  prove 
successful,  to  reconcile  the  people  of 
England  to  the  conquest  of  a  few  pitiful 
islands,  none  of  which  were  defensible, 
considering  the  great  number  of  their 
ships,  and  the  power  they  have  by  sea 
to  surround  and  render  them  unap 
proachable. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  great  grief  and  sur 
prise  to  me,  to  find  the  different  States 
so  slow  and  inattentive  to  that  essential 
business  of  levying  their  quotas  of  men. 
In  ten  days  from  this  date,  there  will 
not  be  above  two  thousand  men,  if  that 
number,  of  the  fixed  established  regi 
ments  on  this  side  of  Hudson  River  to 
oppose  Howe's  whole  army,  and  very 
little  more  on  the  other  to  secure  the 
eastern  colonies,  and  the  important 
passes  through  the  Highlands  to  Al 
bany,  and  the  country  about  the  lakes. 
In  short,  it  is  impossible  for  me,  in  the 
compass  of  a  letter,  to  give  you  any 
idea  of  our  situation,  of  my  difficulties, 
and  of  the  constant  perplexities  and 
mortifications  I  meet  with,  derived  from 
the  unhappy  policy  of  short  enlistments, 
and  delaying  them  too  long.  Last  fall, 
or  winter,  before  the  army  which  was 
then  to  be  raised,  was  set  about,  I  rep 


resented  in  clear  and  explicit  terms,  the 
evils  which  would  arise  from  short  en 
listments,  the  expenses  which  must 
attend  the  raising  an  army  every  year, 
the  futility  of  such  an  army  when 
raised  ;  and,  if  I  had  spoken  with  a  pro 
phetic  spirit,  I  could  not  have  foretold 
the  evils  with  more  accuracy  than  I  did. 
All  the  year  since,  I  have  been  pressing 
Congress  to  delay  no  time  in  engaging 
men  upon  such  terms  as  would  insure 
success,  telling  them  that  the  longer  it 
was  delayed  the  more  difficult  it  would 
prove.  But  the  measure  was  not  com 
menced  till  it  was  too  late  to  be  effected, 
and  then  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bid 
adieu  to  every  hope  of  getting  an  army, 
from  which  any  services  are  to  be  ex 
pected  ;  the  different  States,  without 
regard  to  the  qualifications  of  an  officer, 
quarrelling  about  the  appointments,  and 
nominating  such  as  are  not  fit  to  be 
shoeblacks,  from  the  local  attachments 
of  this  or  that  member  of  assembly. 

"  I  am  wearied  almost  to  death  with 
the  retrograde  motion  of  things,  and  I 
solemnly  protest,  that  a  pecuniary  re 
ward  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  a  year 
would  not  induce  me  to  undergo  what  I 
do;  and,  after  all,  perhaps  to  lose  my 
character,  as  it  is  impossible,  under  such 
a  variety  of  distressing  circumstances,  to 
conduct  matters  agreeably  to  public  ex 
pectation,  or  even  to  the  expectation  of 
those  who  employ  me,  as  they  will  not 
make  proper  allowances  for  the  difficul 
ties  their  own  errors  have  occasioned." 

After  crossing  the  Hackensack,  Wash 
ington  posted  his  troops  along  the  west- 


504 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ern  bank  of  that  river,  but  was  unable 
to  dispute  its  passage.  At  the  head  of 
about  three  thousand  effectives,  exposed, 
without  tents,  in  an  inclement  season, 
he  was  in  a  level  country,  without  a 
single  intrenching  tool,  among  people 
far  from  being  zealous  in  the  American 
cause.  In  other  respects  this  situation 
was  danererous.  The  Passaic,  in  his 

O  ' 

rear,  after  running  several  miles  nearly 
parallel  to  the  Hackensack,  unites  with 
that  river  below  the  ground  occupied 
by  the  Americans,  who  were  conse 
quently  still  exposed  to  the  hazard  of 
being  inclosed  between  two  rivers. 

This  gloomy  state  of  things  was  not 
brightened  by  the  prospect  before  him. 
In  casting  his  eyes  around,  no  cheering 
object  presented  itself.  No  confidence 
could  be  placed  on  receiving  reinforce 
ments  from  any  quarter.  But,  in  no 
situation  could  Washington  despond. 
His  exertions  to  collect  an  army,  and  to 
impede  the  progress  of  his  enemy,  were 
perseveringly  continued.  Understand 
ing  that  Sir  Guy  Carleton  no  longer 
threatened  Ticonderoga,  he  directed 
General  Schuyler  to  hasten  the 
troops  of  Pennsylvania  and  Jer 
sey  to  his  assistance,  and  ordered  Lee 
to  cross  the  North  River,  and  be  in 
readiness  to  join  him,  should  the  enemy 
continue  the  campaign.  But,  under  the 
influence  of  the  same  fatal  cause  which 
had  acted  elsewhere,  these  armies  too 
were  melting  away,  and  would  soon  be 
almost  totally  dissolved.  General  Mer 
cer,  who  commanded  a  part  of  the  flying 
camp  stationed  about  Bergen,  was  also 


1776. 


called  in ;  but  these  troops  had  engaged 
to  serve  only  till  the  1st  of  December, 
and,  like  the  other  six  months'  men,  had 
already  abandoned  the  army  in  great 
numbers.  No  hope  existed  of  retaining 
the  remnant  after  they  should  possess  a 
legal  right  to  be  discharged ;  and  there 
was  not  much  probability  of  supplying 
their  places  with  other  militia.  To 
New  England  he  looked  with  anxious 
hope  ;  and  his  requisitions  on  those 
States  received  prompt  attention.  Six 
thousand  militia  from  Massachusetts, 
and  a  considerable  body  from  Connecti 
cut,  were  ordered  to  his  assistance ;  but 
some  delay  in  assembling  them  was 
unavoidable,  and  their  march  was  ar 
rested  by  the  appearance  of  the  enemy 
in  their  immediate  neighborhood. 

Three  thousand  men,  conducted  by 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  were  embarked 
on  board  a  fleet  commanded  by  Sir 
Peter  Parker,  sailed  late  in  November 
from  New  York,  and,  without  much 
opposition,  took  possession  of  Newport. 
This  invasion  excited  serious  alarm  in 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and  these 
States  retained  for  their  own  defence, 
the  militia  who  had  been  embodied  at 
the  instance  of  the  commander-in-chief.* 


°  This  loss  was  a  very  serious  one,  as  well  from  the 
situation  of  the  province,  as  because  the  American  squad 
ron,  under  Commodore  Hopkins,  was  compelled  to  with 
draw  as  far  up  the  Providence  River  as  it  was  practicable, 
and  to  continue  there  blocked  up  and  useless  for  a  long 
time.  Two  pieces  of  cannon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  ;  but  they  made  few  prisoners.  The  conquest  of 
Rhode  Island  was  of  great  utility  for  their  ulterior  opera 
tions  :  from  this  province  they  could  harass  Massachu 
setts ;  and  the  reinforcements  that  General  Lincoln  had 
assembled  with  the  intention  of  conducting  them  to  the 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 


505 


Not  intending  to  maintain  his  present 
position,  Washington  had  placed  some 
regiments  along  the  Hackensack  to 
afford  the  semblance  of  defending  its 
passage  until  his  stores  could  be  re 
moved  ;  and,  with  the  residue  of  the 
troops,  crossed  the  Passaic,  and  took 
post  at  Newark.  Soon  after  he  had 
marched,  Major-general  Vaughan  ap 
peared  before  the  new  bridge  over  the 
Hackensack.  The  American  detach 
ment  which  had  been  left  in  the  rear, 
being  unable  to  defend  it,  broke  it 
down,  and  retired  before  him  over  the 
Passaic. 

Having  entered  the  open  country, 
Washington  determined  to  halt  a  few 
days  on  the  south  side  of  this  river, 
make  some  show  of  resistance,  and  en 
deavor  to  collect  such  a  force  as  would 
keep  up  the  semblance  of  an  army.  His 
letters,  not  having  produced  such  exer 
tions  as  the  public  exigencies  required, 
he  deputed  General  Mifflin*  to  the  gov 
ernment  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Colonel 
Reed,f  his  adjutant-general,  to  the  gov 
ernment  of  New  Jersey,  with  orders  to 
represent  the  real  situation  of  the  army, 
and  the  certainty  that,  without  great 
reinforcements,  Philadelphia  must  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
State  of  Jersey  be  overrun. 

While  thus  endeavoring  to  strengthen 

army  of  Washington,  were  detained  in  that  province,  to 
observe  General  Clinton,  and  prevent  him  from  disturb 
ing  its  tranquillity.  Even  Connecticut  shared  the  alarm, 
and  retained  the  reinforcements  it  was  upon  the  point  of 
sending. 

*  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

f  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
VOL.  I.— 64 


himself  with  militia,  he  pressed  Lee  to 
hasten  his  march,  and  cautioned  him  to 
keep  high  enough  up  the  country  to 
avoid  the  enemy,  who,  having  got  pos 
session  of  the  mail  containing  one  of  his 
late  letters,  would  certainly  endeavor 
to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  two 
armies. 

This  perilous  state  of  things  was 
rendered  still  more  critical  by  indica 
tions  of  an  insurrection  in  the  county 
of  Monmouth,  in  Jersey,  where  great 
numbers  favored  the  royal  cause.  In 
other  places,  too,  a  hostile  temper  was 
displayed,  and  an  indisposition  to  fur 
ther  resistance  began  to  be  manifested 
throughout  that  State.  These  appear 
ances  obliged  him  to  make  detachments 
from  the  militia  of  his  army,  to  over 
awe  the  disaffected  of  Monmouth,  who 
were  on  the  point  of  assembling  in  force. 

When  Washington  retreated  to  New 
ark,  says  Gordon,  his  whole  force  con 
sisted  of  not  more  than  three  thousand 
five  hundred  men.  He  considered  the 
cause  in  the  greatest  danger ;  and  said 
to  Colonel  Reed :  "  Should  we  retreat 
to  the  back  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  will 
the  Pennsylvanians  support  us  ? "  The 
colonel  answered,  "If  the  lower  coun 
ties  are  subdued,  and  give  up,  the  back 
counties  will  do  the  same."  The  gen 
eral  passed  his  hand  over  his  throat, 
and  said :  "  My  neck  does  not  feel  as 
though  it  was  made  for  a  halter.  We 
must  retire  to  Augusta  county,  in  Vir 
ginia.  Numbers  will  be  obliged  to  re 
pair  to  us  for  safety ;  and  we  must  try 
what  we  can  do  in  carrying  on  a  preda- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


tory  war  :  and  if  overpowered,  we  must 
cross  the  Alleghany  Mountains."  This 
indomitable  spirit, — this  immovable  con 
stancy  of  Washington, — this  determina 
tion  to  hold  out  till  not  an  inch  of 
ground  should  be  left  to  stand  upon  in 
the  whole  continent,  strongly  reminds 
us  of  the  determination  of  the  cele 
brated  Prince  of  Orange,  in  the  same 
circumstances,  "  to  die  in  the  last  ditch." 

As  the  British  army  crossed  the  Pas- 
saic,  Washington  abandoned  his  posi 
tion  behind  that  river ;  and  the  day 
Lord  Cornwallis  entered  Newark,  he 
retreated  to  Brunswick,  a  small  village 
on  the  Raritan. 

At  this  place,  the  levies  drawn  from 
Maryland  and  Jersey  to  compose  the 
flying-camp,  became  entitled  to  their 
discharge.  No  remonstrances  could  de 
tain  them  ;  and  he  sustained  the  morti 
fication  of  seeing  his  feeble  army  still 
more  enfeebled  by  being  entirely  aban 
doned  by  these  troops,  in  the  face  of  an 
advancing  enemy.  The  Pennsylvania 
militia  belonging  to  the  flying-camp 
were  engaged  to  serve  till  the  1st  of 
January.  So  many  of  them  deserted, 
that  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  place 
guards  on  the  roads,  and  ferries  over 
the  Delaware,  to  apprehend  and  send 
them  back  to  camp.  The  governor  of 
New  Jersey  was  again  pressed  for  assist 
ance,  but  it  was  not  in  his  power  to 
furnish  the  aid  required.  The  well- 
affected  part  of  the  lower  country  was 
overawed  by  the  British  army ;  and 
the  militia  of  Morris  and  Sussex  came 
out  slowly  and  reluctantly. 


While  at  Brunswick,  attempts  were 
made  to  retard  the  advance  of  the  Brit 
ish  army  by  movements  indicat- 

.       J      .  IT76. 

ing  an  intention  to  act  on  the 
offensive  ;  but  this  feint  was  unavailing. 

1  O 

Lord  Cornwallis  continued  to  press  for 
ward  ;  and,  as  his  advanced  guards 
showed  themselves  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bridge,  General  Washing 
ton  evacuated  the  town,  and  marched 
through  Princeton  to  Trenton.  Direc 
tions  had  already  been  given  to  collect 
all  the  boats  on  the  Delaware,  from 
Philadelphia  upwards  for  seventy  miles, 
in  the  hope  that  the  progress  of  the 
enemy  might  be  stopped  at  this  river ; 
and  that,  in  the  mean  time,  reinforce 
ments  might  arrive  which  would  ena 
ble  him  to  dispute  its  passage. 

Having,  with  great  labor,  transported 
the  few  remaining  military  stores  and 
baggage  over  the  Delaware,  Washington 
determined  to  remain  as  long  as  possi 
ble  on  the  northern  banks  of  that  river. 

The  army  which  was  thus  pressed 
slowly  through  the  Jerseys,  was  aided 
by  no  other  cavalry  than  a  small  corps 
of  badly-mounted  Connecticut  militia, 
commanded  by  Major  Sheldon ;  and 
was  almost  equally  destitute  of  artil 
lery.  Its  numbers,  at  no  time  during 
the  retreat,  exceeded  four  thousand 
men,  and  on  reaching  the  Delaware, 
was  reduced  to  less  than  three  thou 
sand  ;  of  whom,  not  quite  one  thousand 
were  militia  of  New  Jersey.  Even 

«/ 

among  the  continental  troops  there 
were  many  whose  term  of  service  was 
about  to  expire. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 


507 


Its  effectiveness  of  numbers  did  not 
constitute  its  only  weakness.  The  regu 
lars  were  badly  armed,  worse  clad,  and 
almost  destitute  of  tents,  blankets,  or 
utensils  for  dressing  their  food.  They 
were  composed  chiefly  of  the  garrison 
of  Fort  Lee,  and  had  been  obliged  to 
evacuate  that  place  with  too  much  pre 
cipitation  to  bring  with  them  even  those 
few  articles  of  comfort  and  accommo 
dation  with  which  they  had  been  fur 
nished.  Washington  found  himself  at 
the  head  of  this  small  band  of  soldiers, 
dispirited  by  their  losses  and  fatigues, 
retreating  almost  naked  and  barefooted, 
in  the  cold  of  November  and  Decem 
ber,  before  a  numerous,  well-appointed, 
and  victorious  army,  through  a  despond 
ing  country,  much  more  disposed  to  ob 
tain  safety  by  submission,  than  to  seek 
it  by  a  manly  resistance. 

In  this  crisis  of  American  affairs,  a 
proclamation  was  issued  by  Lord  and 
General  Howe,  as  commissioners  ap 
pointed  on  the  part  of  the  crown  for 
restoring  peace  to  America,  command 
ing  all  persons  assembled  in  arms 
against  his  majesty's  government,  to 
disband  and  return  to  their  homes ; 
and  all  civil  officers  to  desist  from 
their  treasonable  practices,  and  relin 
quish  their  usurped  authority.  A  full 
pardon  was  offered  to  every  person  who 
would,  within  sixty  days,  appear  before 
certain  civil  or  military  officers  of  the 
crown,  claim  the  benefit  of  that  procla 
mation,  and  testify  his  obedience  to  the 
laws  by  subscribing  a  declaration  of 
his  submission  to  the  royal  authority. 


Copies  of  it  were  dispersed  through  the 
country,  after  which  numbers  flocked 
in  daily,  to  make  their  peace  and  ob 
tain  protection.  The  contrast  between 
the  splendid  appearance  of  the  pursu 
ing  army,  and  that  of  the  ragged  Amer 
icans  who  were  flying  before  them,  could 
not  fail  to  nourish  the  general  opinion 
that  the  contest  was  approaching  its 
termination. 

Among  the  many  valuable  traits  in 
the  character  of  Washington,  was  that 
unyielding  firmness  of  mind  which  re 
sisted  these  accumulated  circumstances 
of  depression,  and  supported  him  under 
them.  Undismayed  by  the  dangers 
which  surrounded  him,  he  did  not  for 
an  instant  relax  his  exertions,  nor  omit 
any  thing  which  could  obstruct  the  pro 
gress  of  the  enemy,  or  improve  his  own 
condition.  He  did  not  appear  to  de 
spair  of  the  public  safety,  but  struggled 
against  adverse  fortune  with  the  hope 
of  yet  vanquishing  the  difficulties  which 
surrounded  him ;  and  constantly  showed 
himself  to  his  harassed  and  enfeebled 
army,  with  a  serene,  unembarrassed 
countenance,  betraying  no  fears  in  him 
self,  and  invigorating  and  inspiring  with 
confidence  the  bosoms  of  others.  To 
this  unconquerable  firmness,  to  this  per 
fect  self-possession  under  the  most  des 
perate  circumstances,  is  America,  in  a 
great  degree,  indebted  for  her  inde- 
pendenc  e.* 

After  removing  his  baggage  arid 
stores  over  the  Delaware,  and  sending 


°  Marshall,  Life  of  Washington. 


508 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


1716. 


his  sick  to  Philadelphia  (December  6), 
Washington,  finding  that   Lord   Corn- 

O  '  O 

wallis  still  continued  in  Bruns 
wick,  detached  twelve  hundred 
men  to  Princeton,  in  the  hope  that  this 
appearance  of  advancing  on  the  British 
might  not  only  retard  their  progress, 
but  cover  a  part  of  the  country,  and  re 
animate  the  people  of  Jersey. 

Some  portion  of  this  short  respite  from 
laborious  service  was  devoted  to  the 
predominant  wish  of  his  heart — prepa 
rations  for  the  next  campaign — by  im 
pressing  on  Congress  a  conviction  of  the 
real  causes  of  the  present  calamitous 
state  of  things.  The  abandonment  of 
the  army  by  whole  regiments  of  the 
flying-camp,  in  the  face  of  an  advancing 
and  superior  enemy  ;  and  the  imprac 
ticability  of  calling  out  the  militia  of 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  in  sufficient 
force  to  prevent  Lord  Cornwallis  from 
overrunning  the  first  State,  or  restrain 
him  from  entering  the  last,  had  it  not 
been  saved  by  other  causes,  were  prac 
tical  lessons  on  the  subjects  of  enlist 
ments  for  a  short  time,  and  a  reliance 
on  militia,  which  no  prejudice  could 
disregard,  and  which  could  not  fail  to 
add  great  weight  to  the  remonstrances 
formerly  made  to  Congress  by  Wash 
ington,  which  were  now  repeated. 

The  exertions  of  General  Mifflin  to 
raise  the  militia  of  Pennsylvania,  though 
unavailing  in  the  country,  were  success 
ful  in  Philadelphia.  A  large  propor 
tion  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  capa 
ble  of  bearing  arms,  had  associated  for 
the  general  defence ;  and,  on  this  occa 


sion,  fifteen  hundred  of  them  marched 
to  Trenton;  to  which  place  a  German 
battalion  was  also  ordered  by  Congress. 
On  the  arrival  of  these  troops,  Wash 
ington  commenced  his  march  to  Prince 
ton,  but  was  stopped  by  the  intelligence 
that  Lord  Cornwallis,  having  received 
large  reinforcements,  was  advancing  rap 
idly  from  Brunswick  by  different  routes, 
and  endeavoring  to  gain  his  rear. 

On  receiving  this  intelligence,  he 
crossed  the  Delaware,  and  posted  his 
army  in  such  a  manner  as  to 

1T7G. 

guard  the  fords.  As  his  rear 
passed  the  river,  the  van  of  the  British 
army  appeared  in  sight.  The  main 
body  took  post  at  Trenton,  and  detach 
ments  were  placed  both  above  and 
below,  while  small  parties,  without  in 
terruption  from  the  people  of  the  coun 
try,  reconnoitered  the  Delaware  for  a 
considerable  distance.  From  Bord en- 
town  below  Trenton  the  course  of  the 
river  turns  westward,  and  forms  an 
acute  angle  with  its  course  from  Phila 
delphia  to  that  place;  so  that  Lord 
Cornwallis  might  cross  a  considerable 
distance  above,  and  be  not  much,  if  any, 
further  from  that  city  than  the  Amer 
ican  army. 

The  British  general  made  some  un 
successful  attempts  to  seize  a  number  of 
boats  guarded  by  Lord  Stirling,  about 
Coryell's  Ferry  ;*  and,  in  order  to  facili- 

0  Cornwallis  was  generally  rapid  enough  in  Iris  move 
ments  when  acting  on  his  own  responsibility  ;  but  on  this 
occasion  the  slow  and  cautious  h;ibits  of  his  superior, 
General  Howe,  seem  to  have  infected  him.  He  should 
have  overtaken  Washington  before  he  reached  the  Dela 
ware.  At  this  time,  if  we  may  believe  Gordon,  a  very 


CHAP.  VIII.1 


RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 


509 


tate  his  movements  down  the  river,  on 
the  Jersey  shore,  repaired  the  bridges 
below  Trenton,  which  had  been  broken 
down  by  order  of  Washington.  He 
then  advanced  a  strong  detachment  to 
Bordentown,  giving  indications  of  an 
intention  to  cross  the  Delaware  at  the 
same  time  above  and  below ;  and  either 
to  march  in  two  columns  to  Philadel- 


slight  circumstance  saved  the  American  army.  He  says 
that  Lord  Cornvvallis,  who  halted  with  the  rear  division 
within  six  miles  of  Trenton,  intended  sending  over  a 
body  of  men  very  early  the  next  morning,  near  two  miles 
below  Coryell's  Ferry,  and  got  the  troops  in  readiness, 
and  the  artillery  prepared  to  cover  the  landing  ;  for  in 
that  place  it  was  only  four-and-twenty  rods  to  a  spit  of 
sand  on  the  Pennsylvania  side,  on  which  a  sufficient 
number  were  to  have  landed,  and  then  to  have  marched 
up  to  Coryell's  Ferry,  and  to  have  taken  the  boats  that 
had  been  collected  there  by  the  Americans,  and  left 
under  a  guard  of  only  ten  men  ;  with  them  it  was  meant 
to  carry  over  the  main  body.  In  the  vicinity  of  this 
place,  a  large  sunken  Durham  boat  (which  came  down 
three  days  before,  laden  with  flour,  and  which  could 
carry  one  hundred  men)  lay  concealed  under  a  bank. 
This  had  been  discovered  and  taken  away  by  Mr.  Mer- 
sereau,  so  that  the  British  were  disappointed  in  their  ex 
pectation  of  finding  it.  They  hailed  one  Thomson,  a 
Quaker,  who  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  Delaware,  and 
inquired  what  was  become  of  the  boat,  and  were  answered 
it  was  carried  off.  They  continued  reconnoitering  up  and 
down  the  river  till  ten  o'clock  ;  but  finding  no  boats,  re 
turned  to  Pennytown  (Pennington).  Men  had  been  em 
ployed  in  time  for  taking  off  all  the  boats  from  the 
Jersey  side  of  the  Delaware  ;  but  Mr.  Mersereau's  atten 
tion  would  not  admit  of  his  confiding  wholly  in  their 
care  and  prudence.  He  therefore  went  up  the  river  to 
examine  whether  all  the  boats  were  really  carried  off  or 
destroyed  ;  upon  discovering  the  above-mentioned  sunken 
one,  which  had  escaped  the  observation  of  the  men,  and 
inquiring  of  a  person  in  the  neighborhood  concerning 
her,  he  was  told  that  she  was  an  old  one  and  good  for 
nothing  ;  but  not  relying  upon  the  information,  he  found 
her  to  be  new,  had  the  water  bailed  out,  and  sent  her  off. 
The  importance  of  this  affair  to  the  Americans  prevents 
the  relation  of  it  from  being  trifling.  Had  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  crossed  into  Pennsylvania  as  he  proposed,  the 
consequence  would  probably  have  been  fatal  to  the 
Americans. 


phia,  or  completely  to  envelop  the 
American  army  in  the  angle  of  the 
river.  To  counteract  this  plan,  Wash 
ington  stationed  a  few  galleys  to  watch 
the  movements  of  his  enemy  below,  and 
aid  in  repelling  any  effort  to  pass  over 
to  the  Pennsylvania  shore ;  and  made 
such  a  disposition  of  his  little  army  as 
to  guard  against  any  attempt  to  force  a 
passage  above,  which  he  believed  to  be 
the  real  design. 

Having  made  his  arrangements,  he 
waited  anxiously  for  reinforcements; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  sent  daily  parties 
over  the  river  to  harass  the  enemy,  and 
to  observe  his  situation. 

The  utmost  exertions  were  made  by 
government  to  raise  the  militia.  In  the 
hope  that  a  respectable  body  of  conti 
nental  troops  would  aid  these  exertions, 
Washington  had  directed  Gates,  with 
the  regulars  of  the  northern  army,  and 
Heath,  with  those  at  Peekskill,  to  march 
to  his  assistance. 

Although  General  Lee  had  been  re 
peatedly  urged  to  join  the  commander- 
in-chief,  he  proceeded  slowly  in  the  exe 
cution  of  these  orders,  manifesting  a 
strong  disposition  to  retain  his  separate 
command,  and  rather  to  hang  on,  and 
threaten  the  rear  of  the  British  army, 
than  to  strengthen  that  in  its  front.* 
With  this  view  he  proposed  establishing 
himself  at  Morristown.  On  receiving  a 
letter  from  Washington  disapproving 


°  Lee's  real  object  was  to  have  the  credit  of  driving 
the  British  out  of  "the  Jerseys;"  and  to  Contrast  this 
success  with  Washington's  retreat,  for  "  jlterior  pur 
poses.  ' ' 


510 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


this  proposition,  ani  urging  him  to 
hasten  his  march,  Lee  still  avowed  a 
preference  for  his  own  plan,  and  pro 
ceeded  reluctantly  towards  the  Dela 
ware.  While  passing  through  Morris 
county,  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles 
from  the  British  encampment,  he,  very 
incautiously,  quartered  under  a  slight 
guard,  in  a  house  about  three  miles 
from  his  army.  Information  of  this  cir 
cumstance  was  given  by  a  countryman 
to  Colonel  Harcourt,  at  that  time  de 
tached  with  a  body  of  cavalry  to  watch 
his  movements,  who  immediately  formed 
and  executed  the  design  of  seizing  him. 
Early  in  the  morning  of  the  12th  of 
December,  this  officer  reached  Lee's 
quarters,  who  received  no  intimation  of 
his  danger  until  the  house  was  sur 
rounded,  and  he  found  himself  a  prisoner. 
He  was  carried  off  in  triumph  to  the 
British  army,  where  he  was,  for  some 
time,  treated  as  a  deserter  from  the 
British  service. 

This  misfortune  made  a  serious  im 
pression  on  all  America.  The  confidence 
originally  placed  in  General  Lee  had 
been  increased  by  his  success  in  the 
southern  department,  and  by  a  belief 
that  his  opinions,  during  the  military 
operations  in  New  York,  had  contrib 
uted  to  the  adoption  of  those  judicious 
movements  which  had,  in  some  measure, 
defeated  the  plans  of  General  Howe  in 
that  quarter.  It  was  also  believed  that 
he  had  dissented  from  the  resolution  of 
the  council  of  war  for  maintaining  Forts 
Washington  and  Lee.  No  officer,  ex 
cept  the  commander-in-chief,  possessed, 


at  that  time,  in  so  eminent  a  degree,  the 
confidence  of  the  army,  or  of  the  coun 
try  ;  and  his  loss  was,  almost  universally, 
bewailed  as  one  of  the  greatest  calami 
ties  which  had  befallen  the  American 
arms.  It  was  regretted  by  no  person 
more  than  by  Washington  himself.  He 
respected  the  merit  of  that  eccentric 
veteran,  and  sincerely  lamented  his  cap 
tivity.  The  British  were  greatly  elated 
at  Lee's  capture,  esteeming  it  equal  to 
a  victory,  and  declaring  that  they  had 
taken  the  palladium  of  America. 

General  Sullivan,*  who,  on  the  4th  of 
September,  had  been  exchanged  for 
General  Prescott,  and  on  whom  the 
command  of  that  division  devolved  after 
the  capture  of  Lee,  promptly  obeyed 
the  orders  which  had  been  directed  to 
that  officer ;  and,  crossing  the  Delaware 
at  Philipsburg,  joined  the  commander- 
in-chief.  On  the  same  day  General 
Gates  arrived  with  a  few  northern 
troops.  By  these  and  other  reinforce 
ments,  the  army  was  augmented  to 
about  seven  thousand  effective  men. 

Congress,  on  the  12th  of  December, 
the  same  day  that  Lee  was  captured, 
removed  its  sittings  to  Baltimore,  where 
they  waited  anxiously  but  firmly  the 
progress  of  affairs. 

The  attempts  of  the  British  general 
to  get  possession  of  boats  for  the  trans 
portation  of  his  army  over  the  Dela 
ware  having  failed,  he  gave  indications 
of  an  intention  to  close  the  campaign, 
and  to  retire  into  winter  quarters. 

0  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


RETREAT  THROUGH  THE  JERSEYS. 


511 


About  four  thousand  men  were  can 
toned  on  the  Delaware"  at  Trenton, 
Bordentown,  the  White  Horse,  and 
Mount  Holly ;  and  the  remaining  part 
of  the  army  of  Jersey  was  distributed 
from  that  river  to  the  Hackensack. 
Strong  corps  were  posted  at  Princeton, 
Brunswick,  and  Elizabethtown. 

To  intimidate  the  people,  and  thereby 
impede  the  recruiting  service,  was  be 
lieved  to  be  no  inconsiderable  induce 
ment  with  General  Howe,  for  covering 
so  large  a  portion  of  Jersey.  To  coun 
teract  these  views,  Washington  ordered 
three  of  the  regiments  from  Peekskill  to 
halt  at  Morristown,  and  to  unite  with 
about  eight  hundred  militia  assembled 
at  that  place  under  Colonel  Ford.  Gen 
eral  Maxwell  was  sent  to  take  command 
of  these  troops,  with  orders  to  watch 
the  motions  of  the  enemy,  to  harass  him 
in  his  marches,  to  give  intelligence  of 
all  his  movements,  to  keep  up  the  spirits 
of  the  militia,  and  to  prevent  the  inhab 
itants  from  going  within  the  British 
lines,  and  taking  protection. 

The  short  interval  between  this  can 
tonment  of  the  British  troops,  and  the 
recommencement  of  active  operations, 
was  employed  by  Washington  in  repeat 
ing  the  representations  he  had  so  often 
made  to  Congress,  respecting  prepara 
tions  for  the  ensuing  campaign. 

General  Howe,  as  an  English  writer 
remarks,  has  been  severely  censured  for 
not  pressing  the  pursuit  of  the  Amer 
icans  with  more  activity,  and  over 


whelming  Washington  before  he  found 
refuge  behind  the  Delaware.  Probably, 
however,  the  censure  is  not  quite  just, 
although  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain 
that  the  delay  of  the  British  force 
proved  the  salvation  of  the  American 
army.  Howe's  conduct  was  marked  by 
cool  prudence  rather  than  by  daring 
enterprise  or  unwary  impetuosity.  He 
was  on  the  whole  as  successful  as  any 
other  British  general  during  the  war, 
and  he  exposed  himself  to  none  of  those 
disasters  which  fell  upon  others  of  his 
compeers. 

But  however  this  may  be,  it  is  un 
doubtedly  true  that  Washington  gave 
evidence  of  superior  generalship  in  this 
retreat  through  the  Jerseys ;  and  not 
only  superior  qualities  as  a  commander- 
in-chief,  but  also  of  possessing  the  higher 
and  nobler  endowments  of  the  most 
exalted  patriotism.  Painful,  indeed,  is 
it  to  see  what  trials,  and  perplexities, 
and  humiliations  waited  upon  his  every 
step,  and  how  his  soul  was  racked  with 
the  cares  and  burdens  laid  upon  him. 
But  trials  are  not  sent  without  design. 
Washington  was  formed  of  that  mate 
rial  which  is  purified  and  strengthened 
by  trial.  Bravely  did  he  endure ;  pro 
foundly  learned  and  wise  did  he  become 
by  endurance ;  and  no  man  of  his  day 
ever  attained  such  vast  influence  as  he 
did  by  the  irrefragable  proofs  which  he 
exhibited  of  the  purity,  integrity,  and 
decision  of  his  character  and  conduct.* 

°  Spencer,  History  of  the  United  States. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  VIII. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  MIFFLIN. 

THIS  officer,  who  began  his  service  as  aid  to 
Washington,  rose  subsequently  to  very  high 
promotion,  both  military  and  civil.  He  was  a 
Pennsylvanian,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1744, 
of  parents  who  were  Quakers.  His  education 
was  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Smith,  with  whom  he  was  connected  in  habits 
of  cordial  intimacy  and  friendship  for  more  than 
forty  years.  Active  and  zealous,  he  engaged 
early  in  opposition  to  the  measures  of  the  Brit 
ish  parliament.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first 
Congress  in  1774.  He  took  arms,  and  was 
among  the  first  officers  commissioned  on  the 
organization  of  the  continental  army,  being  ap 
pointed  quartermaster-general  in  August,  1775. 
For  this  offence  he  was  read  out  of  the  Society 
of  Quakers.  In  1777,  he  was  very  useful  in  ani 
mating  the  militia,  and  rekindling  the  spirit 
which  seemed  to  have  been  damped.  His  san 
guine  disposition  and  his  activity  rendered  him 
insensible  to  the  value  of  that  coolness  and  cau 
tion,  which  were  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
such  an  army  as  was  then  under  the  command 
of  Washington.  In  1777,  Mifflin,  unfortunately 
for  his  future  fame,  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
"  Conway  Cabal,"  of  which  an  account  will  be 
found  in  another  part  of  this  work.  In  1787, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which 
framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  his  signature  is  affixed  to  that  instrument. 
In  October,  1788,  he  succeeded  Franklin  as 
president  of  the  supreme  executive  council  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  which  station  he  continued  till 
October,  1790.  In  September  a  constitution 
for  this  State  was  formed  by  a  convention  in 
which  he  presided,  and  he  was  chosen  the  first 


governor.  In  1794,  during  the  insurrection  in 
Pennsylvania,  he  employed,  to  the  advantage  of 
his  country,  the  extraordinary  powers  of  elocu 
tion,  with  which  he  was  endowed.  The  imper 
fection  of  the  militia  laws  was  compensated  by 
his  eloquence.  He  made  a  circuit  through  the 
lower  counties,  and,  at  different  places,  publicly 
addressed  the  militia  on  the  crisis  in  the  affairs 
of  their  country,  and  through  his  animating  ex 
hortations,  the  State  furnished  the  quota  re 
quired.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  gov 
ernor  by  Mr.  M'Kean,  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1799.  He  died  at  Lancaster,  January  20,  1800, 
in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He  was  an 
active  and  zealous  patriot,  who  devoted  much 
of  his  life  to  the  public  service. 


[B.] 

GENERAL  REED. 

As  this  officer's  character  and  conduct  have 
been  the  subject  of  much  controversy,  we  give 
a  rather  extended  biographical  notice  of  him  ; 
and  for  the  same  reason,  we  avoid  mentioning 
his  misunderstanding  with  Washington  in  the 
text. 

Joseph  Reed  was  born  at  Trenton,  in  New 
Jersey,  in  August,  1741  ;  but  while  yet  an  in 
fant,  was  removed  with  his  father's  family  to 
Philadelphia  ;  at  the  Academy  in  which  city  he 
received  his  boyish  education.  He  was  subse 
quently  graduated  at  Princeton  College  ;  rend 
law  under  Richard  Stockton,  and  after  his  ad 
mission  to  the  bar,  in  1763,  passed  two  years  in 
London,  in  the  completion  of  his  professional 
studies.  The  relations  between  the  mother 
country  and  her  offspring  were  already  becom 
ing  involved ;  the  West  India  Bill  and  the 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


513 


stamp-act  had  been  added  to  tlie  series  of  op 
pressions  which  gradually  undermined  the  loy 
alty  of  America;  and  the  discontent  was  stead 
ily  growing  up,  which,  ten  years  later,  became 
rebellion.  Reed's  residence  in  England  was 
eventful  to  him  in  more  ways  than  one.  He 
there  formed  an  attachment  to  the  lady  whom 
he  afterwards  married,  the  daughter  of  Dennis 
de  Berdt,  at  a  later  period  agent  of  Massachu 
setts  ;  and  he  there  also  made,  in  the  person  of 
her  brother,  an  acquaintance  whose  agency  led 
to  some  of  the  most  important  transactions  of 
his  life.  In  1770,  he  revisited  England  to  bring 
home  his  bride,  and  then  settled  and  resumed 
the  practice  of  the  law  in  Philadelphia. 

In  1772,  upon  the  resignation  of  Lord  Hills- 
borough,  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  succeeded  to 
the  colonial  office.  Between  him  and  the  elder 
De  Berdt,  there  had  existed  a  friendship  which, 
after  his  death,  was  continued  to  his  son  ;  and, 
at  the  instance  of  the  latter,  an  intimation  was 
conveyed  to  Reed  that  a  correspondence  upon 
the  condition  and  wants  of  the  colonies,  with 
one  free  from  interested  views,  would  be  agree 
able  to  the  minister.  Entertaining  the  good 
opinion,  at  that  time  prevalent,  with  regard  to 
Lord  Dartmouth,  Reed  undertook  the  delicate 
and  responsible  task,  with  a  full  sense  of  its  dif 
ficulties,  but  with  the  conviction  that  an  oppor 
tunity  of  conveying  correct  information  to  such 
a  quarter  was  not  to  be  lost.  The  curse  of  the 
country  had  been  the  falsehoods  of  its  gov 
ernors  ;  it  remained  to  be  seen  if  truth  could 
yet  be  made  to  penetrate  the  ears  of  their  mas 
ters.  Of  the  correspondence  which  followed, 
we  hazard  nothing  in  saving  that  it  is  among 

O  w  O  O 

the  most  valuable  contributions  to  American 
history  yet  presented.  Reed's  position  in  life, 
and  his  intimacy  with  the  leading  characters, 
not  only  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of  other  States, 
gave  him  access  to  sound  intelligence.  He  be 
longed  to  the  class  who,  resolutely  determined 
to  resist  even  unto  rebellion  every  invasion  of 
the  constitutional  rights  of  the  provinces,  enter 
tained,  as  yet,  no  disposition  to  loosen  their 
connection  Avith  Great  Britain  ;  and  had  en 
deavored  rather  to  procure  retraction  from 
the  latter  than  to  stimulate  excitement  in  the 
former. 

VOL.  L---OO 


From  such  a  man  Lord  Dartmouth  might 
expect  to  hear  the  truth.  It  was  not  Reed's 
fault  if  it  was  disregarded.  The  letters  com 
mence  with  the  22d  of  December,  1773,  and 
close  with  the  10th  of  February,  1775.  Their 
tone,  from  the  relations  of  the  writer  to  the  per 
son  addressed,  as  may  be  supposed,  is  guarded, 
yet  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  their 
force  as  well  as  their  elegance.  They  paint,  in 
language  which  should  have  been  convincing, 
the  spirit  of  the  people,  and  the  dangers  of  the 
course  so  blindly  entered  upon  and  so  obsti 
nately  followed  by  the  ministry.  The  last  let 
ter  narrated  the  proceedings  of  the  Provincial 
Convention  of  January,  1775.  It  closed  with 
the  ominous  declaration  that  "  this  country  will 
be  deluged  in  blood  before  it  will  submit  to  any 
other  taxation  than  by  their  own  legislature." 
A  few  weeks  after  and  Lexington  and  Concord 
had  sealed  that  assertion.  From  Lord  Dart 
mouth  himself  there  is  but  one  letter.  It  is 
dated  July  llth,  1774.  Of  the  justice  of  the 
two  causes,  we  can  point  to  no  better  illustra 
tions  than  that  and  Reed's  of  September  25th, 
in  reply.  This  correspondence,  added  to  Reed's 
connection  with  an  English  family,  were  the 
cause  of  many  suspicions  on  the  part  of  those 
who  could  not  know  its  character.  Its  publica 
tion  must  dissipate  all  such  ideas  of  the  views 
he  entertained  at  this  time,  and  upon  his  sin 
cerity  of  patriotism  subsequently,  we  apprehend 
there  can  be  no  shadow  of  doubt. 

The  insight  of  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania 
during  this  period,  furnished  by  the  connecting 
narrative  of  the  author,  is  particularly  valuable. 
The  causes  which  prevented  her,  at  the  outset 
of  the  contest  with  Great  Britain,  from  taking 
the  bold  and  decided  stand  in  vindication  of 
colonial  rights,  and  from  putting  forth  those 
strong  assertions  of  the  doctrines  of  liberty, 
upon  which  some  of  her  sisters  ventured,  and 
the  laborious  efforts  by  which  those  influences 
were  counteracted  and  destroyed,  are  pointed 
out  with  clearness  and  vigor.  Towards  the  re 
sult,  as  it  seems  to  us,  no  man  contributed  more 
than  Reed.  We  pass  to  the  commencement  of 
his  military  life. 

On  Washington's  departure  in  June,  1775,  to 
take  charge  of  the  army,  Reed  accompanied 


r>u 


LIFK  AM)  TDIKS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[15, 


IV 


him  to  Boston,  and  while  there  w:is  offered  and 
accepted  the  post  of  aid  to  the  commander- 
in-chief!  To  one  of  his  friends,  wlw*  remon 
strated  with  him  on  the  danger  of  the  step, 
lie  made  the  characteristic  reply  :  "  I  have  no 
inclination  to  be  hanged  for  half-treason.  When 
a  subject  draws  his  sword  against  his  prince, 
he  must  cut  his  way  through  if  he  means  after 
wards  to  sit  down  in  safety.  I  have  taken  too 
active  a  part  in  what  may  be  called  the  civil 
part  of  opposition,  to  renounce  without  disgrace 
the  public  cause,  when  it  seems  to  lead  to  dan 
ger,  and  have  a  most  sovereign  contempt  for 
the  man  who  can  plan  measures  he  has  not 
spirit  to  execute."  It  was  upon  the  urgent  so 
licitation  of  Washington  himself  that  he  was 
induced  to  remain.  The  sacrifice,  it  may  be 
imagined,  was  a  great  one  to  a  young  man  with 
narrow  means,  just  entering  upon  a  lucrative 
practice,  and  leaving  behind  him  a  wife  and 
two  infant  children,  but  it  was  made  without  a 
murmur,  and  the  author  proudly  adds,  as  the 
due  of  a  woman  of  the  Revolution,  that  "the 
young  mother  did  her  absent  patriot  full  justice, 
by  her  fortitude  and  cheerful  acquiescence  in 
his  thus  following  the  path  of  honor  and  public 
duty."  The  relations  between  the  commander- 
in-chief  and  Reed,  were  henceforth  of  the  most 
intimate  nature.  The  expressions  of  Washing 
ton's  esteem  for  his  merits,  and  dependence  on 
his  assistance,  are  constant  and  warm.  Reed 
was,  in  fact,  the  confidential  secretary  as  well  as 
the  aid,  and  his  pen  was  employed  in  the  prep 
aration  of  many  of  the  most  important  dis 
patches  of  this  campaign. 

The  siege  of  Boston  is  truly  characterized 
as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  of  the 
war.  Between  the  renown  of  Bunker  Hill, 
and  the  disasters  of  Long  Island,  few  persons 
sufficiently  consider  the  generalship  which  there, 
in  the  face  of  a  powerful  and  disciplined  foe, 
organized,  disciplined,  and  disbanded  one  army, 
and  raised  and  equipped  another ;  few  know 
the  difficulties  undergone  from  want  of  arms 
and  necessaries,  and  the  fatal  systems  of  short 
terms,  or  appreciate  how  entirely  it  was  by 
compulsion  that  Washington  deserved  the  at 
tributes  of  Fabius. 

In  October,  Reed   was  forced   to   return  to 


Philadelphia,  where  he  remained  during  the 
ensuing  winter,  actively  engaged,  however,  in 
political  affairs. 

Reed,  who  was  chairman  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Committee  of  Safety,  in  January,  1770,  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly,  where  he  took  a  con 
spicuous  part  in  the  de-bates,  and  was  especially 
instrumental  in  procuring  one  great  step  to 
wards  the  redress  of  grievances  complained  of 
by  the  people  in  enlarging  the  number  of  repre 
sentatives.  The  winter,  however,  had  passed 
over  without  any  definite  result,  and  Reed  was 
contemplating  a  return  to  the  army,  when  the 
news  of  the  evacuation  of  Boston  reached  Phila 
delphia. 

The  event  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  Revo 
lutionary  party  in  Pennsylvania,  as  elsewhere. 
On  the  first  of  May,  the  election  for  the  addi 
tional  members  of  Assembly  took  place,  which, 
except  in  the  city,  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the 
whigs.  The  fate  of  the  old  charter  was  sealed. 

On  the  10th,  John  Adams  brought  forward 
in  Congress  his  resolution  recommending  the 
remodelling  by  the  States  of  their  governments, 
and  speedily  followed  it  up  by  the  report  of  the 
committee  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred. 
A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  imme 
diately  decided  upon  calling  a  convention,  to 
take  the  sense  of  the  people  upon  the  continu 
ance  of  the  charter.  The  friends  of  the  exist 
ing  order  of  things  struggled  against  the  move 
ment  in  vain.  The  Assembly,  which  met  again 
on  the  20th,  Avas  left  constantly  without  a  quo 
rum  until  the  5th  of  June,  when  the  Virginia 
Resolutions,  instructing  their  delegates  in  Con 
gress  to  vote  for  independence,  were  presented 
to  it.  On  the  8th,  a  compromise  committee,  to 
whom  they  were  referred,  of  which  Reed  was  a 
member,  reported,  the  result  being,  as  was  ex 
pected,  only  to  recommend  the  rescinding  the 
instructions  to  the  Pennsylvania  delegates  of 
the  year  before.  The  effect  was,  however,  pro 
duced.  "  Of  the  seven  Pennsylvania  delegates 
in  Congress,  on  the  vote  of  the  1st  of  July,  in 
committee  of  the  whole,  three  voted  for  inde 
pendence  and  four  against  it ;  and  on  the  4th, 
two  of  those  who  voted  adversely  to  independ 
ence  being  absent,  the  vote  of  Pennsylvania  was 
accidentally,  and  by  a  mrjority  of  one,  given  in 


CHAP.  VIII.  j 


DOCUMENTS. 


515 


its  favor."      Thus   hardly  was  that  declaration 

< 

secured,  which  she  afterwards  so  nobly  sus 
tained. 

The  Assembly  was  now  a  nullity.  On  the 
23d  of  September  it  met  again  ;  on  the  26th, 
twenty-three  members  only  being  present,  it 
passed  its  last  vote,  denouncing  the  convention, 
and  adjourned  forever.  Thus  ended  the  char 
ter  government  of  Pennsylvania.  The  new  con 
stitution  was  proclaimed  on  the  28th  of  Septem 
ber,  and  on  the  28th  of  November,  the  govern 
ment  was  organized  by  the  meeting  of  the  As 
sembly. 

In  June,  Reed  joined  the  army,  then  at  New 
York.  Early  in  that  month,  Congress,  at  the 
instance  of  the  cominander-in-chief,  had  ap 
pointed  him  to  the  post  of  adjutant-general, 
vacant  by  the  promotion  of  General  Gates,  and 
from  thenceforward  he  was  constantly  in  active 
service. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  independence  was  pro 
claimed  at  camj),  and  a  few  days  afterwards 
Lord  Howe  arrived,  bringing  his  plan  of  recon 
ciliation.  Like  every  other  retraction  or  over 
ture  of  Great  Britain,  it  came  too  late.  The 
Declaration  had  thrown  an  insurmountable  ob 
stacle  in  its  way.  That  the  terms  themselves 
would  have  been  declined,  even  if  the  point  of 
form  had  not  been  raised,  is  certain  enough, — 
but  that  it  would  have  led  to  results  important 
to  the  relations  of  the  colonies,  is  not  less  so. 
Many  of  the  most  distinguished  patriots  had,  up 
to  the  time  of  the  declaration,  considered  the 
step  premature  ;  many  even  preferred  a  contin 
uance  of  the  connection,  could  it  be  maintained 
with  honor.  New  England  was,  in  fact,  the 
only  section  originally  bent  upon  independence, 
and  it  had  been  her  pertinacity,  aided  by  that 
of  a  few  Southern  spirits,-  who  went  before  their 
constituents,  which  forced  it  on. 

Lord  Howe,  who  had  neglected  no  means  of 
securing  success  to  his  mission,  had  furnished 
himself  with  an  urgent  recommendation  from 
Mr.  de  Berdt,  Reed's  brother-in-law,  which  he 
transmitted  to  camp,  and  which  Reed  forthwith 
sent  to  Robert  Morris,  in  Congress.  Between 
him  and  Morris  there  seems  to  have  been,  as 
regarded  national  affairs,  not  only  an  entire  har 
mony  of  friendship,  but  a  perfect  unanimity  of 


opinion.  His  letter  to  that  statesman,  and  the 
answer,  now  for  the  first  time  published,  strik 
ingly  illustrate  the  characters  of  the  two,  and 
the  opinions  of  a  great  and  influential  division 
of  the  patriots.  Our  space  will  ill  allow  us  to 
make  extracts,  but  this  one  sentiment  in  Mor 
ris's  letter,  in  unison  as  it  was  with  his  friend's 
views,  cannot  be  too  often  repeated  or  imitated  : 
"  I  cannot,"  he  says,  "  depart  from  one  point 
which  lirst  induced  me  to  enter  the  public  line. 
I  mean  an  opinion  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
individual  to  act  his  part  in  whatever  station  his 
country  may  call  him  to,  in  times  of  difficulty, 
danger,  and  distress.  Whilst  I  think  this  a 
duty,  I  must  submit,  although  the  councils  of 
America  have  taken  a  different  course  from  my 
judgment  and  wishes.  I  think  that  the  indi 
vidual  who  declines  the  service  of  his  country 
because  its  councils  are  not  conformable  to  his 
ideas,  makes  but  a  bad  subject ;  a  good  one  will 
follow,  if  he  cannot  lead." 

The  letter  from  Mr.  de  Berdt  of  course  led  to 
nothing  ;  but  Reed  was  present  at  all  the  inter 
views  with  the  officers  sent  by  Lord  Howe  to 
the  commander-in-chief.  The  mission,  it  need 
not  be  said,  proved  utterly  abortive.  Its  pre 
liminaries  were  embarrassed  by  the  absurd  re 
fusal  of  Lord  Howe  to  recognize  Washington 
by  his  military  title,  and  its  powers  extended 
no  further  than  the  granting  of  pardons.  It 
served,  to  a  certain  extent,  perhaps,  to  satisfy 
individuals  that  their  rights  could  only  be  se 
cured  by  the  sword ;  on  the  other  hand,  it 
created  in  the  camp  a  feeling  of  uncertainty, 
little  favorable  to  discipline.  All  doubts,  how 
ever,  as  to  negotiation,  were  soon  dispelled. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  General  Howe  landed 
at  Graveseud,  and  the  war  recommenced,  and 
in  earnest.  The  second  attempt  at  negotiation, 
made  after  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  which 
rank  was  waived  on  both  sides,  was  as  futile. 
Mr.  W.  B.  Reed's  narrative  of  that  battle,  and 
the  operations  which  preceded  and  followed  it, 
contains  much  that  is  new  and  important.*  We 
heartily  join  in  his  testimony  to  the  conduct  on 
that  occasion  of  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  who, 
in  defence  of  their  sister  colony,  conducted 

*  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Joseph  Reed. 


516 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BooR  IV. 


themselves  with  a  gallantry  worthy  of  veterans. 
Reed  himself  was  present  at  the  action  of  the 
27th,  and  assisted  in  the  withdrawal  of  *he  army 
on  the  night  of  the  29th.  Upon  this  and  the 
subsequent  operations  of  the  campaign,  the 
evacuation  of  New  York,  the  battle  of  White 
Plains,  and  the  siege  of  Fort  Washington, 
Heed's  correspondence  is  full  and  interesting. 
Reed's  admirable  qualifications  for  his  office 
were  exhibited  most  strongly  throughout.  His 
energy  and  activity,  his  capacity  for  continuous 
labor,  were  remarkable,  and  in  the  restoration 
of  the  army,  disorganized  as  it  was  by  continued 
disasters,  were  all  needed. 

The  siege  and  fall  of  Fort  Washington,  gave 
rise  to  an  occurrence  which  has  been  often 
misrepresented  or  misunderstood.  Mr.  W.  B. 
Reed,  in  his  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Joseph 
Reed,  not  only  fully,  but  most  honorably  ex 
plains  it,  so  far  as  Reed  was  concerned.  The 
propriety  of  defending  that  position,  isolated  as 
it  was,  it  is  well  known,  has  always  been  a  sub 
ject  of  military  controversy  ;  and  Washington, 
in  this  instance,  had  suffered  his  own  judgment 
to  be  overruled  by  the  weight  of  contrary  opin 
ions.  Reed  was,  at  the  time,  with  the  main 
army,  which,  after  the  battle  of  Chatterton's 
Hill,  had  crossed  the  river  to  Fort  Lee,  and 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  fate  of  that  place, 
defended  as  it  was  almost  entirely  by  Pennsyl 
vania  troops.  A  few  days  after  its  fall  he  wrote 
to  Lee,  who  had  been  left  with  a  force  to  guard 
the  Highlands,  expressing,  but  in  respectful 
terms,  his  opinion  of  this  indecision,  and  his 
wish  for  Lee's  presence.  In  reply  to  this  let 
ter,  Lee,  apparently  echoing  Reed's  language, 
gave  to  it  an  expression  which  it  by  no  means 
justified. 

The  letter  reached  camp  after  Reed's  depart 
ure  to  Burlington,  and  Avas,  as  usual,  opened  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  under  the  idea  that  it 
related  to  the  business  of  the  department. 
Deeply  wounded,  not  only  at  the  expression  of 
such  opinions  by  one  holding  the  high  military 
reputation  which  Lee  then  did,  but  at  the  appa 
rent  want  of  candor  in  his  intimate  and  confi 
dential  officer,  Washington  yet  never  lost  his 
habitual  dignity.  He  inclosed  the  letter  to 
Re^d,  explaining  the  circumstances  of  his  hav 


ing  opened  it,  as  an  "  excuse  for  seeing  the  con 
tents  of  a  letter  which  neither  inclination  nor 
intuition  would  have  prompted  him  to." 

Reed,  after  an  attempt  to  recover  the  origi 
nal  of  his  own,  which,  in  consequence  of  Lee'? 
capture  by  the  British,  proved  futile,  wrote  tc 
Washington,  .simply  explaining  the  sentiments 
really  contained  in  it,  and  expressing,  in  lan 
guage  as  beautiful  as  appropriate,  his  regret 
at  having,  even  unjustly,  forfeited  his  regard. 
Washington's  reply  was  such  as  became  him  : 
"He  was  hurt,  not  because  he  thought  his  judg 
ment  wronged  by  the  expressions  contained  in 
it,  but  because  the  same  sentiments  were  not 
communicated  immediately  to  himself."  It 
need  not  be  said  that  their  old  friendship  was 
restored.  Not  so  Lee.  At  a  later  period,  to 
gratify  his  resentment  towards  Washington,  he 
had  the  baseness,  in  a  newspaper  article,  to 
allude  to  Reed's  private  opinion  of  the  com 
mander-in-chief,  as  contrary  to  what  he  publicly 
professed  towards  him,  hinting  at  that  letter  as 
his  authority.  The  attempt  did  him  no  good, 
nor  harm  to  those  to  whom  he  intended  it. 

The  commencement  of  the  ensuing  winter 
was  marked  with  gloom  and  despondency. 
Washington's  army,  reduced  to  a  handful,  were 
driven  beyond  the  Raritan.  Lee  was  a  pris 
oner  ;  New  Jersey  was  in  the  uncontrolled  pos 
session  of  the  enemy,  its  legislature  scattered  to 
the  winds ;  Cormvallis,  with  a  strong  and  well- 
appointed  force,  rapidly  pursuing  the  wreck  of 
the  continentals.  It  was  in  this  dark  hour  that 
Pennsylvania  almost  of  herself  retrieved  the  for 
tunes  of  the  war.  Mifflin  and  Reed  were  suc 
cessively  dispatched  to  Philadelphia  for  aid,  and 
it  was  forthcoming.  "  At  no  period  of  the  war," 
says  our  author,  "  did  any  portion  of  the  colo 
nies  exhibit  a  finer  spirit  than  the  majority  of 
the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  at  this  juncture. 
The  militia  was  immediately  and  efficiently 
organized,  and  a  large  body,  well  equipped, 
marched  to  join  Washington  at  the  upper 
passes  of  the  Delaware."  Offensive  operations 
were  at  once  determined  upon,  and  the  battles 
of  Trenton  and  of  Princeton  reversed  the  posi 
tion  of  the  armies.  During  the  whole  of  the 
movements,  Reed  was  exceedingly  active  ;  at 
Princeton  he  bore  a  most  conspicuous  part. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


517 


Immediately  after  these  events,  Washington 
urged  upon  Congress  the  appointment  of  an 
additional  nunil>er  of  generals,  recommending 
Reed  to  the  command  of  the  horse  "  as  a  per 
son  in  his  opinion  in  every  way  qualified."  At 
the  end  of  February,  and  again  in  April,  elec 
tions  were  accordingly  made,  but  no  order  was 
taken  with  reference  to  the  separate  command 
of  the  horse,  and  it  was  not  until  the  12th  of 
May  that  Reed  was  elected  a  brigadier.  On 
the  27th  of  that  month  they  empowered  the 
general-in-cbief  to  confer  that  command  upon 
one  of  the  generals  already  appointed,  and  he 
immediately  offered  it  to  Reed.  lie,  justly  of 
fended  at  the  coldness  with  which  he  had  been 
treated,  declined  it,  resolving  however  to  join 
the  army  as  a  volunteer  as  soon  as  active  opera 
tions  commenced. 

The  cause  of  the  neglect  is  ascribed  by  his 
biographer,  and  no  doubt  correctly,  to  the  hos 
tility  to  Washington  and  his  friends  which  al 
ready  had  infected  a  portion  of  Congress,  and 
which  the  next  year  so  virulently  displayed 
itself, — added  to  which,  that  Reed  had  been 
charged  Avith  injustice  to  the  New  England 
troops.  Washington  made  no  further  offer  to 
fill  the  situation,  which  remained  vacant  until 
the  election  of  Pulaski.  A  letter  from  Reed  to 
a  member  of  Congress  refers  to  the  subject  in  a 
manner  highly  honorable  to  him :  expressing 
the  wish  that  no  difficulties  might  arise  in  con 
sequence  of  a  difference  of  opinion  between  that 
body  and  Washington,  as  any  "  claims  or  pre 
tensions  which  he  might  have,  were  they  much 
greater,  ought  not  to  disturb  the  harmony  which 
should  exist  between  the  civil  and  military  pow 
ers  ;"  he  ends  by  authorizing  such  use  of  his 
letter  as  would  obviate  difficulties.  About  the 
same  time  he  was  appointed  chief-justice  of 
Pennsylvania,  a  post  which  had  always  been 
filled  with  the  highest  talent  in  the  State.  The 
offer  was  the  more  honorable,  as  Reed  had  been 
a  known  opponent  of  many  features  of  the  con 
stitution.  He  however  declined  it. 

The  spring  and  summer  of  1777  he  passed 
with  his  family,  his  plans  of  life  undetermined  ; 
but  on  Sir  William  Howe's  landing  at  the  head 
of  the  Elk  in  August,  he  again  joined  the  army 
as  a  volunteer,  attaching  himself  to  the  Penn 


sylvania  troops  under  Armstrong.  At  the  bat 
tle  of  Brandywine,  and  during  the  other  opera 
tions  following,  he  rendered  important  services, 
and  at  Germantown  distinguished  himself  par 
ticularly. 

The  fall  succeeding  the  capture  of  Philadel 
phia  was  spent  in  an  obstinate  defence  of  the 
Delaware,  and  in  efforts  to  retake  the  city. 
Severely  as  its  loss  had  fallen  upon  the  country, 
the  army  had  rallied  under  the  blow,  and  of 
fensive  operations  were  constantly  attempted. 
Reed,  who  seems  to  have  been  ever  in  favor  of 
fighting,  upon  the  final  abandonment  of  the 
capital,  turned  his  mind  to  other  sources  of  an 
noyance.  A  letter  to  Washington  of  Decem 
ber  1st,  urges  an  attempt  on  New  York.  About 
this  time  he  was  recalled  to  camp  to  assist  in 
deciding  upon  winter-quarters,  and  there  took 
part  in  the  last  affair  of  the  campaign,  the  skir 
mish  at  Chestnut  Hill,  where  he  had  his  horse 
shot  under  him. 

On  the  17th  of  December  the  army  took  up 
its  quarters  at  Valley  P'orge.  The  history  of 
that  winter  is  familiar  to  every  one.  The 
shameful  abandonment  of  the  army  by  Con 
gress  to  famine  and  cold,  reduced  it  to  the 
verge  of  destruction.  It  was  not  until  the  mid 
dle  of  January  that  they  were  made  to  act, 
when  a  committee,  of  which  Reed,  who  had 
been  elected  to  that  body,  was  one,  were  ap 
pointed  with  full  powers  to  repair  to  camp  and 
confer  with  the  commander-in-chief.  The  result 
of  their  mission,  tardily  enough,  however,  was 
the  reorganization  of  the  quartermaster's  de 
partment,  to  which  General  Greene  was  ap 
pointed.  Reed's  services  were  considered  so 
valuable  that  he  was  detained  in  camp,  and  did 
not  retake  his  seat  until  the  6th  of  April.  In 
the  beginning  of  June  he  again  proceeded  to 
camp  under  a  resolution  of  Congress,  referring 
to  Washington,  Dana,  and  himself,  the  remodel 
ling  of  the  army,  and  to  this  duty  he  devoted 
himself.  Intelligence  from  Europe  now  infused 
new  life  and  hope  into  the  nation.  On  the  18th 
of  June,  the  British  evacuated  Philadelphia,  and 
on  the  28th  was  fought  at  Monmouth  a  battle 
memorable  as  one  of  the  turning-points  of  the 
war.  In  that  action  Reed  participated,  having 
his  horse  again  shot  under  him. 


LIFE  AND  TIMKS  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


In  the  summer  ot  1778,  the  second  attempt 
at  negotiation  was  made  by  Great  Britain  in 
the  mission  of  Lord  Carlisle,  Mr.  F^jlen,  and 
Governor  Johnstone.  Of  this  business  Mr.  W. 
B.  Keed  remarks  :  "During  the  Revolution  the 
diplomacy  of  the  British  ministry  was,  if  possi 
ble,  less  dexterous  and  successful  than  their 
military  policy.  They  were  always  a  little  too 
late.  Lord  Howe  arrived  a  few  days  after  the 
irrevocable  measure  of  independence  was  adopt 
ed  ;  and  Lord  Carlisle  and  his  colleagues  did 
not  sail  from  Great  Britain  till  some  weeks  after 
the  news  of  the  French  alliance  was  on  its  way 
to  America,  and  Congress,  by  its  resolution  of 
the  22d  of  April,  1778,  had  pledged  themselves 
to  the  world  against  the  very  propositions  of 
fered.  Lord  North  introduced  his  conciliatory 
propositions  into  parliament  on  the  1 7th  of  Feb 
ruary,  and  the  commissioners  sailed  on  the  22d 
of  April.  On  the  2d  of  May,  "Washington  and 
his  soldiers  were  rejoicing  at  the  intelligence  of 
the  alliance  with  France. 

The  propositions  now  brought  went  much 
further  than  those  of  Lord  Howe  in  the  summer 
of  1776;  they  went,  in  fact,  further  than  the 
colonies,  before  the  outset  of  hostilities,  had  ever 
asked,  but  they  stopped  short  of  the  only  terms 
now  practicable,  independence.  The  commis 
sioners  seem,  however,  this  time  to  have  con 
cluded  upon  the  use  of  new  appliances  in  sup 
port  of  their  terms.  Instead  of  the  armies  of 
Howe,  Johnstone  furnished  himself  with  gold. 
It  proved  even  less  available  than  the  old  argu 
ment. 

Mr.  de  Berdt  had  again  furnished  them  with 
a  recommendation  to  Reed;  and  a  few  days 
after  their  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  Johnstone 
transmitted  it  to  him,  accompanied  by  one  from 
himself.  This  document  possessed  every  requi 
site  for  a  successful  opening  except  one.  It  was 
addressed  to  the  wrong  person.  In  conclusion, 
the  writer  said :  "  The  man  who  can  be  instru 
mental  in  bringing  us  all  to  act  in  harmony,  and 
to  unite  together  the  various  powers  which  this 
contest  has  drawn  forth,  will  deserve  more  from 
the  king  and  the  people,  from  patriotism,  hu 
manity,  friendship,  and  all  the  tender  ties  that 
are  affected  by  the  quarrel  and  the  reconciliation, 
than  ever  was  yet  bestowed  on  human  kind." 


The  letter  Reed  at  once  showed  to  Washing 
ton,  and  in  a  courteous  but  decided  answer  de 
clined  all  personal  interposition.  That  answer 
Johnstone  never  received  ;  had  it  reached  him, 
it  might  have  deterred  him  from  his  subsequent 
attempt. 

Not  receiving  a  reply  from  Reed,  the  third 
commissioner  endeavored  to  approach  Mr.  Mor 
ris — with  what  success  may  readily  be  imagined. 
The  open  and  direct  business  of  the  mission  had 
been  closed  by  the  refusal  of  Congress  to  hold 
intercourse  with  them ;  and  Lord  Carlisle,  it 
seems,  was  speedily  satisfied  of  its  failure.  John- 
stone,  however,  thought  it  worth  while  to  make 
one  further  and  more  direct  overture,  and  that 
upon  Reed.  The  agent  selected  for  this  purpose 
was  Mrs.  Ferguson,  who,  in  her  public  narrative, 
verified  by  oath,  subsequently  detailed  the  whole 
transaction.  The  circumstances  are  almost  too 
well  known  to  need  repetition.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  the  offer  was  "  ten  thousand  guineas  and 
the  best  post  in  the  government."  It  was  by 
her  communicated  to  Reed,  whose  instant  and 
memorable  answer  was :  "My  influence  is  but 
small,  but  were  it  as  great  as  Governor  John- 
stone  would  insinuate,  the  king  of  Great  Britain 
has  nothing  within  his  gift  that  would  tempt 
me." 

The  letters  and  this  oifer  were,  by  Messrs. 
Morris  and  Reed,  communicated  to  Congress ; 
and  when  made  known  produced  much  excite 
ment.  A  preamble  and  resolutions,  reciting  the 
overtures  and  denouncing  their  author,  were 
adopted,  and  the  commissioners  returned  from 
their  bootless  errand — Johnstone  to  abuse  Con 
gress,  and  Lord  Carlisle  to  find  in  his  family 
circle  and  the  conversation  of  George  Selwyn  a 
relief  from  his  vexation. 

In  the  middle  of  July,  Reed  resumed  his  seat 
in  Congress,  and  remained,  with  occasional  in 
tervals  of  employment,  at  camp  until  the  autumn. 
"During  this  period,"  says  his  biographer,  "his 
services  seem  to  have  been  unceasing.  He  was 
a  member  of  every  important  committee ;  and 
being  the  only  speaking  member  from  his  State, 
seems  to  have  taken  a  lead  in  every  discussion." 
In  October,  he  was  called  to  another  and  even 
more  arduous  service.  The  Pennsylvania  elec 
tions  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  majority  of  the 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


519 


friends  of  the  State  constitution  in  both  branches 
of  its  government ;  and  Reed,  who  though  origi 
nally  opposed  to  and  never  approving  its  pro 
visions,  had  considered  it  his  duty  to  support  it 
when  adopted,  was  elected  to  the  council.  On 
the  1st  of  December  he  was  unanimously  chosen 
president  of  that  body,  an  office  equivalent  to 
that  of  governor  of  the  State. 

In  connection  with  this  event  in  the  life  of  his 
subject,  Mr.  W.  B.  Reed  has  given  a  most 
valuable  sketch  of  the  then  condition  of  affairs 
in  Philadelphia.  Upon  the  recapture  of  the 
city,  Arnold  had  unfortunately  been  appointed 
to  the  command.  The  consequences  of  his 
profligacy  in  its  general  misgovernment  are 
already  partially  known;  less  so  that  his  trea 
sonable  practices  had  commenced  even  at  this 
time.  Upon  this  subject,  as  well  as  of  his  gen 
eral  history,  much  that  is  new  to  us  is  afforded. 
It  has  been  fashionable  among  some  sentiment 
alists  to  represent  that  man  as  one,  Avhose  high 
spirit,  wounded  by  injustice,  drove  him,  almost 
in  madness,  to  his  last  fatal  step.  If  the  investi 
gations  of  Mr.  Sparks  have  not  already  done  so, 
we  apprehend  that  the  proofs  contained  in  Mr. 
W.  B.  Reed's  work  will  put  an  end  to  this 
twaddle.  "  The  constitutional  obliquity  of  Ar 
nold's  mind,"  observes  the  author,  "  with  its 
gradual  development  of  the  worst  of  social 
crimes,  treason  to  his  country,  is  as  much  a  part 
of  the  Revolutionary  picture  as  the  complete 
virtue  of  "Washington."  Arnold's  official  cor 
ruption  had  begun  at  Quebec ;  it  was  continued 
down  through  every  step  of  his  subsequent 
career ;  till,  at  Philadelphia,  its  unblushing  open 
ness  provoked  the  council  beyond  endurance, 
and  he  was  finally  brought  to  court-martial. 
During  the  period  of  his  government,  or  rather 
misgovernment,  his  attentions  to  the  tories  and 
his  insolence  to  the  whigs,  his  balls  given  to  the 
wives  of  refugees,  and  his  influence  used  to 
procure  the  pardon  of  traitors,  should  have  fore 
warned  Congress  of  what  was  to  be  expected 
from  him.  To  Reed  was  in  a  great  measure 
due  his  exposure ;  and  upon  him  Arnold,  one  of 
whose  first  characteristics  was  his  malignity, 
visited  it  without  remorse. 

It  was  amidst  these  disorders,  and  the  greatest 
exasperation  of  party,  on  the  subject  of  the  State 


constitution,  that  Reed,  contrary  alike  to  his 
wishes  and  his  interest,  relinquished  his  military 
career,  and  his  post  in  Congress,  and  accepted 
the  presidency  of  the  executive  council.  "  The 
history  of  the  next  three  years  of  his  life,"  says 
his  biographer,  "  dating  from  the  time  at  which 
he  relinquished  his  seat  in  Congress,  is  the  his 
tory  of  Pennsylvania.  Placed,  as  will  presently 
be  seen,  by  the  suffrages  of  all  parties,  at  a  time 
when  political  opinion  was  at  fever  heat,  at  the 
head  of  the  executive  department  of  the  State 
government,  he  threw  into  the  discharge  of  this 
trust  all  his  energies,  and  labored  in  the  public 
cause  with  an  intensity  of  devotion  which  it  is 
difficult  to  describe,  and  which  led  to  the  utter 
prostration  of  his  health  and  premature  termina 
tion  of  his  life.  He  became  the  centre  of  the 
party  which  supported  the  existing  frame  oi 
government,  and  the  accredited  leader  of  the 
constitutional  whigs." 

To  the  army  generally  his  appointment  gave 
great  satisfaction.  "Washington's  letter  of  con 
gratulation  was  sincere  and  hearty.  Greene 
and  Wayne  both  joined  in  the  expression  of  this 
feeling;  and  we  may  add,  that  Reed's  watchful 
ness  and  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  troops,  at  all 
times,  deserved  their  regard.  During  the  dark 
period  which  preceded  the  arrival  of  substantial 
assistance  from  France,  when  the  utter  explosion 
of  the  paper  system,  and  the  exhaustion  of 
credit,  reduced  the  army  for  months  to  the  verge 
of  dissolution,  Reed  gave  no  peace  or  rest  to  the 
legislature  till  he  forced  from  them  what  assist- 

O 

ance  he  might.  On  more  than  one  occasion, 
too,  Avhen  movements  of  importance  were  at 
hand,  as  in  the  contemplated  attempt  upon  New 
York,  in  this  autumn,  and  again  in  August, 
1780,  he  himself  headed  the  levies  of  his  State, 
and  exchanged  the  toils  of  government  only  for 

O  O  * 

the  fatigues  of  camp. 

In  the  narrative  of  this  part  of  his  administra 
tion,  we  find  a  succinct  view  of  one  great  cause 
of  the  embarrassments  which  existed  during  the 
Revolution — the  gross  errors  prevalent  on  the 
subject  of  finance.  In  these  respects  the  country 
was  far  behind  its  knowledge  on  matters  of  gen 
eral  legislation,  and  the  middle  States  even  far 

O  ' 

behind  the  eastern.  Embargo  and  tender  laws, 
commercial  restrictions,  and  limitations  of  prices, 


520 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


IV. 


were  almost  everywhere  the  means  by  which 
the  legislatures  essayed  to  financier  through  the 
\v:ir.  Heed  appears,  upon  these  point*  to  have 
Id-en  tar  wiser  than  his  generation.  Speaking 
of  the  last  class  of  acts,  he  says:  "The  com 
merce  of  mankind  must  be  free,  or  almost  all 
kimls  of  intercourse  will  cease.  Regulation 
stagnates  industry,  and  creates  a  universal  dis 
content."  Unfortunately,  his  opinions  had,  at 
first,  but  little  weight  with  the  assembly,  which 
was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  popular  fal 
lacies,  and  infinite  trouble  arose  from  their  legis 
lation.  Forestalling  was  the  bugbear  of  the 
day.  Its  effects  were  bad  enough,  it  is  true, 
but  the  remedy  was  one  Avhich  never  cured  that 
disease.  The  excitement  in  Philadelphia  upon 
these  subjects  at  one  time  broke  out  into  a  riot, 
which,  but  for  Reed's  firmness,  threatened  the 
most  dangerous  results.  It  was  not  until  1781 
that  he  finally,  as  it  were,  forced  the  assembly 
into  a  repeal  of  the  tender  laws,  and  thus  gave 
the  death-blow  to  a  currency  which  had  been 
upheld  contrary  to  all  right,  as  it  was  contrary 
to  all  sense.  Among  the  important  topics  pre 
sented,  in  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Reed's  adminis 
tration,  were  the  measure  known  as  the  Pro 
prietary  Bill,  or  "  Divesting  Act,"  which  stripped 
the  proprietaries  of  the  public  domain,  as  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  had  the  monarch 
of  his  paramount  sovereignty;  the  transfer  of 
the  College  Charter,  like  the  former  one  of  a 
revolutionary  character  and  necessity ;  and  the 
gradual  abolition  of  slavery.  All  these  he 
strenuously  advocated  and  carried. 

Our  space  will  allow  us  no  opportunity  of 
entering  at  large  upon  so  intricate  a  field  as  his 
administration  opens  upon  us.  Reed  held  the 
station  of  supreme  executive  of  the  State  until 
December,  1781,  the  constitutional  limit  of  his 
office.  To  all  who  are  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  Revolution,  its  last  years  are  known  as 
those  of  its  greatest  trials.  The  first  enthusiasm 
of  conflict  had  passed  away ;  the  slight  resources 
of  the  new-born  States  had  been  exhausted.  To 
them  had  succeeded  poverty  and  ruin ;  in  some 
States  lethargy ;  in  others  dogged,  stubborn 
resistance,  the  despair  which  yields  not,  but  dies 
fighting.  The  situation  of  Pennsylvania  was 
especially  deplorable.  Cursed  with  an  incom 


petent  frame  of  government,  and  with  factions 
which  rendered  even  that  more  incapable  ;  bank 
rupt  in  her  finances;  drained  of  her  blood  ;  vet 
withal,  the  State  upon  which,  from  magnitude, 
central  situation,  and  as  the  seat  of  the  general 
Congress,  her  sisters  looked  for  the  greatest 
exertions,  she  staggered  through  the  close  of  the 
war  like  a  worn-out  racer  beneath  the  spur  of 
its  rider.  A  sterner  one  never  forced  panting 
steed  or  wearied  nation  through  its  course. 

The  president  possessed  moral  in  as  eminent 
a  degree  as  physical  courage.  Neither  love  of 
power  nor  popularity,  the  fear  of  losing  influence 
or  friends,  stayed  him  in  his  path.  His  am 
bition — and  few  men,  we  believe,  were  more 
ambitious — was  not  that  of  the  demagogue  or 
the  office-hunter.  lie  sought  public  station,  not 
for  itself  or  for  its  profits,  but  as  afield  of  public 
service.  His  energy  was  intense,  his  activity 
unceasing,  his  capacity  for  labor  as  extraordi 
nary  as  his  love  of  it.  His  was  an  unyielding, 
impetuous  and  daring  nature.  He  wielded  the 
dangerous  power  which  at  times  was  intrusted 
to  him  without  hesitation  or  fear,  but  he  wielded 
it  never  for  private  gain  or  for  personal  emolu 
ment. 

Few  persons  have  reaped  for  public  service  a 
larger  reward  of  slander  and  of  misunderstand 
ing  than  did  Reed.  That  he  stirred  up  the 
enmity  of  Mifliin,  that  he  earned  the  hatred  of 
Arnold,  of  Conway,  and  of  Lee,  was  hardly  to 
be  regretted.  It  was  his  misfortune  that  the 
falsehood  sometimes  outlived  the  credit  of  its 
fabricator,  and  found  its  way  into  the  minds  of 
purer  men.  It  appears  to  us  to  have  been, 
however,  his  fault,  that  a  spirit  of  acerbity  be 
came  engrafted  upon  his  disposition,  which  often 
alienated  friends,  and  which  led  him  in  turn  to 
do  injustice  to  the  motives  or  the  characters  of 
others.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  particu 
lar,  this  harshness,  perhaps  the  effect  of  corrod 
ing  care  and  disappointment,  exhibits  itself. 
His  prejudices  were  strong  even  to  bitterness, 
and  he  was  most  unguarded  in  his  expression  of 
them.  But  with  these  faults,  Reed  was  still  a 
great  man,  and  did  great  service  to  his  State 
and  to  his  country.  We  should  do  injustice  to 
many  noble  spirits  of  the  Revolution,  did  we 
judge  them  by  their  personal  friendships  or 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


521 


enmities.  Times  of  great  danger  often  bind 
together  men  of  dissimilar  characters.  Times  of 
long-continued  suffering  often  too  estrange  men 
who  respect  each  other.  It  was  at  least  a  con 
solation  that  Reed  carried  to  his  grave  the  con 
fidence  and  affection  of  Washington,  of  Greene, 
and  of  Anthony  Wayne. 

The  descendant,  whose  filial  duty  has  given 
us  the  records  of  his  ancestor's  life,  has  dis 
charged  his  part  faithfully.  The  facts  upon 
which  Reed's  enemies  based  their  substantial 
accusations,  he  has  stated,  as  it  seems  to  us, 
without  flinching ;  he  has  also  met  them  man 
fully,  and,  as  we  think,  Math  entire  success. 
That,  down  to  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities, 
Reed  was  desirous  of  a  reconciliation  with  En^. 

O 

land,  is  admitted — few  people,  at  least  in  the 
middle  and  southern  States,  were  not.  That  he 
would  have  sacrificed  one  principle  to  effect  that 
reconciliation,  we  have  every  evidence  in  contra 
diction.  That  he  was  not  prepared  for  a  decla 
ration  of  independence  when  it  took  place,  seems 
probable.  He  was  not  alone  in  the  sentiment. 
So  late  as  April  1st,  1776,  Washington  wrote 
him  :  "  My  countrymen,  I  know  from  their  form 
of  government  and  steady  attachment  hereto 
fore  to  royalty,  will  come  reluctantly  into  the 
idea  of  independency."  But  that  he  would  have 
retreated  after  that  step,  there  is  no  such  prob 
ability.  The  often  recurred  to  charge  of  a  dis 
position  or  willingness  to  intrigue  with  the 
enemy,  we  hold  to  be  utterly  and  entirely  false. 
The  man  who,  in  the  outset  of  the  struggle,  re 
fused  the  bribe  which  Johnstone  offered  to 
Reed,  should  not  afterwards  have  been  sus 
pected.  At  the  first  blow  struck,  he  went  into 
the  fight;  and  he  went  through  it  without  falter 
ing  or  hesitation.  lie  was  not  "to  be  hun^  for 

t-"  O 

half-treason."  Calumny  has  been  too  often  the 
lot  of  great  men,  and  those  of  Pennsylvania  do 
'not  seem  to  us  to  have  furnished  exceptions. 
General  Reed  died  on  the  5th  of  March,  1785, 
in  the  forty-third  year  of  his  age. 


[C.] 

GENERAL  SULLIVAN. 

General  Sullivan  was  a  native  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  where  he  resided  before  the  Revolution, 
VOL.  I.— 6fi 


and  attained  to  a  high  degree  of  eminence  in 
the  profession  of  law.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  Congress  in  1774,  but  on  the  commence 
ment  of  hostilities,  preferring  a  military  com 
mission,  he  relinquished  the  fairest  prospect  of 
fortune  and  fame,  and  appeared  among  the  most 
ardent  patriots,  and  intrepid  warriors. 

In  1775,  he  was  appointed  a  brigadier-general, 
and  immediately  joined  the  army  at  Cambridge, 
and  soon  after  obtained  the  command  on  Winter 
Hill.  The  next  year  he  was  ordered  to  Canada, 
and  on  the  death  of  General  Thomas  the  com 
mand  of  the  army  devolved  on  him.  The  situa 
tion  of  the  army  in  that  quarter  was  inexpressibly 
distressing ;  destitute  of  clothing,  dispirited  by 
defeat  and  constant  fatigue,  and  a  large  propor 
tion  of  the  troops  sick  Avith  the  small-pox.  By 
his  great  exertions  and  judicious  management  he 
meliorated  the  condition  of  the  army,  and  ob 
tained  general  applause.  On  his  retiring  from 
that  command,  July  12th,  1776,  the  field-officers 
thus  addressed  him  :  "  It  is  to  you,  sir,  the  pub 
lic  are  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  their 
property  in  Canada.  It  is  to  you  we  owe  our 
safety  thus  far.  Your  humanity  will  call  forth 
the  silent  tear,  and  the  grateful  ejaculation  of 
the  sick.  Your  universal  impartiality  will  force 
the  applause  of  the  wearied  soldier." 

In  August,  1770,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  major-general,  and  soon  after  was,  with 
Major-general  Lord  Stirling,  captiired  by  the 
British  in  the  battle  on  Long  Island.  General 
Sullivan  being  paroled,  Avas  sent  by  General 
Howe  with  a  message  to  Congress,  after  which 
he  returned  to  New  York.  In  September  he 
was  exchanged  for  Major-general  Prescott.  We 
next  find  him  in  command  of  the  right  division 
of  our  troops,  in  the  famous  battle  at  Trenton, 
and  he  acquitted  himself  honorably  on  that  ever 
memorable  day. 

In  August,  1777,  without  the  authority  of 
Congress  or  the  commander-in-chief,  he  planned 
and  executed  an  expedition  against  the  enemy 
on  Staten  Island.  Though  the  enterprise  was 
conducted  Avith  prudence  and  success  in  part,  it 
was  said  by  some  to  have  been  less  brilliant  than 
might  have  been  expected  under  such  favorable 
circumstances ;  and  as  that  act  was  deemed  a 
bold  assumption  of  responsibility,  and  reports  to 


522 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


liis  prejudice  being  in  circulation,  a  court  of  in- 
quirv  was  ordered  to  investigate  his  conduct. 
The  result  was  an  honorable  acquittal,  jpid  Con 
gress  resolved  that  the  result  so  honorable  to 
General  Sullivan  is  highly  pleasing  to  Congress, 
and  that  the  opinion  of  the  court  be  published, 
in  justification  of  that  injured  officer. 

In  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and  German- 
town,  in  the  autumn  of  1777,  General  Sullivan 
commanded  a  division,  and  in  the  latter  conflict 
his  two  aids  were  killed,  and  his  own  conduct 
was  so  conspicuously  brave,  that  General  Wash 
ington,  in  his  letter  to  Congress,  concludes  with 
encomiums  on  the  gallantry  of  General  Sullivan, 
and  the  whole  right  wing  of  the  army,  which 
acted  immediately  under  the  eye  of  his  excel 
lency. 

In  August,  1778,  General  Sullivan  was  sole 
commander  of  an  expedition  to  Newport,  in 
co-operation  with  the  French  fleet  under  the 
Count  D'Estaing.  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette 
and  General  Greene  volunteered  their  services 
on  the  occasion.  The  object  of  the  expedition 
was  defeated,  in  consequence  of  the  French 
fleet  being  driven  off  by  a  violent  storm.  By 
this  unfortunate  event  the  enemy  were  encour 
aged  to  engage  our  army  in  battle,  in  which 
they  suffered  a  repulse,  and  General  Sullivan 
finally  effected  a  safe  retreat  to  the  main.  This 
retreat,  so  ably  executed,  without  contusion, 
or  the  loss  of  baggage,  or  stores,  increased 
the  military  reputation  of  General  Sullivan, 
and  redounds  to  his  honor  as  a  skilful  com 
mander. 

The   bloody  tragedy  acted  at  Wyoming  in 

1778,  had  determined  the  commander-in-chief,  in 

1 779,  to  employ  a  large  detachment  from  the  con 
tinental  army  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  the 
Indian  country,  to  chastise  the  hostile  tribes  and 
their  white  associates  and  adherents,  for  their 
cruel  aggressions  on  the  defenceless  inhabitants. 
The  command  of  this  expedition  was  committed 
to  General  Sullivan,  with  express  orders  to  de 
stroy  their  settlements,  to  ruin  their  crops,  and 
make  such  thorough  devastations  as  to  render 
the  country  entirely  uninhabitable  for  the  pres 
ent,  and  thus  to  compel  the  savages  to  remove 
to  a  greater  distance  from  our  frontiers. 

General    Sullivan   had   under    his   command 


several  brigadiers,  and  a  well-chosen  army,  to 
which  were  attached  a  number  of  friendly 
Indian  warriors.  With  this  force  he  penetrated 
about  ninety  miles  through  a  horrid  swampy 
wilderness  and  barren  mountainous  deserts,  to 
Wyoming,  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  thence 
by  water  to  Tioga,  and  possessed  himself  of 
numerous  towns  and  villages  of  the  savages. 

During  this  hazardous  expedition,  General 
Sullivan  and  his  army  encountered  the  most 
complicated  obstacles,  requiring  the  greatest 
fortitude  and  perseverance  to  surmount.  He 
explored  an  extensive  tract  of  country,  niid 
strictly  executed  the  severe  but  necessary  orders 
he  had  received.  A  considerable  number  ot 
Indians  were  slain,  some  were  captured,  their 
habitations  were  burnt,  and  their  plantations  of 
corn  and  vegetables  laid  waste  in  the  most  ef 
fectual  manner.  Eighteen  villages,  a  number 
of  detached  buildings,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  bushels  of  corn,  and  those  fruits  and 
vegetables  which  conduce  to  the  comfort  and 
subsistence  of  man,  were  utterly  destroyed. 
Five  weeks  were  unremittingly  employed  in 
this  work  of  devastation. 

On  his  return  from  the  expedition,  he  and  his 
army  received  the  approbation  of  Congress.  It 
is  remarked  on  this  expedition,  by  the  translator 
of  M.  Chastelleux's  Travels,  an  Englishman,  then 

*  O  / 

resident  in  the  United  States,  that  the  instruc 
tions  given  by  General  Sullivan  to  his  officers, 
the  order  of  march  he  prescribed  to  his  troops, 
and  the  discipline  he  had  the  ability  to  main 
tain,  would  have  done  honor  to  the  most  ex 
perienced  ancient  or  modern  generals. 

At  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1779,  Gen 
eral  Sullivan,  in  consequence  of  impaired  health, 
resigned  his  commission  in  the  army.  Con 
gress,  in  accepting  his  resignation,  passed  a  re 
solve,  thanking  him  for  his  past  services.  His 
military  talents  and  bold  spirit  of  enterprise 
were  universally  acknowledged.  He  was  fond 
of  display,  and  his  personal  appearance  and  dig 
nified  deportment  commanded  respect.  After 
his  resignation  he  resumed  his  professional  pur 
suits  at  the  bar,  and  was  much  distinguished  as 
a  statesman,  politician,  and  patriot.  He  acquired 
very  considerable  proficiency  in  general  litera 
ture,  and  an  extensive  knowledge  of  men  and 


CHAP.  VITT.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


523 


the  world.  He  received  from  Harvard  Univer 
sity  a  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and  from  the 
University  of  Dartmouth  a  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.  He  was  one  of  the  convention  who 
formed  the  State  Constitution  for  New  Hamp- 
shiie,  was  chosen  into  the  first  council,  and  was 


afterwards  elected  chief  magistrate  in  that  State, 
and  held  the  office  for  three  years.  In  Septem 
ber,  1789,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  dis 
trict  court  for  the  district  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  continued  in  the  office  till  his  death,  in 
1795. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


1776,  1777, 

TRENTON      AND      PRINCETON. 

Difficulties  of  Washington's  position. — Acquisitions  of  the  British. — State  of  the  army  and  the  country. — Effect  of 
the  Howes'  proclamation. — Firmness  of  Washington. — His  letter  to  Congress. — Its  effect. — Washington  receives 
from  Congress  dictatorial  power. — Washington  gains  intelligence  of  the  exact  position  of  the  enemy  throughout 
the  Jerseys. — He  resolves  "  to  clip  their  wings." — His  meagre  force. — Letter  from  Colonel  Reed. — Washington's 
letter  to  Reed. — Plan  of  attack  on  the  enemy's  posts  on  the  Delaware. — Battle  of  Trenton. — Failure  of  Irvine 
and  Cadwalader  to  cross  the  river. — Washington  returns  with  the  Hessian  prisoners  and  military  stores  to  Phila 
delphia. — Astonishment  of  Howe. — He  determines  to  renew  active  operations. — Cornwallis  sent  into  the  Jerseys. 
— Donop  retreats  to  Princeton. — Cadwalader,  Mifflin,  and  Irvine  enter  the  Jerseys. — Washington  resolves  on  a 
winter  campaign. — He  takes  post  at  Trenton. — Cornwallis  at  Princeton. — Mifflin  and  Cadwalader  reinforce 
Washington. — Cornwallis  advances  to  Trenton,  and  prepares  to  attack  and  overwhelm  the  small  army  of  Wash 
ington.— Washington  out-generals  him,  gets  in  his  rear  and  wins  a  brilliant  victory  at  Princeton.- — Death  of 
General  Mercer. — Effects  of  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton. — Firmness  of  Congress. — Horrible  excesses  of 
the  British  in  the  Jerseys. — Successful  attacks  of  the  Americans  on  the  British.— They  are  driven  from  Wood- 
bridge,  Elizabethtown,  and  Newark. — General  Dickinson  attacks  a  British  foraging  party,  and  seizes  cattle, 
horses,  and  provisions. — General  Putnam. — His  stratagem  at  Princeton. — His  great  success  in  harassing  the 
enemy  and  taking  prisoners. — State  of  the  country. — Revengeful  spirit  of  the  Jerseymen  towards  the  British. — 
Washington's  proclamation. — He  expels  the  British  from  all  their  posts,  except  Brunswick  and  Amboy. — Botta's 
remarks  on  Washington's  increasing  reputation. 


WHEN  Washington,  by  his  late  mas 
terly  retreat  through  the  Jerseys,  had 
completely  baffled  his  powerful  enemy 
and  saved  his  army  from  destruction,  he 
had  still  a  most  discouraging  prospect 
before  him.  It  was  indeed  one  of  the 
gloomiest  periods  of  his  whole  life. 
The  campaign,  notwithstanding  its  bril 
liant  displays  of  courageous  daring  and 
unflinching  fortitude  in  the  commander- 
in-chief,  as  well  as  many  of  the  officers 
and  men,  had  been  an  almost  uninter 
rupted  series  of  disasters  and  retreats. 
The  enemy,  since  the  evacuation  of  Bos 
ton,  had  already  not  only  gained  posses 
sion  of  Staten  Island,  Long  Island,  the 


city  of  New  York,  a  portion  of  the  State 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  Jerseys ;  but  they  were  mena 
cing  Philadelphia,  with  a  force  perfectly 
adequate  for  seizing  it,  if  they  had  been 
sensible  of  their  own  power  and  the 
weakness  of  the  American  army. 

That  army,  in  fact,  was  on  the  verge 
of  dissolution,  and  was  only  saved  by 
the  boldness,  decision,  and  unceasing 
activity  of  Washington.  The  perni 
cious  system  of  short  enlistments,  sick 
ness,  bad  pay,  and  continual  discourage 
ments,  had  reduced  it  to  the  mere 
shadow  of  an  army.  The  country,  too, 
was  discouraged  and  desponding.  The 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


525 


proclamation  of  the  Howes,  offering 
pardon  and  protection  to  all  who  would 
accept  them,  had  already  drawn  many 
men  of  influence  and  wealth  in  the  Jer 
seys  to  the  standard  of  the  king,  while 
others  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and 
remained  at  their  homes.  The  sixty 
days  allowed  for  accepting  the  offer  of 
the  Howes  had  nearly  expired,  and  a 
still  greater  defection  was  imminent. 
It  was  a  dark  and  trying  hour  for  the 
true  patriot. 

But  "Washington  stood  firm."  He 
must  have  known  that  all  depended  on 
him.  His  calmness  and  full  reliance  on 
the  justice  of  the  cause  and  the  good 
ness  of  his  Maker,  never  deserted  him. 
He  felt  that  his  duty  required  him  to 
put  forth  all  his  resources  of  intellect 
and  strength  of  will,  to  direct  the  ship 
through  this  perilous  storm.  For  the 
present  emergency,  Congress,  at  a  dis 
tance  from  the  centre  of  action,  was 
powerless  to  save.  The  time  was  come 
when  he  must  save  the  country  by  his 
own  wonderful  decision  of  character. 
This  is  apparent  from  the  following  let 
ter  to  Congress,  dated  December  20th, 
1776: 

"  I  have  waited  with  much  impa 
tience  to  know  the  determination  of 
Congress  on  the  propositions,  made 
some  time  in  October  last,  for  augment 
ing  our  corps  of  artillery,  and  establish 
ing  a  corps  of  engineers.  The  time  is 
now  come,  when  the  first  cannot  be  de 
layed  without  the  greatest  injury  to 
the  safety  of  these  States  ;  and,  there 
fore,  under  Ihe  resolution  of  Congress 


bearing  date  the  12th  instant,  at  the 
repeated  instances  of  Colonel  Knox, 
and  by  the  pressing  advice  of  all  the 
general  officers  now  here,  I  have  ven 
tured  to  order  three  battalions  of  ar 
tillery  to  be  immediately  recruited. 
These  are  two  less  than  Colonel  Knox 
recommends,  as  you  will  see  by  his 
plan  inclosed ;  but  then  this  scheme 
comprehends  all  the  United  States, 
whereas  some  of  the  States  have  corps 
already  established,  and  these  three 
battalions  are  indispensably  necessary 
for  the  operations  in  this  quarter,  in 
cluding  the  northern  department. 

"  The  pay  of  our  artillerists  bearing 
no  proportion  to  that  in  the  English  or 
French  service,  the  murmuring  and  dis 
satisfaction  thereby  occasioned,  the  ab 
solute  impossibility,  as  I  am  told,  of 
getting  them  upon  the  old  terms,  and 
the  unavoidable  necessity  of  obtaining 
them  at  all  events,  have  induced  me, 
also  by  advice,  to  promise  officers  and 
men,  that  their  pay  shall  be  augmented 
twenty-five  per  cent,  or  their  engage 
ments  shall  become  null  and  void. 
This  may  appear  to  Congress  prema 
ture  and  unwarrantable.  But,  sir,  if 
they  view  our  situation  in  the  light  it 
strikes  their  officers,  they  will  be  con 
vinced  of  the  utility  of  the  measure, 
and  that  the  execution  could  not  be 
delayed  till  after  their  meeting  at  Bal 
timore.  In  short,  the  present  exigency 
of  our  affairs  will  not  admit  of  delay, 
either  in  council  or  the  field  ;  for  well 
convinced  I  am,  that,  if  the  enemy  go 
into  quarters  at  all  it  will  be  for  a 


32(5 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


short  season.  But  I  rather  think  the 
design  of  General  Howe  is  to  possess 
himself  of  Philadelphia  this  winter,  if 
possible ;  and  in  truth  I  do  not  see 
what  is  to  prevent  him,  as  ten  days 
more  will  put  an  end  to  the  existence 
of  our  arm}7.  That  one  great  point  is 
to  keep  us  as  much  harassed  as  possi 
ble,  with  a  view  to  injure  the  recruiting 
service,  and  hinder  a  collection  of  stores 
and  other  necessaries  for  the  next  cam 
paign,  I  am  as  clear  in,  as  I  am  of  my 
own  existence.  If,  therefore,  in  the 
short  interval  in  which  we  have  to  pro 
vide  for  and  make  these  great  and  ar 
duous  preparations,  every  matter,  that 
in  its  nature  is  self-evident,  is  to  be  re 
ferred  to  Congress,  at  the  distance  of  a 
hundred  and  thirty  or  forty  miles,  so 
much  time  must  necessarily  elapse,  as 
to  defeat  the  end  in  view. 

"  It  may  be  said,  that  this  is  an  ap 
plication  for  powers  that  are  too  dan 
gerous  to  be  intrusted.  I  can  only  add, 
that  desperate  diseases  require  desper 
ate  remedies  ;  and  I  with  truth  declare, 
that  I  have  no  lust  after  power,  but  I 
wish  with  as  much  fervency  as  any  man 
upon  this  wide-extended  continent  for 
an  opportunity  of  turning  the  sword 
into  the  ploughshare.  But  my  feel 
ings,  as  an  officer  and  a  man,  have  been 
such  as  to  force  me  to  say,  that  no  per 
son  ever  had  a  greater  choice  of  diffi 
culties  to  contend  with  than  I  have. 
It  is  needless  to  add,  that  short  enlist 
ments,  and  a  mistaken  dependence  upon 
militia,  have  been  the  origin  of  all  our 
misfortunes,  and  the  great  accumulation 


of  our  debt.  We  find,  sir,  that  the 
enemy  are  daily  gathering  strength 
from  the  disaffected.  This  strength, 
like  a  snow-ball  by  rolling,  will  in 
crease,  unless  some  means  can  be  de 
vised  to  check  effectually  the  progress 
of  the  enemy's  arms.  Militia  may  pos 
sibly  do  it  for  a  little  while ;  but  in 
a  little  while,  also,  and  the  militia  of 
those  States  which  have  been  fre 
quently  called  upon,  will  not  turn  out 
at  all ;  or,  if  they  do,  it  will  be  with  so 
much  reluctance  and  sloth,  as  to  amount 
to  the  same  thins;.  Instance  New  Jer- 

O 

sey  !  Witness  Pennsylvania !  Could 
any  thing  but  the  river  Delaware  have 
saved  Philadelphia !  Can  any  thing 
(the  exigency  of  the  case  indeed  may 
justify  it)  be  more  destructive  to  the 
recruiting  service,  than  giving  ten  dol 
lars  bounty  for  six  weeks  service  of  the 
militia,  who  come  in,  you  cannot  tell 
how ;  go,  you  cannot  tell  when ;  and 
act,  you  cannot  tell  where  ;  consume 
your  provisions,  exhaust  your  stores, 
and  leave  you  at  last  at  a  critical  mo 
ment  ? 

"  These,  sir,  are  the  men  I  am  to  de 
pend  upon  ten  days  hence  ;  this  is  the 
basis  on  which  your  cause  will  and  must 
forever  depend,  till  you  get  a  large 
standing  army  sufficient  of  itself  to  op 
pose  the  enemy.  I  therefore  beg  leave 
to  give  it  as  my  humble  opinion,  that 
eighty-eight  battalions  are  by  no  means 
equal  to  the  opposition  you  are  to  make, 
and  that  a  moment's  time  is  not  to  be 
lost  in  raising  a  greater  number,  not 
less,  in  my  opinion  and  the  opinion  of 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


527 


my  officers,  than  a  hundred  and  ten. 
It  may  be  urged,  that  it  will  be  found 
difficult  enough  to  complete  the  first 
number.  This  may  be  true,  and  yet 
i  he  officers  of  a  hundred  and  ten  bat 
talions  will  recruit  many  more  men, 
than  those  of  eighty-eight.  In  my 
judgment,  this  is  not  a  time  to  stand 
upon  expense ;  our  funds  are  not  the 
only  object  of  consideration.  The  State 
of  New  York  have  added  one  battalion 
(I  wish  they  had  made  it  two)  to  their 
quota.  If  any  good  officers  will  offer 
to  raise  men  upon  continental  pay  and 
establishment  in  this  quarter,  I  shall 
encourage  them  to  do  so,  and  regiment 
them  when  they  have  done  it.  If  Con 
gress  disapprove  of  this  proceeding, 
they  will  please  to  signify  it,  as  I  mean 
it  for  the  best.  It  may  be  thought  that 
I  am  going  a  good  deal  out  of  the  line 
of  my  duty,  to  adopt  these  measures,  or 
to  advise  thus  freely.  A  character  to 
lose,  an  estate  to  forfeit,  the  inestimable 
blessings  of  liberty  at  stake,  and  a  life 
devoted,  must  be  my  excuse." 

This  letter  demonstrated  to  Congress, 
the  extreme  peril  of  the  country,  and 
the  sole  means  of  deliverance.  Jealous 
as  they  had  hitherto  been  of  military 
power,  they  no  longer  hesitated  to 
place  it  in  the  hands  of  Wash 
ington  ;  and,  on  the  27th  of 
December,  they  passed  the  following 
act : 

"  The  Congress,  having  maturely  con 
sidered  the  present  crisis,  and  having 
perfect  reliance  on  the  wisdom,  vigor, 
and  uprightness  of  General  Washing- 


1716. 


ton,  do  hereby  Resolve,  That  General 
Washington  shall  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
vested  with  full,  ample,  and  complete 
powers  to  raise  and  collect  together  in 
the  most  speedy  and  effectual  manner, 
from  any  or  all  of  these  United  States, 
sixteen  battalions  of  infantry  in  addi 
tion  to  those  already  voted  by  Con 
gress  ;  to  appoint  officers  for  the  said 
battalions  of  infantry ;  to  raise,  offi 
cer,  and  equip  three  thousand  light- 
horse,  three  regiments  of  artillery,  and 
a  corps  of  engineers,  and  to  estab 
lish  their  pay ;  to  apply  to  any  of  the 
States  for  such  aid  of  the  militia  as  he 
shall  judge  necessary ;  to  form  such 
magazines  of  provisions,  and  in  such 
places  as  he  shall  think  proper  ;  to  dis 
place  and  appoint  all  officers  under  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  to  fill  up 
all  vacancies  in  every  other  department 
in  the  American  armies  ;  to  take,  wher 
ever  he  may  be,  whatever  he  may  want 
for  the  use  of  the  army,  if  the  inhabi 
tants  will  not  sell  it,  allowing  a  reason 
able  price  for  the  same  ;  to  arrest  and 
confine  persons  who  refuse  to  take  the 
continental  currency,  or  are  otherwise 
disaffected  to  the  American  cause ;  and 
return  to  the  States,  of  which  they  are 
citizens,  their  names,  and  the  nature  of 
their  offences,  together  with  the  wit 
nesses  to  prove  them  ;  and,  That  the 
foregoing  powers  be  vested  in  General 
Washington,  for  and  during  the  term 
of  six  months  from  the  date  hereof,  un 
less  sooner  determined  by  Congress." 

In    acknowledging    the    resolves    of 
Congress,    Washington     assured     that 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


IV. 


body,  that  all  his  faculties  should  be 
employed,  to  direct  properly  the,  pow 
ers  they  had  been  pleased  to  vest  him 
with,  to  advance  those  objects,  and 
those  only,  which  had  given  rise  to  so 
honorable  a  mark  of  distinction.  "  If 
my  exertions,"  he  said,  "should  not  be 
attended  with  the  desired  success,  I 
trust  the  failure  will  be  imputed  to  the 
true  cause, —  the  peculiarly  distressed 
situation  of  our  affairs,  and  the  difficul 
ties  I  have  to  combat, — rather  than 
to  a  want  of  zeal  for  my  country,  and 
the  closest  attention  to  her  interests, 
to  promote  which  has  ever  been  my 
study." 

The  powers  conferred  by  the  resolve 
of  Congress  were  truly  dictatorial.  But 
never  before,  nor  since,  did  dictator  use 
such  powers  with  such  wisdom,  moder 
ation,  and  forbearance.  Before  this  act 
had  received  the  sanction  of  Congress, 
however,  events  had  taken  place  which 
gave  new  life  and  energy  to  the  friends 
of  liberty. 

When  Washington  (says  Gordon),  re 
treated  with  a  handful  of  men  across 
the  Delaware,  he  trembled  for  the  fate 
of  America,  which  nothing  but  tJie  in 
fatuation  of  the  enemy  could  have 
saved*  Though  they  missed  the  boats 
with  which  they  expected  to  follow 
him  immediately  into  Pennsylvania,  yet 
Trenton  and  the  neighborhood  could 
have  supplied  them  with  materials, 
which  industry  might  have  soon  con 
structed  into  sufficient  conveniences  for 

°  The  general's  words  in  his  own  letter. 


the  transportation  of  the  troops  over  a 
smooth  river,  and  of  no  great  extent  in 
some  places.  But  they  were  put  into 
cantonments  for  the  present,  forming 
an  extensive  chain  from  Brunswick  to 
the  Delaware,  and  down  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware  for  several  miles,  so  as  to 
compose  a  front  at  the  end  of  the  line 
which  looked  over  to  Philadelphia.f 
Mr.  Mersereau  was  employed  by  the 
American  general  to  gain  intelligence, 
and  provided  a  simple  youth, J  whose 
apparent  defectiveness  in  abilities  pre 
vented  all  suspicion,  but  whose  fidelity 
and  attention,  with  the  capacities  lie 
possessed,  constituted  him  an  excellent 
spy :  he  passed  from  place  to  place, 
mixed  with  the  soldiers,  and  having 
performed  his  business,  returned  with 
an  account  where  they  were  cantoned, 
and  in  what  numbers.  General  Fer- 
moy  was  appointed  to  receive  and  com 
municate  the  information  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief :  upon  the  receipt  of  it, 
he  cried  out,  "Now  is  our  time  to  clip 
their  wings  while  they  are  so  spread." 
But  before  an  attempt  could  be  made 
with  a  desirable  prospect  of  success, 
Washington  was  almost  ready  to  de- 


f  Marshall,  speaking  of  the  importance  to  Washing 
ton  of  obtaining  secret  intelligence  of  the  plans  of  Corn- 
wallis,  states,  that  at  that  critical  moment,  Mr.  Robert 
Morris  raised  on  his  private  credit,  in  Philadelphia,  five 
hundred  pounds  in  specie,  which  he  transmitted  to  the 
commander-in-chief,  who  employed  it  in  procuring  in 
formation  not  otherwise  to  have  been  obtained. — Life  of 
Washington,  vol.  i.  p.  130. 

J  After  having  been  employed  some  time  in  similar 
services,  the  enemy  grew  suspicious  of  him,  and  upon 
that,  without  proof,  put  him  into  prison,  where  he  was 
starved  to  death. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


529 


1776. 


spair  while  he  contemplated  the  prob 
able  state  of  his  own  troops  within  the 
compass  of  ten  days.  lie  could  not 
count  upon  those  whose  time  expired 
the  1st  of  January  ;  and  expected  that, 
as  soon  as  the  ice  was  formed,  the  en 
emy  would  pass  the  Delaware.  He 
found  his  numbers  on  inquiry  less 
than  he  had  any  conception  of;  and 
while  he  communicated  the  fact,  thus 
charged  his  confidant,  Colonel  Reed : 
"  For  Heaven's  sake  keep  this  to  your 
self,  as  the  discovery  of  it  may  prove 
fatal  to  us." 

Colonel  Reed  wrote  the  next  day 
from  Bristol,  December  21st,  and  pro 
posed  to  the  general  the  mak 
ing  of  a  diversion,  or  something 
more,  at  or  about  Trenton,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  say :  "  If  we  could  possess 
ourselves  again  of  New  Jersey,  or  any 
considerable  part,  the  effect  would  be 
greater  than  if  we  had  not  left  it.  Al- 

O 

low  me  to  hope,  that  you  wrill  consult 
your  own  good  judgment  and  spirit, 
and  let  not  the  goodness  of  your  heart 
subject  you  to  the  influence  of  the  opin 
ions  of  men  in  every  respect  your  infe 
riors.  Something  must  be  attempted 
before  the  sixty  days  expire  which  the 
commissioners  have  allowed  ; — for,  how 
ever  many  affect  to  despise  it,  it  is  evi 
dent  a  very  serious  attention  is  paid 
to  it ;  and  I  am  confident,  that  unless 
some  more  favorable  appearance  attends 
our  arms  and  cause  before  that  time,  a 
very  great  number  of  the  militia  officers 
here  will  follow  the  example  of  Jersey, 
and  take  benefit  from  it.  Our  cause  is 

VOL.   I.--  67 


desperate  and  hopeless,  if  we  do  not 
strike  some  stroke.  Our  affairs  are 
hastening  apace  to  ruin,  if  we  do  not 
retrieve  them  by  some  happy  event. 
Delay  with  us  is  near  equal  to  a  total 
defeat.  We  must  not  suffer  ourselves 
to  be  lulled  into  security  and  inactivity, 
because  the  enemy  does  not  cross  the 
river.  The  love  of  my  country,  a  wife 
and  four  children  in  the  enemy's  hands, 
the  respect  and  attachment  I  have  to 
you,  the  ruin  and  poverty  that  must 
attend  me  and  thousands  of  others,  will 
plead  my  excuse  for  so  much  freedom." 

Notwithstanding  the  great  inferiority 
of  his  force,  when  Washington  received 
this  letter  he  had  already  formed  the 
daring  plan  of  attacking  all  the  British 
posts  on  the  Delaware  at  the  same  in 
stant.  If  successful  in  all,  or  any  of 
these  attacks,  he  hoped  not  only  to 
wipe  off  the  impression  made  by  his 
losses,  and  by  his  retreat,  but  also  to 
relieve  Philadelphia  from  immediate 
danger,  and  to  compel  his  adversary  to 
compress  himself  in  such  a  manner  as 
no  longer  to  cover  the  Jerseys. 

The  positions  taken  to  guard  the 
river  were  equally  well  adapted  to  of 
fensive  operations. 

The  regulars  were  posted  above 
Trenton  from  Yardley's  up  to  Coryell's 
Ferry.  The  Pennsylvania  flying-camp, 
and  Jersey  militia,  under  the  command 
of  General  Irvine,  extended  from  Yard- 
ley's  to  the  ferry  opposite  Bordentown ; 
and  General  Cadwalader  with  the  Penn 
sylvania  militia  lay  still  lower  down  the 
river. 


530 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Writing  to  Colonel  Reed,  on  the  23d 
of  December,  Washington  says  :^  "  Ne 
cessity,  dire  necessity  will, — nay,  must 
justify  any  attempt.  Prepare,  and  in 
concert  with  Griffin,  attack  as  many 
posts  as  you  possibly  can  with  a  pros 
pect  of  success.  I  have  now  ample  tes 
timony  of  the  enemy's  intentions  to  at 
tack  Philadelphia  as  soon  as  the  ice 
will  afford  the  means  of  conveyance. 
Our  men  are  to  be  provided  with  three 
days'  provision,  ready  cooked,  with 
which  and  their  blankets  they  are  to 
march.  One  hour  before  day  is  the 
time  fixed  upon  for  our  attempt  on 
Trenton.  If  we  are  successful,  which 
Heaven  grant !  and  other  circumstances 
favor,  we  may  push  on.  I  shall  direct 
every  ferry  and  ford  to  be  well  guarded, 
and  not  a  soul  suffered  to  pass  with 
out  an  officer's  going  down  with  the 
permit." 

In  the  plan  of  attack  which  had  been 
digested,  it  was  proposed  to  cross  in 
the  night  at  M'Konkey's  Ferry, 
about  nine  miles  above  Tren 
ton  ;  to  march  down  in  two  divisions, 
the  one  taking  the  river  road,  and  the 
other  the  Pennington  road,  both  which 
lead  into  the  town  ;  the  first,  towards 
that  part  of  the  western  side  which  ap 
proaches  the  river,  and  last  towards 
the  north.  This  part  of  the  plan  was 
to  be  executed  by  Washington  in  per 
son,  at  the  head  of  about  two  thousand 
four  hundred  continental  troops.  It 
was  thought  practicable  to  pass  them 
over  the  river  by  twelve,  and  to  reach 
the  point  of  destination  by  five  in  the 


morning  of  the  next  day,  Arhen  the  at 
tack  was  to  be  made.  General  Irvine 
was  directed  to  cross  at  the  Trenton 
Ferry,  and  to  secure  the  bridge  below 
the  town,  in  order  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  the  enemy  by  that  road.  General 
Cadwalader*  was  to  pass  over  at  Dunk's 
Ferry,  and  carry  the  post  at  Mount 
Holly.  It  had  been  in  contemplation 
to  unite  the  troops  employed  in  fortify 
ing  Philadelphia  to  those  at  Bristol,  and 
to  place  the  whole  under  General  Put 
nam  ;  but  such  indications  were  given  in 
that  city  of  an  insurrection  in  favor  of 
the  royal  cause,  that  this  part  of  the 
plan  was  abandoned.  The  cold  on  the 
night  of  the  25th  was  very  severe. 
Snow,  mingled  with  hail  and  rain,  fell 
in  great  quantities,  and  so  much  ice 
was  made  in  the  river  that,  with  every 
possible  exertion,  the  division  conducted 
by  the  general  in  person  could  not  ef 
fect  its  passage  until  three,  nor  com 
mence  its  march  down  the  river  till 
near  four.  As  the  distance  to  Trenton 
by  either  road  is  nearly  the  same,  or 
ders  were  given  to  attack  at  the  instant 
of  arrival,  and,  after  driving  in  the  out- 
guards,  to  press  rapidly  after  them  into 
the  town,  and  prevent  the  main  body 
from  forming. 

Trenton  was  held  by  a  detachment 
of  fifteen  hundred  Hessians,  and  a  troop 
of  British  light-horse,  the  whole  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Rahl,f  a  Hes 
sian  veteran,  who  (says  Gordon),  in  his 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter, 
f  This  name  is  spelt  by  some  writers  Rail,  and  by 
others  Rawle. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


531 


lively  description  of  the  affair,  "  had 
received  information  of  an  intended 
attack,  and  that  the  25th,  at  night,  is 
thought  to  be  the  time  fixed  upon. 
His  men  are  paraded,  and  his  picket  is 
looking  out  for  it.  Captain  Washing 
ton,*  commanding  a  scouting  party  of 
about  fifty  foot  soldiers,  has  been  in  the 
Jerseys  about  three  days  without  effect 
ing  any  exploit.  He  therefore  con 
cludes  upon  marching  towards  Tren 
ton  ;  advances,  and  attacks  the  picket. 
He  exchanges  a  few  shot,  and  then  re 
treats.  As  he  is  making  for  the  Dela 
ware,  on  his  return  to  Pennsylvania, 
he  meets  with  General  Washington's 

troops.     Conjecturing  their  de- 
Dec.  26,      .  -,  -,.    ,  -•  .,-, 

it?e  S1»n>  ne  1S  distressed  with  an 
apprehension  that  by  the  at 
tack  he  has  alarmed  the  enemy,  and 
put  them  on  their  guard.  The  enemy, 
on  the  other  hand,  conclude  from  it 
after  awhile,  that  this  is  all  the  attack 
which  is  intended ;  and  so  retire  to 
their  quarters,  and  become  secure : 
many  get  drunk." 

While  the  enemy  was  thus  lulled 
into  security,  General  Washington, 
who  accompanied  the  upper  column, 
arriving  at  the  outpost  on  that  road 
precisely  at  eight,  drove  it  in,  and,  in 
three  minutes,  heard  the  fire  from  the 
column  which  had  taken  the  river  road. 
The  picket-guard  attempted  to  keep  up 
a  fire  while  retreating,  but  was  pursued 
with  such  ardor  as  to  be  unable  to  make 

°  William  A.  Washington,  afterwards  distinguished 
as  a  colonel  of  cavalry.  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter. 


a  stand.  Colonel  Rahl  paraded  his 
men,  and  met  the  assailants.  In  the 
commencement  of  the  action  he  was 
mortally  wounded,  upon  which  the 
troops,  in  apparent  confusion,  attempt 
ed  to  gain  the  road  to  Princeton.  Gen 
eral  Washington  threw  a  detachment 
into  their  front,  while  he  advanced  rap 
idly  on  them  in  person.  Finding  them 
selves  surrounded,  and  their  artillery 
already  seized,  they  laid  down  their 
arms,  and  surrendered  themselves  pris 
oners  of  war.  About  twenty  of  the 
enemy  were  killed,  and  about  one  thou 
sand  made  prisoners.  Six  field-pieces 
and  a  thousand  stand  of  small-arms 
were  also  taken.  On  the  part  of  the 
Americans,  two  privates  were  killed, 
two  frozen  to  death,  and  three  or  four 
privates  wounded.  Captain  Washing 
ton,  who  had  returned  to  the  scene 
of  action  with  General  Washington's 
column,  and  Lieutenant  Monroe  (after 
wards  president  of  the  United  States), 
were  both  wounded  in  capturing  the 
enemy's  artillery. 

Unfortunately,  the  ice  rendered  it 
impracticable  for  General  Irvine  to  ex 
ecute  that  part  of  the  plan  which  was 
allotted  to  him.  With  his  utmost  ef 
forts,  he  was  unable  to  cross  the  river ; 
and  the  road  towards  Bordentown  re 
mained  open.  About  five  hundred 
men,  among  whom  was  a  troop  of  cav 
alry,  stationed  in  the  lower  end  of  Tren 
ton,  availed  themselves  of  this  circum 
stance,  and  crossing  the  bridge  in  the 
commencement  of  the  action,  escaped 
down  the  river.  The  same  cause  pre- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


vented  General  Cadwalader  from  at 
tacking  the  post  at  Mount  Jlolly. 
With  great  difficulty  a  part  of  his  in 
fantry  passed  the  river,  but  returned 
on  its  being  found  absolutely  imprac 
ticable  to  cross  with  the  artillery. 

Although  this  plan  failed  in  so  many 
of  its  parts,  the  success  attending  that 
which  was  conducted  by  Washington  in 
person  was  followed  by  the  happiest 
effects. 

Had  it  been  practicable  for  the  di 
visions  under  Generals  Irvine  and  Cad 
walader  to  cross  the  river,  it  was  in 
tended  to  proceed  from  Trenton  to  the 
posts  at  and  about  Bordentown,  to  sweep 
the  British  from  the  banks  of  the  Dela 
ware,  and  to  maintain  a  position  in  the 
Jerseys.  But  finding  that  those  parts  of 
the  plan  had  failed,  and  supposing  the 
British  to  remain  in  force  below,  while 
a  strong  corps  was  posted  at  Prince 
ton,  Washington  thought  it  unadvisable 
to  hazard  the  loss  of  the  very  impor 
tant  advantage  already  gained,  by  at 
tempting  to  increase  it,  and  recrossed 
the  river  with  his  prisoners  and  military 
stores.*  Lieutenant-colonel  Baylor,  his 
aid-de-camp,  who  carried  the  intelli 
gence  of  this  success  to  Congress,  was 
presented  with  a  horse  completely 
caparisoned  for  service,  and  recom 
mended  to  the  command  of  a  regiment 
of  cavalry. 

0  Before  the  Hessian  prisoners  were  actually  marched 
through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  the  tories  in  that 
city  affected  to  doubt  the  reality  of  any  victory  having 
been  obtained  by  Washington.  Probably  no  procession 
in  P  liladelphii  was  ever  attended  with  so  much  effect  as 
this  of  the  He.»sian  prisoners. 


Nothing  could  surpass  the  astonish 
ment  of  Howe  at  this  unexpected  dis 
play  of  vigor  on  the  part  of  Washing 
ton.  His  condition,  and  that  of  his 
country,  had  been  thought  desperate. 
He  had  been  deserted  by  all  the  troops 
having  a  legal  right  to  leave  him ;  and, 
to  render  his  situation  completely  ruin 
ous,  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  continental 
soldiers  still  remaining  with  him,  would 
be  entitled  to  their  discharge  on  the 
first  day  of  January.  There  appeared 
to  be  no  probability  of  prevailing  on 
them  to  continue  longer  in  the  service, 
and  the  recruiting  business  was  abso 
lutely  at  an  end.  The  spirits  of  a  large 
proportion  of  the  people  were  sunk  to 
the  lowest  point  of  depression.  New 
Jersey  appeared  to  be  completely  sub 
dued  ;  and  some  of  the  best  judges  of 
the  public  sentiment  were  of  opinion 
that  immense  numbers  in  Pennsylvania, 
also,  were  determined  not  to  permit  the 
sixty  days  allowed  in  the  proclamation 
of  the  Howes  to  elapse,  without  availing 
themselves  of  the  pardon  it  proffered. 
Instead  of  offensive  operations,  the  total 
dispersion  of  the  small  remnant  of  the 
American  army  was  to  be  expected, 
since  it  would  be  rendered  too  feeble 
by  the  discharge  of  those  engaged  only 
until  the  last  day  of  December,  to  at 
tempt,  any  longer,  the  defence  of  the 
Delaware,  which  would  by  that  time, 
in  all  probability,  be  passable  on  the 
ice.  While  every  appearance  supported 
these  opinions,  and  Howe,  without  being 
sanguine,  might  well  consider  the  war 
as  approaching  its  termination,  this  bold 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


533 


and  fortunate  enterprise  announced  to 
him,  that  he  was  contending  with  an 
adversary  who  could  never  cease  to  be 
formidable  while  the  possibility  of  re 
sistance  remained.  Finding  the  con 
quest  of  America  more  distant  than  had 
been  supposed,  he  determined,  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  to  recommence  active 
operations ;  and  Lord  Cornwallis,  who 
had  retired  to  New  York  with  the  in 
tention  of  embarking  for  Europe,  sus 
pended  his  departure,  and  returned  to 
the  Jerseys  in  great  force,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  regaining  the  ground  which  had 
been  lost. 

Meanwhile,  Count  Donop,  who  com 
manded  the  troops  below  Trenton,  on 
li earing  the  disaster  which  had  befallen 
Colonel  Rahl,  retreated  by  the  road 
leading  to  Amboy,  and  joined  General 
Leslie  at  Princeton.  The  next  day, 
General  Cadwalader  crossed  the  Dela 
ware,  with  orders  to  harass  the  enemy, 
but  to  put  nothing  to  hazard  until  he 
should  be  joined  by  the  continental 
battalions,  who  were  allowed  a  day  or 
t\vo  of  repose,  after  the  fatigues  of  the 
enterprise  against  Trenton.  General 
Mifflin  joined  General  Irvine  with  about 
fifteen  hundred  Pennsylvania  militia, 
and  those  troops  also  crossed  the  river. 

Finding  himself  once  more  at  the 
head  of  a  force  with  which  it  seemed 
practicable  to  act  offensively,  Washing 
ton  determined  to  employ  the  winter 
in  endeavoring  to  recover  Jersey. 

With  this  view,  he  ordered  General 
Heath  to  leave  a  small  detachment  at 
Peekskill,  and  with  the  main  body  of 


1TTT. 


the  New  England  militia,  to  enter  Jer 
sey,  and  approach  the  British  canton 
ments  on  that  side.  General  Maxwell 
was  ordered,  with  all  the  militia  he 
could  collect,  to  harass  their  flank  and 
rear,  and  to  attack  their  outposts  on 
every  favorable  occasion,  while  the  con 
tinental  troops,  led  by  himself,  recrossed 
the  Delaware,  and  took  post  at  Trenton. 
On  the  last  day  of  December,  the  regu 
lars  of  New  England  were  entitled  to  a 
discharge.  With  great  difficulty,  and 
a  bounty  of  ten  dollars,  many  of  them 
were  induced  to  renew  their  engage 
ments  for  six  weeks. 

The  British  were  now  collected  in 
force  at  Princeton  under  Lord 
Cornwallis  ;  and  appearances 
confirmed  the  intelligence,  secretly  ob 
tained,  that  he  intended  to  attack  the 
American  army. 

Generals  Mifflin  and  Cadwalader,  who 
lay  at  Bordentown  and  Cross wix,  with 
three  thousand  six  hundred  rnilitia,  were 
therefore  ordered  to  join  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  whose  whole  effective 
force,  with  this  addition,  did  not  exceed 
five  thousand  men. 

Lord  Cornwallis  advanced  upon  him 
the  next  morning;  and  about  four  in 
the  afternoon,  the  van  of  the  British 
army  reached  Trenton.  On  its  approach 
General  Washington  retired  across  the 
Assumpinck,  a  creek  which  runs  through 
the  town.  The  British  attempted  to 
cross  the  creek  at  several  places,  but 
finding  all  the  fords  guarded,  they  de 
sisted  from  the  attempt,  and  kindled 
their  fires.  The  Americans  kindled  their 


534 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


fires  likewise,  and  a  cannonade  was  kept 
up  on  both  sides  till  dark.  ^ 

The  situation  of  General  Washington 
was  again  extremely  critical.  Should 
he  maintain  his  position,  he  would  cer 
tainly  be  attacked  next  morning,  by  a 
force  so  very  superior,  as  to  render  the 
destruction  of  his  little  army  inevitable. 
Should  he  attempt  to  retreat  over  the 
Delaware,  the  passage  of  that  river  had 
been  rendered  so  difficult  by  a  few  mild 
and  foggy  days  which  had  softened  the 
ice,  that  a  total  defeat  would  be  haz 
arded.  In  any  event,  the  Jerseys  would, 
once  more,  be  entirely  in  possession  of 
the  enemy;  the  public  mind  again  be 
depressed ;  recruiting  discouraged ;  and 
Philadelphia,  a  second  time,  in  the  grasp 
of  General  Howe. 

In  this  embarrassing  state  of  things, 
he  formed  the  bold  design  of  abandon 
ing  the  Delaware,  and  marching,  by  a 
circuitous  route,  along  the  left  flank  of 
the  British  army,  into  its  rear,  at  Prince 
ton,  where  its  strength  could  not  be 
great ;  and,  after  beating  the  troops  at 
that  place,  to  move  rapidly  to  Bruns 
wick,  where  the  baggage  and  principal 
magazines  of  the  army  lay  under  a  weak 
guard.  He  indulged  the  hope  that  this 
manoeuvre  would  call  the  attention  of 
the  British  general  to  his  own  defence. 
Should  Lord  Cornwallis,  contrary  to 
every  reasonable  calculation,  proceed  to 
Philadelphia,  nothing  worse  could  hap 
pen  in  that  quarter,  than  must  happen 
should  the  American  army  be  driven 
before  him ;  and  some  compensation  for 
that  calamity  would  be  obtained  by  ex 


pelling  the  enemy  completely  from 
Jersey,  and  cutting  up,  in  detail,  all  his 
parties  in  that  State. 

Gordon's  account  of  what  followed 
the  resolution  of  Washington  to  march 
to  Trenton,  as  well  as  of  the  delibera 
tions  in  both  camps,  is,  as  usual,  lively 
and  dramatic : 

"  Sir  William  Erskine,  according  to 
report,  advises  Lord  Cornwallis  to  an 
immediate  attack,  saying,  '  Otherwise 
Washington,  if  any  general,  will  make 
a  move  to  the  left  of  your  army :  if 
your  lordship  does  not  attack,  throw  a 
large  body  of  troops  on  the  road  to 
your  left.'  The  attack  is  put  off  till  the 
morning.  His  lordship  might  act  upon 
what  is  said  to  be  a  military  principle, 
that  the  strongest  army  ought  not  to  at 
tack  towards  night.  Meanwhile  Wash 
ington  calls  a  council  of  war.  It  is 
known  that  they  are  to  be  attacked  the 
next  day  by  the  whole  collected  force 
of  the  enemy.  The  matter  of  debate  is, 
'Shall  we  march  down  on  the  Jersey 
side,  and  cross  the  Delaware  over 
against  Philadelphia,  or  shall  we  fight  ?' 
Both  are  thought  to  be  too  hazardous. 
On  this  General  Washington  says, 
'  What  think  you  of  a  circuitous  march 
to  Princeton  ?'  It  is  approved,  and 
concluded  upon.  Providence  favors  the 
manoeuvre.  The  weather  having  been 
for  two  days  warm,  moist,  and  foggy, 
the  ground  is  become  quite  soft,  and 
the  roads  to  be  passed  so  deep,  that  it 
will  be  extremely  difficult,  if  practicable, 
to  get  on  with  the  cattle,  carriages,  and 
artillery  But  while  the  council  is  sit- 


CHAP.  IX.] 


THEXTOX  AND  PRINCETON. 


537 


1777. 


charge  against  Mawhood  which  was  re 
pelled  ;  and  in  which  the  bayonet  was 
so  mercilessly  used,  as  above  noticed  in 
our  quotation  from  Gordon.  Mercer, 
himself,  after  being  dismounted  and 
knocked  down  with  the  butt  of  a  mus 
ket,  was  repeatedly  bayoneted,  and  left 
for  dead  on  the  field.  After  the  battle 
was  over,  he  was  found  by  his  aid-de 
camp,  Major  Armstrong,  and  conveyed 
to  the  house  of  Mr.  Clark,  where  he 
expired  on  the  12th  of  January, 
in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his 
age.  His  remains  were  subsequently 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  buried 
with  military  honors  in  the  grounds  of 
Christ  Church.  A  monument  was  voted 
to  his  memory  by  Congress,  which  was 
never  erected  ;  but  recently  the  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  had  his  remains  removed 
to  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  with  great 
funeral  pomp,  and  placed  beneath  a 
splendid  marble  monument  raised  by 
subscription  among  themselves. 

Besides  General  Mercer,  the  Amer 
icans  lost  at  Princeton  Colonels  Haslet 
and  Potter,  Captain  Neal  of  the  artil 
lery,  and  Captain  Fleming,  who  com 
manded  the  first  Virginia  regiment,  and 
four  or  five  other  valuable  officers. 
"  Colonel  Haslet  had  distinguished  him 
self  by  his  bravery  and  good  conduct  in 
the  battles  of  Rhode  Island  and  Chat- 
terton's  Hill,  and  in  several  hazardous 
enterprises."* 

The  bold,  judicious,  and  unexpected 
attacks  made  at  Trenton  and  Princeton, 


*  Sparks,  Writings  of  Washington.     Life  of  Washington. 
VOL.  I      68 


had  a  much  more  extensive  influence 
than  would  be  supposed  from  a  mere 
estimate  of  the  killed  and  taken.  They 
saved  Philadelphia  for  the  winter ;  re 
covered  the  State  of  Jersey ;  and,  which 
was  of  still  more  importance,  revived  the 
drooping  spirits  of  the  people,  and  gave 
a  perceptible  impulse  to  the  recruiting 
service  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  utmost  efforts  were  now  directed 
to  the  creation  of  an  army  for  the  en 
suing  campaign,  as  the  only  solid  basis 
on  which  the  hopes  of  the  patriot  could 
rest.  During  the  retreat  through  the 
Jerseys,  and  while  the  expectation  pre 
vailed  that  no  effectual  resistance  could 
be  made  to  the  British  armies,  some 
spirited  men  indeed  were  animated  to 
greater  and  more  determined  exertions  ; 
but  this  state  of  things  produced  a  very 
different  effect  on  the  great  mass,  which 
can  alone  furnish  the  solid  force  of 
armies.  In  the  middle  States  especially, 
the  panic  of  distrust  was  perceived. 
Doubts  concerning  the  issue  of  the  con 
test  became  extensive  ;  and  the  recruit 
ing  service  proceeded  so  heavily  and 
slowly  as  to  excite  the  most  anxious 
solicitude  for  the  future. 

The  affairs  of  Trenton  and  Princeton 
were  however  magnified  into  great  vic 
tories  ;  and  were  believed  by  the  body 
of  the  people  to  evidence  the  superiority 
of  their  army  and  of  their  general.  The 
opinion  that  they  were  engaged  in  a 
hopeless  contest,  yielded  to  a  confidence 
that  proper  exertions  would  insure  ulti 
mate  success. 

This   change  of  opinion  was   accom- 


;,:',$ 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


panied  with  an  essential  change  of  con 
duct  ;  and,  although  the  reginiertfe  re 
quired  by  Congress  were  not  completed, 
they  were  made  much  stronger  than 
was  believed  to  be  possible  before  this 
happy  revolution  in  the  aspect  of  pub 
lic  affairs. 

The  firmness  of  Congress  throughout 
the  gloomy  and  trying  period  which 
intervened  between  the  loss  of  Fort 
Washington  and  the  battle  of  Prince- 

O 

ton,  gives  the  members  of  that  time  a 
just  claim  to  the  admiration  of  the 
\vorld,  and  to  the  gratitude  of  every 
American.  Undismayed  by  impend 
ing  dangers,  they  did  not,  for  an  in 
stant,  admit  the  idea  of  surrendering 
the  independence  they  had  declared, 
and  purchasing  peace  by  returning  to 
their  colonial  position.  As  the  British 
army  advanced  through  Jersey,  and 
the  consequent  insecurity  of  Philadel 
phia  rendered  an  adjournment  from  that 
place  a  necessary  measure  of  precau 
tion,  their  exertions  seemed  to  increase 
with  their  difficulties.  They  sought  to 
remove  the  despondence  which  was  seiz 
ing  and  paralyzing  the  public  mind,  by 
an  address  to  the  States,  in  which  every 
argument  was  suggested  which  could 
rouse  them  to  vigorous  action.  They 
made  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to  ani 
mate  the  militia,  and  impel  them  to  the 
field,  by  the  agency  of  those  whose 
popular  eloquence  best  fitted  them  for 
such  a  service. 

The  magnanimous  conduct  of  Con 
gress  was  favorably  contrasted  in  the 
public  mind  with  that  of  the  represen 


tatives  of  royalty,  and  those  who  acted 
under  their  authority  in  the  colonies. 
We  have  already  repeatedly  noticed 
the  proclamation  of  the  Howes,  prom 
ising  pardon  and  protection  to  those 
who  would  desert  the  standard  of  their 
country.  These  promises  were  any 
thing  but  faithfully  observed. 

When  the  royal  army  entered  the 
Jerseys,  says  Gordon,  the  inhabitants 
pretty  generally  remained  in  their 
houses,  and  many  thousands  received 
printed  protections,  signed  by  order  of 
General  Howe.  But  neither  the  proc 
lamation  of  the  commissioners,  nor  pro 
tections,  saved  the  people  from  plunder 
any  more  than  from  insult.  Their  prop 
erty  was  taken  or  destroyed  without  dis 
tinction  of  persons.  They  showed  their 
protections :  Hessians  could  not  read 
them,  and  would  not  understand  them  ; 
and  the  British  soldiers  thought  they 
had  as  good  a  right  to  a  share  of  booty 
as  the  Hessians. 

The  loyalists  were  plundered  even  at 
New  York.  General  De  Heister  may 
be  pronounced  the  arch-plunderer.  He 
offered  the  house  he  lived  in  at  New 
York  at  public  sale  ;  though  the  prop 
erty  of  a  very  loyal  subject,  who  had 
voluntarily  and  hospitably  accommo 
dated  him  with  it.  The  goods  of 
others,  suffering  restraint  or  imprison 
ment  among  the  Americans,  were  sold 
by  auction.  The  carriages  of  gentle 
men  of  the  first  rank  were  seized,  their 
arms  defaced,  and  the  plunderer's  arms 
blazoned  in  their  place ;  and  this,  too, 
by  British  officers. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


Discontents  and  murmurs  increased 
every  hour  at  the  licentious  ravages  of 
the  soldiery,  both  British  and  foreign 
ers,  who,  at  this  period  of  the  war,  Vere 
shamefully  permitted,  with  unrelenting 
hand,  to  pillage  friend  and  foe  in  the 
Jerseys.  Neither  age,  nor  sex,  was 
spared.  Infants,  children,  old  men  and 
women,  were  left  in  their  shirts,  with 
out  a  blanket  to  cover  them,  under  the 
inclemency  of  winter.  Every  kind  of 
furniture  was  destroyed  and  burnt ; 
windows  and  doors  were  broken  to 
pieces ;  in  short,  the  houses  were  left 
uninhabitable,  and  the  people  without 
provisions  ;  for  every  horse,  cow,  ox, 
and  fowl,  was  carried  off. 

Depredations  and  abuses  were  com 
mitted  by  that  part  of  the  army,  which 
was  stationed  at  or  near  Pennytown.* 
Sixteen  young  women  fled  to  the  woods 
to  avoid  the  brutality  of  the  soldiers, 
where  they  were  seized  and  carried  off. 
One  father  was  murdered  for  attempt 
ing  to  defend  his  daughter's  honor. 
Other  brutalities  towards  women,  re 
corded  by  contemporary  writers,  are 
too  gross  for  recital. 

These  enormities,  though  too  fre 
quently  practised  in  a  time  of  war  by 
the  military,  unless  restrained  by  the 
severest  discipline,  so  exasperated  the 
people  of  the  Jerseys,  that  they  flew 
to  arms  immediately  upon  the  army's 
hurrying  from  Trenton  ;  and  forming 
themselves  into  parties,  they  waylaid 
their  enemies,  and  cut  them  off  as  they 

0  Pennington. 


had  opportunity.  The  militia  collected. 
The  Americans  in  a  few  days  overran  the 
Jerseys.  The  enemy  was  forced  from 
Woodbridge.  General  Maxwell  sur 
prised  Elizabethtown,  arid  took  near  one 
hundred  prisoners,  with  a  quantity  of 
baggage.  Newark  was  abandoned.  The 
royal  troops  were  confined  to  the  nar 
row  compass  of  Brunswick  and  Amboy, 
both  holding  an  open  communication 
with  New  York  by  water.  They  could 
not  even  stir  out  to  forage  but  in  large 
parties,  which  seldom  returned  without 
loss.  General  Dickinson,f  with  about 
four  hundred  militia  and  fifty  Penn 
sylvania  riflemen,  defeated,  near  Som 
erset  court-house,  on  Millstone  River, 
January  20th,  a  foraging  party 
of  the  enemy  of  equal  number ; 
and  took  forty  wagons,  upwards  of  one 
hundred  horses,  besides  sheep  and  cat 
tle  which  they  had  collected.  They 
retreated  with  such  precipitation,  that 
he  could  make  only  nine  prisoners ;  but 
they  were  observed  to  carry  off  many 
dead  and  wounded  in  light  wagons. 
The  general's  behavior  reflected  the 
highest  honor  upon  him ;  for  though 
his  troops  were  all  raw,  he  led  them 
through  the  river  middle  deep,  and 
gave  the  enemy  so  severe  a  charge, 
that,  although  supported  by  three  field- 
pieces,  they  gave  way,  and  left  their 
convoy. 

But  among  all  the  officers  who  were 


tTTT. 


f  This  brave  and  able  officer,  General  Philemon  Dick 
inson,  was  brother  to  the  celebrated  John  Dickinson,  au 
thor  of  the  Farmer's  Letters.  General  Dickinson  was 
afterwards  a  senator  of  the  United  States. 


540 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OB"  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


engaged  in  watching  and  harassing  the 
British  with  a  view  to  their  expulsion 
from  the  Jerseys,  none  rendered  more 
important  service  than  the  veteran  Gen 
eral  Putnam.  He  had  been  at  Wash 
ington's  side  during  the  whole  of  the 
retreat  through  the  Jerseys,  and  had 
been  appointed  to  the  command  at 
Philadelphia  on  their  arrival  there, 
where  he  was  presently  employed  in 
superintending  a  line  of  redoubts  above 
the  city,  extending  from  the  Delaware 
to  the  Schuylkill,  to  resist  any  approach 
of  the  enemy  to  the  city  by  land. 
When  the  recent  offensive  operations 
in  Jersey  had  taken  place,  he  had  been 
left  in  the  city  by  Washington  to  quell 
an  anticipated  insurrection  of  the  tories. 

General  Putnam,  says  Peabody,*  had, 
therefore,  no  share  in  the  victory  at 
Trenton,  nor  in  that  of  Princeton,  by 
which  it  was  succeeded. 

So  great  was  the  effect  of  these  en 
terprises  on  the  enemy,  that  Washing 
ton  began  to  entertain  the  hope  of  driv 
ing  them  beyond  the  limits  of  New  Jer 
sey.  On  the  5th  of  January,  1*777,  he 
ordered  General  Putnam  to  march  with 
the  troops  under  his  command  to  Cross- 
wick,  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Trenton, 
using  the  utmost  precaution  to  guard 
against  surprise,  and  laboring  to  create 
an  impression  that  his  force  was  twice 
as  great  as  it  actually  was.  The  object 
of  the  Commander-in-chief  was  partially 
accomplished  by  the  concentration  of 
the  British  forces  at  New  Brunswick 

0  Life  of  General  Putnam  in  Sparks'  American  Biog 
raphy. 


and  Amboy  ;  and  General  Putnam  was 
soon  after  ordered  to  take  post  at 
Princeton,  where  he  passed  the  remain 
der  of  the  winter.  This  position  was 
scarcely  fifteen  miles  from  the  enemy's 
camp  at  New  Brunswick ;  but  the 
troops  of  Putnam  at  no  time  exceeded 
a  few  hundred,  and  were  once  fewer  in 
number  than  the  miles  of  frontier  he 
was  expected  to  guard. 

Captain  Macpherson,  a  Scotch  officer 
of  the  seventeenth  British  regiment, 
had  received  in  the  battle  of  Prince 
ton,  a  severe  wound  which  was  thought 
likely  to  prove  fatal.  When  General 
Putnam  reached  that  place,  he  found 
that  it  had  been  deemed  inexpedient  to 
provide  medical  aid  and  other  comforts 
for  one  who  was  likely  to  require  them 
for  so  short  a  period  ;  but  by  his  orders 
the  captain  was  attended  with  the  ut 
most  care,  and  at  length  recovered.  He 
was  warm  in  the  expression  of  his  grati 
tude  ;  and  one  day  when  Putnam,  in  re 
ply  to  his  inquiries,  assured  him  that  he 
was  a  Yankee,  averred  that  he  had  not 
believed  it  possible  for  any  human  be 
ing  but  a  Scotchman  to  be  so  kind  and 
generous. 

Indeed  the  benevolence  of  the  gen 
eral  was  one  day  put  to  somewhat  of 
a  delicate  test.  The  patient,  when  his 
recovery  was  considered  doubtful,  solic 
ited  that  a  friend  in  the  British  army 
at  New  Brunswick  might  be  permitted 
to  come  and  aid  him  in  the  preparation 
of  his  will.  Full  sorely  perplexed  was 
General  Putnam  by  his  desire,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  gratify  the  wishes  of  his 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TREXTOX  AXD  PRIXCETOX. 


541 


prisoner,  and  a  natural  reluctance,  on 
the  other,  to  permit  the  enemy  to  spy 
out  the  nakedness  of  his  camp.  His 
good-nature  at  length  prevailed ;  but 
not  at  the  expense  of  his  discretion ; 
and  a  flag  of  truce  was  dispatched  with 
orders  not  to  return  with  the  captain's 
friend  until  after  dark. 

By  the  time  of  his  arrival,  the  lights 
were  displayed  in  all  the  apartments  of 
College  Hall,  and  in  all  the  vacant 
houses  in  the  town  ;  the  army,  which 
then  consisted  of  fifty  effective  men,  was 
marched  about  with  remarkable  celer 
ity,  sometimes  in  close  column,  and 
sometimes  in  detachments,  with  unu 
sual  pomp  and  circumstance,  around 
the  quarters  of  the  captain.  It  was 
subsequently  ascertained,  as  we  are  as 
sured  by  Colonel  Humphreys,  that  the 
force  of  Putnam  was  computed  by  the 
framer  of  the  will,  on  his  return  to  the 
British  camp,  to  consist,  at  the  lowest 
estimate,  of  five  thousand  men. 

During  his  command  at  Princeton, 
General  Putnam  was  employed,  with 
activity  and  much  success,  in  affording 
protection  to  the  persons  in  his  neigh 
borhood  who  remained  faithful  to  the 
American  cause.  They  were  exposed 
to  great  danger  from  the  violent  incur 
sions  of  the  loyalists  ;  and  constant  vig 
ilance  was  required,  in  order  to  guard 
against  the  depreciations  of  the  latter. 
Through  the  whole  winter  there  raged 
a,  war  of  skirmishes.  On  the  17th  of 
February,  Colonel  Nielson,  with  a  party 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia,  was 
sent  by  General  Putnam  to  surprise  a 


small  corps  of  loyalists,  who  were  forti 
fying  themselves  at  Lawrence's  Neck. 
They  were  of  the  corps  of  Cortlandt 
Skinner,  of  New  Jersey,  a  brigadier- 
general  of  provincials  in  the  British  ser 
vice.  We  know  not  how  to  relate  the 
result  of  this  affair  more  briefly,  than  it 
is  given  in  the  following  extract  from 
a  letter  addressed  by  Putnam  to  the 
Council  of  Safety  of  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  day  after  it  occurred  : 

"  Yesterday  evening,  Colonel  Niel- 
son,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  at 
Lawrence's  Neck,  attacked  sixty  men 
of  Cortlandt  Skinner's  brigade,  com 
manded  by  the  enemy's  renowned  land 
pilot,  Richard  Stockton,  and  took  the 
whole  prisoners ;  among  them  the  ma 
jor,  a  captain,  and  three  subalterns, 
with  seventy  stand  of  arms.  Fifty  of 
the  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  riflemen 
behaved  like  veterans." 

On  another  occasion,  he  detached 
Major  Smith  with  a  few  riflemen, 
against  a  foraging  party  of  the  enemy, 
and  followed  him  with  the  rest  of  his 
forces ;  but  before  he  came  up,  the 
party  had  been  captured  by  the  rifle 
men.  These  and  other  similar  inci 
dents  may  appear  individually  as  of 
little  moment ;  but  before  the  close  of 
the  winter,  General  Putnam  had  thus 
taken  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners,  and  _ 
had  accomplished  the  more  important 
object  of  keeping  the  disaffected  in  con 
tinual  awe. 

In  their  operations  for  completely  re 
claiming  the  inhabitants  of  the  Jerseys 
from  their  recent  disaffection  to  the 


542 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


cause  of  liberty,  Washington,  Putnam, 
and  the  other  American  commanders 
were  greatly  aided  by  the  atrocities  of 
the  British  and  Hessian  troops  against 
the  unoffending  people. 

The  whole  country  was  now  become 
hostile  to  the  British  army.  Sufferers 
of  all  parties  rose  as  one  man  to  revenge 
their  personal  injuries  and  particular 
oppressions,  and  were  the  most  bitter 
and  determined  enemies.  They  who 
were  incapable  of  bearing  arms,  acted 
as  spies ;  and  kept  a  continual  watch, 
so  that  not  the  slightest  motion  could 
be  made  by  the  royalists,  without  its 
being  discovered  before  it  could  pro 
duce  the  intended  effect. 

This  hostile  spirit  was  encouraged  by 
a  proclamation  of  Washington  (Janu 
ary  25th),  which  commanded  every 
person  having  subscribed  the  declara 
tion  of  fidelity  to  Great  Britain,  taken 
the  oaths  of  allegiance,  and  accepted 
protections  and  certificates  from  the 
commissioners,  to  deliver  up  the  same, 
and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  of  America.  It  granted, 
however,  full  liberty  to  such  as  should 
prefer  the  interest  and  protection  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  freedom  and  hap 
piness  of  their  country,  forthwith  to 
withdraw  themselves  and  their  families 
within  the  enemy's  lines.  But  it  de 
clared,  that  all  who  neglected  or  re 
fused  to  comply  with  the  order  within 
thirty  days  from  the  date,  would  be 
deemed  adherents  to  the  king  of  Great 
Britain,  and  treated  as  common  enemies 
to  the  American  States. 


Washington  sent  forth  this  proclama 
tion  (January  25th)  from  his  head 
quarters  at  Morristown,  situa- 

1177. 

ted  among  hills  of  difficult  ac 
cess,  where  he  had  a  fine  country  in  his 
rear,  from  which  he  could  easily  draw 
supplies,  and  was  able  to  retreat  across 
the  Delaware,  if  needful.  Giving  his 
troops  little  repose,  he  overran  both 
East  and  West  Jersey,  spread  his  army 
over  the  Karitan,  and  penetrated  into 
the  county  of  Essex,  where  he  made 
himself  master  of  the  coast  opposite 
Staten  Island.  With  a  greatly  infe 
rior  army,  by  judicious  movements,  he 
wrested  from  the  British  almost  all 
their  conquests  in  the  Jerseys.  Bruns 
wick  and  Amboy  were  the  only  posts 
which  remained  in  their  hands,  and 
even  in  these  they  were  not  a  little 
harassed  and  straitened.  The  Ameri 
can  detachments  were  in  a  state  of  un 
wearied  activity,  frequently  surprising 
and  cutting  off  the  British  advanced 
guards,  keeping  them  in  constant  alarm, 
and  melting  down  their  numbers  by  a 
desultory  and  destructive  warfare. 

Meantime  the  victories  at  Trenton 
and  Princeton,  followed  by  the  expul 
sion  of  the  enemy  from  nearly  every 
part  of  New  Jersey,  had  added  greatly 
to  Washington's  fame.  Achievements 
so  astonishing,  says  Botta,  acquired  an 
immense  glory  for  the  captain-general 
of  the  United  States.  All  nations  were 
surprised  by  the  glory  of  the  Ameri 
cans  ;  all  equally  admired  and  ap 
plauded  the  prudence,  the  constancy, 
and  the  noble  intrepidity  of  General 


CHAP.  IX.] 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON. 


543 


Washington.  A  unanimous  voice  pro 
nounced  him  the  savior  of  his  country  ; 
all  extolled  him  as  equal  to  the  most 
celebrated  commanders  of  antiquity ; 
all  proclaimed  him  the  Fabius  of  Amer 
ica.  His  name  was  in  the  mouth  of  all ; 
he  was  celebrated  by  the  pens  of  the 
most  distinguished  writers.  The  most 
illustrious  personages  of  Europe  lav 


ished  upon  him  their  praises  and  their 
congratulations.  The  American  gen 
eral,  therefore,  wanted  neither  a  cause 
full  of  grandeur  to  defend,  nor  occasion 
for  the  acquisition  of  glory,  nor  genius 
to  avail  himself  of  it,  nor  the  renown 
due  to  his  triumphs,  nor  an  entire  gen 
eration  of  men  perfectly  well  disposed 
to  render  him  homage. 


DOCUMENTS    ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  IX. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  CADWALADER. 

Tnis  brave  officer  was  the  father  of  General 
Cad  walader,  who  served  in  the  Avar  of  1812,  and 
grandfather  of  General  Cadwalader,  who  played 
so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  recent  war  with 
Mexico. 

The  officer  named  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
John  Cadwalader,  born  in  Philadelphia,  was  dis 
tinguished  for  his  zealous  and  inflexible  adherence 
to  the  cause  of  America,  and  for  his  intrepidity 
as  a  soldier,  in  upholding  that  cause  during  the 
most  discouraging  periods  of  danger  and  mis 
fortune.  At  the  dawn  of  the  Revolution,  he 
commanded  a  corps  of  volunteers,  designated  as 
"  the  silk-stocking  company,"  of  which  nearly 
all  the  members  were  appointed  to  commissions 
in  the  line  of  the  army.  He  afterwards  was 
appointed  colonel  of  one  of  the  city  battalions; 
and,  being  thence  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  was  intrusted  with  the  com 
mand  of  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  in  the  import 
ant  operations  of  the  winter  campaign  of  1776 
and  1777.  He  acted  with  his  command,  and  as 
a  volunteer,  in  the  actions  of  Princeton,  Brandy- 
wine,  Germantown,  and  Monmouth,  and  other 
occasions ;  and  received  the  thanks  of  General 
Washington,  whose  confidence  and  regard  he 
uniformly  enjoyed. 

When  General  Washington  determined  to 
attack  the  British  and  Hessian  troops  at  Tren 
ton,  he  assigned  him  the  command  of  a  division. 
In  the  evening  of  Christmas-day,  1776,  Wash 
ington  made  arrangements  to  pass  the  river 
Delaware,  in  three  divisions :  one,  consisting  of 
five  hundred  men,  under  General  Cadwalader, 
from  the  vicinity  of  Bristol ;  a  second  division, 


under  the  command  of  General  Irvine,  was  to 
cross  at  Trenton  Ferry,  and  secure  the  bridge 
leading  to  the  town.  Generals  Cadwalader  and 
Irvine  made  every  exertion  to  get  over,  but  the 
quantity  of  ice  Avas  so  great,  that  they  could  not 
effect  their  purpose.  The  third,  and  main  body, 
which  was  commanded  by  Washington,  crossed 
at  M'Konkey's  Ferry ;  but  the  ice  in  the  river 
retarded  their  passage  so  long,  that  it  was  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  before  the  artillery  could 

i/ 

be  got  OArer.  On  their  landing  in  Jersey,  they 
were  formed  into  two  divisions,  commanded  by 
Generals  Sullivan  and  Greene,  Avho  had  under 
their  command  brigadiers  Lord  Stirling,  Mercer, 
and  St.  Clair  :  one  of  these  divisions  was  ordered 
to  proceed  on  the  loAver,  or  river  road,  the  other 
on  the  upper,  or  Pennington  road.  Colonel 
Stark,  Avith  some  light  troops,  Avas  also  directed 
to  advance  near  to  the  river,  and  to  possess  him 
self  of  that  part  of  the  town  Avhich  is  beyond  the 
bridge.  The  divisions  having  nearly  the  same 
distance  to  march,  were  ordered  immediately, 
on  forcing  the  out-guards,  to  push  directly  into 
Trenton,  that  they  might  charge  the  enemy 
before  they  had  time  to  form.  Though  they 
marched  different  roads,  yet  they  arrived  at  the 
enemy's  advanced  post  within  three  minutes  of 
each  other.  The  out-guards  of  the  Hessian 
troops  at  Trenton  soon  fell  back,  but  kept  up  a 
constant  retreating  fire.  Their  main  body  being 
hard  pressed  by  the  Americans,  Avho  had  already 
got  possession  of  half  their  artillery,  attempted 
to  file  off  by  a  road  leading  towards  Princeton, 
but  Avere  checked  by  a  body  of  troops  thrown 
in  their  Avay.  Finding  they  Avere  surrounded, 
they  laid  down  their  arms.  The  number  which 
submitted,  was  twenty-three  officers,  and  about 
one  thousand  men.  Between  thirty  and  forty 


DOCUMENTS. 


545 


of  the  Hessians  were  killed  and  wounded.  Colo 
nel  Rahl  was  among  the  former,  and  seven  of 
his  officers  among  the  latter.  Captain  Wash 
ington,  of  the  Virginia  troops,  and  five  or  six 
of  the  Americans  were  wounded.  Two  were 
killed,  and  two  or  three  were  frozen  to  death. 
Rahl  was  visited  in  his  last  moments  by  General 
Washington. 

Of  the  detachment  in  Trenton,  consisting  of 
the  regiments  of  Rahl,  Losberg,  and  Knypb.au- 
sen,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  about  fifteen 
hundred  men,  and  a  troop  of  British  light-horse, 
nine  hundred  were  killed  or  captured,  and  the 
remainder  escaped  by  the  road  leading  to  Bor- 
dentown. 

The  British  had  a  strong  battalion  of  light- 
infantry  at  Princeton,  and  a  force  yet  remaining 
near  the  Delaware,  superior  to  the  American 
army.  General  Washington,  therefore,  in  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  thought  it  most  pru 
dent  to  recross  into  Pennsylvania,  with  his 
prisoners. 

The  next  day  after  Washington's  return,  sup 
posing  him  still  on  the  Jersey  side,  General  Cad- 
walader  crossed  with  about  fifteen  hundred  men, 
and  pursued  the  panic-struck  enemy  to  Burling 
ton. 

The  merits  and  services  of  General  Cadwal- 
ader  induced  the  Congress,  early  in  1778,  to 
compliment  him  by  a  unanimous  vote,  with  the 
appointment  of  general  of  cavalry  ;  which  ap 
pointment  he  declined,  under  an  impression  that 
he  could  be  more  useful  to  his  country  in  the 
sphere  in  which  he  had  been  acting. 

The  victory  at  Trenton  had  a  most  happy 
effect,  and  General  Washington,  finding  himself 
at  the  head  of  a  force  with  which  it  was  prac 
ticable  to  attempt  something,  resolved  not  to 
remain  inactive.  Inferior  as  he  was  to  the 
enemy,  he  yet  determined  to  employ  the  winter 
in  endeavoring  to  recover  the  whole,  or  a  great 
part  of  Jersey.  The  enemy  were  now  collected 
in  force  at  Princeton,  under  Lord  Cornwallis, 
where  some  works  were  thrown  up.  Generals 
Mifflin  and  Cadwalader,  who  lay  at  Bordentown 
and  Crosswicks,  with  three  thousand  six  hun 
dred  militia,  were  ordered  to  march  up  in  the 
night  of  the  1st  January,  1777,  to  join  the  corn- 
man  der-in-chief,  whose  whole  force,  with  this 
V0i  T  —69 


addition,  did  not  exceed  five  thousand  men. 
He  formed  the  bold  and  judicious  design  of 
abandoning  the  Delaware,  and  marching  silently 
in  the  night  by  a  circuitous  route,  along  the  left 
flank  of  the  enemy,  into  their  rear  at  Princeton, 
where  he  knew  they  could  not  be  very  strong. 
He  reached  Princeton  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  third,  and  would  have  completely  surprised 
the  British,  had  not  a  party,  which  was  on  their 
way  to  Trenton,  descried  his  troops,  when  they 
were  about  two  miles  distant,  and  sent  back 
couriers  to  alarm  their  fellow-soldiers  in  the 
rear.  A  sharp  action  ensued,  which  however 
was  not  of  long  duration.  The  militia,  of  which 
the  advanced  party  was  principally  composed, 
soon  gave  way.  General  Mercer  was  mortally 
wounded  while  exerting  himself  to  rally  his 
broken  troops.  The  moment  was  critical.  Gen 
eral  Washington  pushed  forward,  and  placed 
himself  between  his  own  men  and  the  British, 
with  his  horse's  head  fronting  the  latter.  The 
Americans,  encouraged  by  his  example,  made  a 
stand,  and  returned  the  British  fire.  A  party 
of  the  British  fled  into  the  college,  and  were 
attacked  with  field-pieces.  After  receiving  a 
few  discharges,  they  came  out  and  surrendered 
themselves  prisoners  of  war.  In  this  action 
upwards  of  one  hundred  of  the  enemy  were 
killed  on  the  spot,  and  three  hundred  taken 
prisoners.  The  Americans  lost  only  a  few,  but 
colonels  Haslet  and  Potter,  two  brave  and 
valuable  officers,  from  Delaware  and  Pennsyl 
vania,  were  among  the  slain. 

General  Cadwalader's  celebrated  duel  with 
General  Conway,  arose  from  his  spirited  oppo 
sition  to  the  intrigues  of  that  officer,  to  under 
mine  the  standing  of  the  commander-in-chief. 
Cadwalader  resented  the  infamous  conduct  of 
Conway  so  deeply,  that  a  challenge  to  fight  was 
the  consequence. 

In  the  combat  which  followed,  General  Con- 
way  was  dangerously  wounded,  and  while  his 
recovery  was  doubtful,  he  addressed  a  letter 
to  General  Washington,  acknowledging  that  he 
had  done  him  injustice. 

Among  many  obituary  notices  of  General 
Cadwalader,  this  patriotic  and  exemplary  man, 
the  following  outline  of  his  character,  in  the 
form  of  a  monumental  inscription,  is  selected 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


from  a  Baltimore  paper,  of  the  24th  of  Feb 
ruary,  1786  : 

"  In  memory  of 

GENERAL    JOHN    CADWALADER, 

who  died  February  the  10th,  1786, 
at  Shrewsbury,  his  seat  in  Kent  county, 

in  the  44th  year  of  his  age. 

This  amiable  and  worthy  gentleman, 

had  served  his  country  with  reputation,  in  the 

character  of  a  soldier  and  statesman  : 
he  took  an  active  part,  and  had  a  principal  share, 

in  the  late  Revolution, 
and,  although  he  was  zealous  in  the  cause 

of  American  freedom, 

his  conduct  was  not  mark'd  with  the 

least  degree  of  malevolence,  or  party  spirit. 

Those  who  honestly  differed  from  him  in  opinion, 

he  always  treated  with  singular  tenderness. 

In  sociability,  and  cheerfulness  of  temper, 

honesty  and  goodness  of  heart, 
independence  of  spirit,  and  warmth  of  friendship, 

he  had  no  superior, 

and  few,  very  few  equals  : 

never  did  any  man  die  more  lamented  by 

his  friends,  and  neighbors  ; 

to  his  family  and  near  relations, 

his  death  was  a  stroke  still  more  severe." 


[B.] 
COLONEL  WILLIAM  AUGUSTINE  WASHINGTON. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  popular  officers  in 
the  army.  He  was  styled  by  his  enthusiastic 
admirers  the  modern  Marcellus,  the  sword  of 
his  country,  and  was  as  courageous  and  spirited 
as  he  was  popular. 

William  Augustine  Washington,  lieutenant- 
colonel  commandant  of  a  continental  regiment 
of  dragoons  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Baily  Washington,  Esq.,  of 
Stafford  county,  in  the  State  of  Virginia. 

First  among  the  youth  of  Virginia  who 
hastened  to  the  standard  of  his  country,  on  the 
rupture  between  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies, 
he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  company 
of  infantry  in  the  third  regiment  of  the  Vir 
ginia  line,  commanded  by  Colonel,  afterwards 
Brigadier-general,  Mercer.  In  no  corps  in  our 
service  was  the  substantial  knowledge  of  the 
profession  of  arms  more  likely  to  be  acquired. 

Washington  served,  with  his  regiment,  in  the 
operations  near  New  York  in  1776,  and  on  the 


retreat  through  New  Jersey,  sharing  with  dis 
tinguished  applause,  in  that  disastrous  period, 
its  difficulties,  its  dangers,  and  its  glory.  When 
afterwards  the  commander-in-chief  struck  at 
Colonel  Rahl,  stationed  Avith  a  body  of  Hes 
sians  in  Trenton,  Captain  Washington  was  at 
tached  to  the  van  of  one  of  the  assailing  col 
umns,  and  in  that  daring  and  well-executed 
enterprise,  received  a  musket-ball  through  his 
hand,  bravely  leading  on  his  company  against 
the  arraying  enemy. 

The  commander-in-chief  having  experienced 
the  extreme  difficulties  to  which  he  had  been 
exposed  during  the  preceding  campaign,  by  his 
want  of  cavalry,  was,  shortly  after  this  period, 
in  consequence  of  his  suggestions  to  Congress, 
authorized  to  raise  three  regiments  of  light 
dragoons.  To  the  command  of  one  of  these  he 
appointed  Lieutenant-colonel  Baylor,  one  of  his 
aid-de-camps.  To  this  regiment  Captain  Wash 
ington  was  transferred  with  the  rank  of  major, 
and  returned  to  Virginia  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  in  recruiting  the  regiment. 

As  soon  as  the  corps  was  completed,  Baylor 
joined  the  main  army ;  his  regiment  was,  in 
1778,  surprised  by  a  detachment  of  the  British, 
led  by  Major-general  Gray,  and  suffered  severely. 
Washington  fortunately  escaped ;  and  in  the 
course  of  the  succeeding  year,  or  early  in  1780, 
he  was  detached  with  the  remains  of  Bland's, 
Baylor's,  and  Moylan's  regiments  of  hors«'.  lo 
the  army  of  Major-general  Lincoln,  in  South 
Carolina,  where  he  was  constantly  employed 
with  the  light  troops,  and  experienced,  with 
some  flashes  of  fortune,  two  severe  blows ;  first 
at  Monk's  Corner,  where  he  commanded  the 
horse,  and  last  at  Leneau's  Ferry,  when  he  was 
second  to  Lieutenant-colonel  White,  of  Moylan's 
regiment.  These  repeated  disasters  so  reduced 
the  cavalry,  that  White  and  Washington  re 
tired  from  the  field,  and  repaired  to  the  northern 
confines  of  North  Carolina,  for  the  purpose  of 
repairing  their  heavy  losses.  It  was  here  that 
they  applied  to  General  Gates  for  the  aid  of  his 
name  and  authority  to  expedite  the  restoration 
and  equipment  of  their  regiments,  that  they 
might  be  ready  to  take  the  field  under  his 
orders.  This  salutary  and  proper  request  was 
injudiciously  disregarded ;  from  which  omission 


CHAP.  IX.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


547 


very  injurious  consequences  seem  to  have  re 
sulted  in  the  sequel. 

After  the  defeat  of  General  Gates  on  the  16th 
of  the  following  August,  it  will  be  recollected 
that  the  American  general  retired  to  Hillsbor- 
ough,  from  whence  he  returned  to  Salisbury. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Washington,  with  his  cav 
alry,  now  accompanied  him,  and  formed  a  part 
of  the  light  corps  placed  by  Gates  under  the 
direction  of  Brigadier  Morgan.  He  resumed 
his  accustomed  active  and  vigorous  service,  and 
rendered  important  aid  in  carrying  out  the  bold 
designs  of  that  commander. 

During  this  period  he  carried,  by  an  extraor 
dinary  stratagem,  the  post  at  Rugeley's,  which 
drew  from  Lord  Cornwallis  the  following  letter 
to  Lieutenant-colonel  Tarleton  :  "  Rugeley  will 
not  be  made  a  brigadier.  He  surrendered,  with 
out  firing  a  shot,  himself  and  one  hundred  and 
three  rank  and  file  to  the  cavalry  only.  A  de 
serter  of  Morgan's  assures  us  that  the  infantry 
never  came  within  three  miles  of  the  house." 

Greene  now  succeeded  Gates,  when  Brigadier 
Morgan,  with  the  light  corps,  was  detached  to 
hang  upon  the  enemy's  left  flank,  and  to  threaten 
Ninety-Six. 

The  battle  of  the  Cowpens  ensued,  in  which 
Washington,  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  acquired 
fresh  laurels.  He  continued  with  the  light  corps, 
performing  with  courage  and  precision  the  du 
ties  assigned  him,  until  the  junction  of  the  two 
divisions  of  the  American  army  at  Guilford 
Courthouse.  Soon  after  this  event  a  more  pow 
erful  body  of  horse  and  foot  was  selected  by 
General  Greene,  and  placed  under  Colonel  Wil 
liams,  of  which  Washington  and  his  cavalry 
were  a  constituent  part. 

In  the  eventful  and  trying  retreat  which  en 
sued,  Lieutenant-colonel  Washington  contrib 
uted  his  full  share  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
measures  of  Williams,  which  terminated  so  pro 
pitiously  to  our  irms,  and  so  honorably  to  the 
light  troops  ana  their  commander.  After  the 
repassage  of  the  Dan,  Washington  and  his  horse 
were  again  placed  in  the  van,  and  with  Howard 
and  Lee,  led  by  Williams,  played  that  arduous 
game  of  marches,  countermarches,  and  manoeu 
vres,  which  greatly  contributed  to  baffle  the 
skilful  display  of  talents  and  enterprise,  exhib 


ited  by  Lord  Cornwallis  in  his  persevering  at 
tempt  to  force  Greene,  at  the  head  of  an  infe 
rior  army,  to  battle,  or  to  cut  him  off  from  his 
approaching  reinforcements  and  supplies. 

Colonel  Washington  acted  a  very  distinguish 
ed  part  in  the  battles  of  Guilford,  Hobkirk's  Hill, 
and  Eutaw,  and  throughout  the  arduous  cam 
paign  of  1781 ;  always  at  his  post,  decided,  firm, 
and  brave,  courting  danger  and  contemning  dif 
ficulty.  His  eminent  services  were  lost  to  the 
army  from  the  battle  of  Eutaw,  where,  to  its 
great  regret,  he  was  made  prisoner ;  nor  did  he 
afterwards  take  any  part  in  the  Avar,  as  from  the 
period  of  his  exchange  nothing  material  occur 
red,  the  respective  armies  being  confined  to  mi 
nor  operations  produced  by  the  prospect  of 
peace.  While  a  prisoner  in  Charleston,  Wash 
ington  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Elliott,  a 
young  lady  in  whom  concentred  the  united 
attractions  of  respectable  descent,  opulence, 
polish,  and  beauty.  The  gallant  soldier  soon 
became  enamored  with  his  amiable  acquaint 
ance,  and  afterwards  married  her.  This  hap 
pened  in  the  spring  of  1782  ;  and  he  established 
himself  in  South  Carolina  at  Sandy  Hill,  the  an 
cestral  seat  of  his  wife. 

Washington  seems  to  have  devoted  his  sub 
sequent  years  to  domestic  duties,  rarely  break 
ing  in  upon  them  by  attention  to  public  affairs, 
and  then  only  as  a  member  of  the  State  legisla 
ture.  He  possessed  a  stout  frame,  being  six 
feet  in  height,  broad,  strong,  and  corpulent. 
His  occupations  and  his  amusements  applied  to 
the  body  rather  than  to,  the  mind,  to  the  culti 
vation  of  which  he  did  not  bestow  much  time 
or  application  ;  nor  was  his  education  of  the 
sort  to  induce  such  habits,  being  only  calculated 
to  fit  a  man  for  the  common  business  of  life.  In 
temper  he  was  good-humored;  in  disposition 
amiable  ;  in  heart  upright,  generous,  and  friend 
ly  ;  in  manners  lively,  innocent,  and  agreeable. 

His  military  exploits  announce  his  grade  and 
character  in  arms.  Bold,  collected,  and  perse 
vering,  he  preferred  the  heat  of  action  to  the 
collection  and  shifting  of  intelligence,  to  the  cal 
culations  and  combinations  of  means  and  meas 
ures,  and  was  better  fitted  for  the  field  of  bat 
tle  than  for  the  drudgery  of  camp  and  the 
watchfulness  of  preparation.  Kind  to  his  sol- 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


diers,  his  system  of  discipline  was  rather  lax, 
and  sometimes  subjected  him  to  injurious  con 
sequences  when  close  to  a  sagacious  and  vigi 
lant  adversary. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Washington  was  selected 
by  his  illustrious  relation,  when  he  accepted  the 
command  of  the  army  during  the  presidency  of 
Mr.  Adams,  as  one  of  his  staff,  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  a  decided  proof  of  the  high 
value  attached,  by  the  best  judge  in  America, 
to  his  military  talents. 

Leading  a  life  of  honor,  of  benevolence  and 
hospitality,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family  and 
friends,  during  which,  until  its  last  two  years, 
he  enjoyed  high  health,  this  gallant  soldier 
died  March  6,  1810,  after  a  tedious  indisposi 
tion,  leaving  a  widow,  a  son,  and  a  daughter. 


[C.] 

GENERAL  KNOX. 

Henry  Knox,  major-general  in  the  American 
army  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  head  of 
the  artillery  department  of  the  army, — an  officer 
who  may  very  properly  be  considered  the  right 
hand  of  Washington, — was  born  in  Boston,  July 
25, 1750.  His  parents  were  of  Scottish  descent. 
Before  our  Revolutionary  War,  which  afforded 
an  opportunity  for  the  development  of  his  pa 
triotic  feelings  and  military  talents,  he  was  en 
gaged  in  a  bookstore.  By  means  of  his  early 
education  and  this  honorable  employment,  he 
acquired  a  taste  for  literary  pursuits,  which  he 
retained  through  life. 

Young  Knox  gave  early  proofs  of  his  attach 
ment  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  his  country. 
It  will  be  recollected,  that,  in  various  parts  of 
the  State,  volunteer  companies  were  formed  in 
1774,  with  a  view  to  awaken  the  martial  spirit 
of  the  people,  and  as  a  sort  of  preparation  for 
the  contest  which  was  apprehended.  Knox  was 
an  officer  in  a  military  corps  of  this  denomina 
tion  ;  and  was  distinguished  by  his  activity  and 
discipline.  There  is  evidence  of  his  giving  un 
common  attention  to  military  tactics  at  this  pe 
riod,  especially  to  the  branch  of  enginery  and 
artillery,  in  which  he  afterwards  so  greatly  ex 
celled. 


It  is  also  to  be  recorded,  in  proof  of  his  pre 
dominant  love  of  his  country  and  its  liberties, 
that  he  had  before  this  time  become  connected 
with  a  very  respectable  family  which  adhered 
to  the  measures  of  the  British  ministry,  and 
had  received  great  promises  both  of  honor  and 
profit,  if  he  would  follow  the  standard  of  his 
sovereign.  Even  at  this  time  his  talents  were 
too  great  to  be  overlooked  ;  and  it  was  wished, 
if  possible,  to  prevent  him  from  attaching  him 
self  to  the  cause  of  the  provincials.  lie  was  one 
of  those  whose  departure  from  Boston  was  in 
terdicted  by  Governor  Gage,  soon  after  the  af 
fair  of  Lexington.  The  object  of  Gage  was 
probably  not  so  much  to  keep  these  eminent 
characters  as  hostages,  as  to  deprive  the  Ameri 
cans  of  their  talents  and  services.  In  June, 
however,  he  found  means  to  make  his  way 
through  the  British  lines  to  the  American  army 
at  Cambridge.  He  was  here  received  with  joy 
ful  enthusiasm  :  for  his  knowledge  of  the  mili 
tary  art,  and  his  zeal  for  the  liberties  of  the 
country,  were  admitted  by  all.  The  Provincial 
Congress  then  convened  at  Watertown,  imme 
diately  sent  for  him,  and  intrusted  solely  to  him 
the  erection  of  such  fortresses  as  might  be  neces 
sary  to  prevent  a  sudden  attack  from  the  enemy 
in  Boston. 

The  little  army  of  militia,  collected  in  and 
about  Cambridge,  in  the  spring  of  1775,  soon 
after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  was  without  order 
and  discipline.  All  was  insubordination  and 
confusion.  General  Washington  did  not  arrive 
to  take  command  of  the  troops  until  after  this 
period.  In  this  state  of  things,  Knox  declined 
any  particular  commission,  though  he  readily 
directed  his  attention  and  exertions  to  the  ob 
jects  which  Congress  requested. 

It  was  in  the  course  of  this  season,  and  before 
he  had  formally  undertaken  the  command  of  the 
artillery,  that  Knox  volunteered  his  services  to 
go  to  St.  John's,  in  the  province  of  Canada,  and 
to  bring  thence  to  Cambridge  all  the  heavy 
ordnance  and  military  stores.  This  hazardous 
enterprise  he  effected  in  a  manner  which  as 
tonished  all  who  knew  the  difficulty  of  the 
service. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  this  fortunate  ex 
pedition,  he  took  command  of  the  whole  corps 


ft 


CHAPTER    X. 

1T77. 

WASHINGTON      OUT-GENEB  ALS      HOWE. 

Annoyances  to  Washington  arising  from  the  bad  treatment  of  prisoners  by  the  British. — His  attempts  to  have  Lee 
released. — His  humanity  to  Colonel  Campbell. — Gordon's  account  of  the  sufferings  of  the  American  prisoners  at 
New  York. — Washington  causes  the  army  to  be  inoculated  for  the  small-pox. — Heath's  demonstration  at  Fort 
Independence. — Formation  of  the  Old  Confederation  of  the  United  States. — Its  terms. — Its  defects. — Proceedings 
in  the  British  parliament. — Howe's  situation  in  the  Jerseys. — The  tories. — Governor  Tryon  made  a  major-general 
of  tories. — Affair  of  Peekskill. — Lincoln  attacked  at  Bound  Brook. — Foray  of  Tryon,  under  the  guardianship  of 
Erskine  and  Agnew,  in  Danbury. — Its  disastrous  result  to  the  British,  as  well  as  the  Americans. — Meigs's  retalia 
tory  descent  on  Long  Island. — Its  complete  success. — Washington  disappointed  of  recruits  and  reinforcements 
for  the  army. — He  removes  to  Middlebrook. — Weakness  of  the  army. — Arnold  at  Philadelphia. — Howe's  object. 
— He  advances  towards  the  Delaware. — He  attempts  to  draw  Washington  from  his  position  at  Middlebrook. — 
Washington's  letter  to  Arnold. — Howe  is  foiled  by  Washington. — He  passes  over  to  Staten  Island. — Washington 
advances  to  Quibbletown. — Howe  hastens  to  attack  him.— Is  foiled  again. — Returns  to  Staten  Island. — News  from 
Burgoyne. — Capture  of  General  Prescott. — Howe  embarks  his  army  and  sails  from  New  York. — His  fleet  is  seen 
off  the  capes  of  the  Delaware. — Washington  removes  the  army  to  Germantown.—  Washington  goes  to  Philadel 
phia  and  confers  with  Congress. — He  meets  with  Lafayette. — Notice  of  Lafayette. — He  is  appointed  a  major- 
general. — His  interview  with  Washington. — Their  friendship. — Howe  lands  at  the  Head  of  Elk. — Washington 
marches  to  meet  him. — Battle  of  Brandywine. — Lafayette  wounded. — Comments  on  the  battle. — Washington 
retreats  to  the  falls  of  the  Schuylkill. — Howe  advances. — Washington  offers  him  battle. — A  storm  separates 
them. — Discovery  at  the  Yellow  Springs. — Wayne  surprised. — Howe  advances  to  Sweed's  Ford. — Council  of  war 
decides  not  to  attack  Howe. — Hamilton  saves  the  stores  at  Philadelphia. — Congress  retires  to  Lancaster. — Howe 
enters  Philadelphia.— Comments  on  the  recent  operations  of  Washington  and  Howe. — Stedman's  sharp  criticism 
of  Howe. — Actual  result  of  the  operations. 


17T7. 


AMONG  the  many  perplexing  subjects 
which  claimed  the  attention  of  Wash 
ington,  during  the  winter,  while  he  was 
holding  his  head-quarters  among 
the  hills  at  Morristown,  none 
gave  him  more  annoyance  than  that  of 
the  treatment  of  American  prisoners,  in 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Among  the 
civilized  nations  of  modern  times,  pris 
oners  of  war  are  treated  with  humanity, 
and  principles  are  established  on  which 
they  are  exchanged.  The  British 
officers,  however,  considered  the  Ameri 


cans  as  rebels  deserving  condign  pun 
ishment,  and  not  entitled  to  the  sympa 
thetic  treatment  commonly  shown  to 
the  captive  soldiers  of  independent 
nations.  They  seem  to  have  thought 
that  the  Americans  would  never  be 
able,  or  would  never  dare,  to  retaliate. 
Hence  their  prisoners  were  most  in 
famously  treated.  Against  this  the 
Americans  remonstrated ;  and,  on  find 
ing  their  remonstrances  disregarded, 
they  adopted  a  system  of  retaliation, 
which  occasioned  much  unmerited  suf- 


552 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ferinsr  to  individuals.      Colonel   Ethan 

O 

Allen,  who  had  been  defeated  and 
made  prisoner  in  a  bold  but  rash  at 
tempt  against  Montreal,  was  put  in 
irons,  and  sent  to  England  as  a  traitor. 
In  retaliation,  General  Prescott,  who 
had  been  taken  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sorel,  was  put  in  close  confinement,  for 
the  avowed  purpose  of  subjecting  him 
to  the  same  fate  which  Colonel  Allen 
should  suffer.  Both  officers  and  pri 
vates,  prisoners  to  the  Americans,  were 
more  rigorously  confined  than  they 
would  otherwise  have  been ;  and,  that 
they  might  not  impute  this  to  wanton 
harshness  and  cruelty,  they  were  dis 
tinctly  told  that  their  own  superiors 
only  were  to  blame  for  any  severe  treat 
ment  they  might  experience. 

The  capture  of  General  Lee  became 
the  occasion  of  embittering  the  com 
plaints  on  this  subject,  and  of  aggrava 
ting  the  sufferings  of  the  prisoners  of 
war.  Before  that  event,  something  like 
a  cartel  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners 
had  been  established  between  generals 
Howe  and  Washington ;  but  the  cap 
tivity  of  General  Lee  interrupted  that 
arrangement.  The  general,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  been  an  officer  in  the  British 
army ;  but  having  been  disgusted,  had 
resigned  his  commission,  and,  at  the 

O  / 

beginning  of  the  troubles,  had  offered 
his  services  to  Congress,  which  were 
readily  accepted.  General  Howe  affect 
ed  to  consider  him  as  a  deserter,  and 
ordered  him  into  close  confinement. 

Washington  had  no  prisoner  of  equal 
rank,  but  offered  six  Hessian  field-officers 


in  exchange  for  him  ;  and  required  that, 
if  that  offer  should  not  be  accepted, 
General  Lee  should  be  treated  accord 
ing  to  his  rank  in  the  American  army. 
General  Howe  replied  that  General  Lee 
was  a  deserter  from  his  majesty's  ser 
vice,  and  could  not  be  considered  as  a 
prisoner  of  war,  nor  come  within  the 
conditions  of  the  cartel.  A  fruitless 
discussion  ensued  between  the  com- 
manders-in-chief.  Congress  took  up  the 
matter  ;  and  resolved  that  General 
Washington  be  directed  to  inform  Gen 
eral  Howe,  that  should  the  proffered 
exchange  of  six  Hessian  field-officers  for 
General  Lee  not  be  accepted,  and  his 
former  treatment  continued,  the  princi 
ple  of  retaliation  shall  occasion  five  of 
the  Hessian  field-officers,  together  with 
Lieutenant-colonel  Archibald  Campbell, 
or  any  other  officers  that  are  or  shall  be 
in  possession  of  the  Americans,  equiva 
lent  in  number  or  quality,  to  be  detained, 
in  order  that  the  treatment  which  Gen 
eral  Lee  shall  receive  may  be  exactly 
inflicted  upon  their  persons.  Congress 
also  ordered  a  copy  of  their  resolution 
to  be  transmitted  to  the  Council  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  that  they  be 
desired  to  detain  Lieutenant-colonel 
Campbell,  and  keep  him  in  close  cus 
tody  till  the  further  orders  of  Congress ; 
and  that  a  copy  be  also  sent  to  the 
committee  of  Congress  in  Philadelphia, 
and  that  they  be  desired  to  have  the 
prisoners,  officers  and  privates,  lately 
taken,  properly  secured  in  some  safe 
place. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell,  of  the 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


553 


seventy-first  regiment,  with  about  two 
hundred  and  seventy  of  his  men,  had 
been  made  prisoner  in  the  bay  of  Bos 
ton,  while  sailing  for  the  harbor,  igno 
rant  of  the  evacuation  of  the  town  by  the 
British.  Hitherto  the  colonel  had  been 
civilly  treated ;  but,  on  receiving  the 
order  of  Congress  respecting  him,  the 
Council  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  instead 
of  simply  keeping  him  in  safe  custody, 
according  to  order,  sent  him  to  Concord 
jail,  and  lodged  him  in  a  filthy  and 
loathsome  dungeon,  about  twelve  or 
thirteen  feet  square.  He  was  locked  in 
by  double  bolts,  and  expressly  prohib 
ited  from  entering  the  prison-yard  on 
any  consideration  whatever.  A  disgust 
ing  hole,  fitted  up  with  a  pair  of  fixed 
chains,  and  from  which  a  felon  had  been 
removed  to  make  room  for  his  recep 
tion,  was  assigned  him  as  an  inner  apart 
ment.  The  attendance  of  a  servant  was 
denied  him,  and  no  friend  was  allowed 
to  visit  him. 

Colonel  Campbell  naturally  com 
plained  to  Howe  of  such  unworthy  treat 
ment  ;  and  Howe  addressed  Washing 
ton  on  the  subject.  The  latter  immedi 
ately  wrote  to  the  council  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay,  and  said,  "  You  will  observe 
that  exactly  the  same  treatment  is  to  be 
shown  to  Colonel  Campbell  and  the 
Hessian  officers,  that  General  Howe 
shows  to  General  Lee ;  and  as  he  is  only 
confined  to  a  commodious  house,  with 
genteel  accommodation,  we  have  no 
right  or  reason  to  be  more  severe  to 
Colonel  Campbell,  whom  I  wish  to  be 
immediately  removed  from  his  present 

VOL.  I.— 70 


situation,  and  put  into  a  house  where  he 
may  live  comfortably." 

The  historian  (Gordon),  who  wrote  at 
the  time,  gives  a  very  graphic  account 
of  the  sufferings  of  the  American  pris 
oners  in  New  York,  which,  dreadful  as 
it  seems,  is  confirmed  by  many  contem 
porary  authorities.  He  says :  "  Great 
complaints  were  made  of  the  horrid 
usage  the  Americans  met  with  after 
they  were  captured.  The  garrison  of 
Fort  Washington  surrendered  by  capitu 
lation  to  General  Howe,  the  16th  of 
November.  The  terms  were,  that  the 
fort  should  be  surrendered,  the  troops 
be  considered  prisoners  of  war,  and  that 
the  American  officers  should  keep  their 
baggage  and  side-arms.  These  articles 
were  signed  and  afterwards  published 
in  the  New  York  papers.  Major  Otho 
Holland  Williams,*  of  Rawling's  rifle 
regiment,  in  doing  his  duty  that  day, 
unfortunately  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  haughty  deportment  of 
the  officers,  and  the  scurrility  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  British  army,  he  after 
wards  said,  soon  dispelled  his  hopes  of 
being  treated  with  lenity.  Many  of  the 
American  officers  were  plundered  of 
their  baggage,  and  robbed  of  their  side- 
arms,  hats,  cockades,  etc.,  and  otherwise 
grossly  ill-treated.  Williams  and  three 
companions  were,  on  the  third  day,  put 
on  board  the  Baltic-Merchant,  a  hospi 
tal-ship,  then  lying  in  the  Sound.  The 
wretchedness  of  his  situation  was  in 
some  degree  alleviated,  by  a  small  pit- 

8  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


554 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


tance  of  pork  and  parsnip,  which  a 
good-natured  sailor  spared  him  from  his 
own  mess.  The  fourth  day  of  their 
captivity,  Rawlings,  Hanson,  M'Intire, 
and  himself,  all  wounded  officers,  were 
put  into  one  common  dirt-cart,  and 
dragged  through  the  city  of  New  York, 
as  objects  of  derision,  reviled  as  rebels, 
and  treated  with  the  utmost  contempt. 
From  the  cart  they  were  set  down  at 
the  door  of  an  old  waste-house,  the  re 
mains  of  Hampden  Hall,  near  Bride 
well,  which,  because  of  the  openness 
and  filthiness  of  the  place,  he  had  a  few 
months  before  refused  as  barracks  for 
his  privates;  but  now  was  willing  to 
accept  for  himself  and  friends,  in  hopes 
of  finding  an  intermission  of  the  fatigue 
and  persecution  they  had  perpetually 
suffered.  Some  provisions  were  issued 
to  the  prisoners  in  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  what  quantity  he  could  not  de 
clare,  but  it  was  of  the  worst  quality 
he  ever,  till  then,  saw  made  use  of.  He 
was  informed  the  allowance  consisted  of 
six  ounces  of  pork,  one  pound  of  biscuit, 
and  some  peas  per  day  for  each  man, 
and  two  bushels  and  a  half  of  sea-coal 
per  week  for  the  officers  to  each  fire 
place.  These  were  admitted  on  parole, 
and  lived  generally  in  waste  houses. 
The  privates,  in  the  coldest  season  of 
the  year,  were  close  confined  in  churches, 
sugar-houses,  and  other  open  buildings 
(which  admitted  all  kinds  of  weather), 
and  consequently  were  subjected  to  the 
severest  kind  of  persecution  that  ever 
unfortunate  captives  suffered.  Officers 
were  insulted,  and  often  struck  for  at 


tempting  to  afford  some  of  the  miser 
able  privates  a  small  relief.  In  about 
three  weeks  Colonel  Williams  was  able 
to  walk,  and  was  himself  a  witness  of 
the  sufferings  of  his  countrymen.  He 
could  not  describe  their  misery.  Their 
constitutions  were  not  equal  to  the  rigor 
of  the  treatment  they  received,  and  the 
consequence  was  the  death  of  many 
hundreds.  The  officers  were  not  allowed 
to  take  muster-rolls,  nor  even  to  visit 
their  men,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to 
ascertain  the  numbers  that  perished  ; 
but  from  frequent  reports  and  his  own 
observations,  he  verily  believed,  as  well 
as  had  heard  many  officers  give  it  as 
their  opinion,  that  not  less  than  fifteen 
hundred  prisoners  perished  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  that  this  dreadful  mortality  was 
principally  owing  to  the  want  of  pro 
visions,  and  extreme  cold.  If  they  com 
puted  too  largely,  it  must  be  ascribed 
to  the  shocking  brutal  manner  of  treat 
ing  the  dead  bodies,  and  not  to  any 
desire  of  exaggerating  the  account  of 
their  sufferings.  When  the  king's  com 
missary  of  prisoners  intimated  to  some 
of  the  American  officers,  General  Howe's 
intention  of  sending  the  privates  home 
on  parole,  they  all  earnestly  desired  it, 
and  a  paper  was  signed  expressing  that 
desire :  the  reason  for  signing  was,  they 
well  knew  the  effects  of  a  longer  con 
finement,  and  the  great  numbers  that 
died  when  on  parole  justified  their  pre 
tensions  to  that  knowledge.  In  January 
almost  all  the  officers  were  sent  to  Long 
Island  on  parole,  and  there  billeted  on 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


555 


the  inhabitants  at  two  dollars  per 
week. 

The  filth  in  the  churches  (in  conse 
quence  of  fluxes)  was  beyond  descrip 
tion.  Seven  dead  have  been  seen  in 
one  of  them  at  the  same  time,  lying 
among  the  excrements  of  their  bodies. 
The  British  soldiers  were  full  of  their 
low  and  insulting  jokes  on  those  occa 
sions,  but  less  malignant  than  the  tories. 
The  provision  dealt  out  to  the  prison 
ers  was  not  sufficient  for  the  support 
of  life ;  and  was  deficient  in  quantity, 
and  more  so  in  quality.  The  bread  was 
loathsome  and  not  fit  to  be  eaten,  and 
was  thought  to  have  been  condemned. 
The  allowance  of  meat  was  trifling,  and 
of  the  worst  sort.  The  integrity  of 
these  suffering  prisoners  was  hardly 
credible.  Hundreds  submitted  to  death 
rather  than  enlist  in  the  British  service, 
which  they  were  most  generally  pressed 
to  do.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  Amer 
ican  officers  that  Howe  perfectly  under 
stood  the  condition  of  the  private  sol 
diers  ;  and  they  from  thence  argued, 
that  it  was  exactly  such  as  he  and  his 
council  intended.  After  Washington's 
success  in  the  Jerseys,  the  obduracy  and 
malevolence  of  the  royalists  subsided  in 
some  measure.  The  surviving  prison 
ers  were  ordered  to  be  sent  out  as  an 
exchange ;  but  several  of  them  fell  down 
dead  in  the  streets,  while  attempting  to 
walk  to  the  vessels. 

Washington  wrote  to  General  Howe 
in  the  beginning  of  April :  "  It  is  a  fact 
not  to  be  questioned,  that  the  usage  of 
our  prisoners  while  in  your  possession, 


the  privates  at  least,  was  such  as  could 
not  be  justified.  This  was  proclaimed 
by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  all  who 
came  out.  Their  appearance  sanctified 
the  assertion,  and  melancholy  experi 
ence  in  the  speedy  death  of  a  large  part 
of  them,  stamped  it  with  infallible  cer 
tainty." 

The  cruel  treatment  of  the  prisoners 
being  the  subject  of  conversation  among 
some  officers  captured  by  Sir  Guy  Carle- 
ton,  General  Parsons,  who  was  of  the 
company,  said,  "  I  am  very  glad  of  it." 
They  expressed  their  astonishment,  and 
desired  him  to  explain  himself.  He 
thus  addressed  them  :  "  You  have  been 
taken  by  General  Carleton,  and  he  has 
used  you  with  great  humanity,  would 
you  be  inclined  to  fight  against  him  ?" 
The  answer  was,  No.  "  So,"  added  Par 
sons,  "would  it  have  been,  had  the 
troops  taken  by  Howe  been  treated 
in  like  manner ;  but  now  through 
this  cruelty  we  shall  get  another 
army." 

The  Honorable  William  Smith,  learn 
ing  how  the  British  used  the  prisoners, 
and  concluding  it  would  operate  to  that 
end  by  enraging  the  Americans,  applied 
to  the  committee  of  New  York  State, 
for  leave  to  go  into  the  city,  and  remon 
strate  with  the  British  upon  such  cruel 
treatment,  which  he  doubted  not  but 
that  he  should  put  a  stop  to.  The  com 
mittee,  however,  either  from  knowing 
what  effect  the  cruelties  would  have  in 
strengthening  the  opposition  to  Britain, 
or  from  jealousies  of  his  being,  in  some 
other  way,  of  disservice  to  the  Ameri- 


556 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  rv. 


can  cause,  or  from  these  united,  would 
not  grant  his  request. 

Washington,  at  the  beginning  of 
IT 77,  determined  to  have  the  army 
inoculated  for  the  small-pox,  which  had 
made  fearful  ravages  in  the  ranks.  It 
was  carried  forward  as  secretly  and 
carefully  as  possible,  and  the  hospital 
physicians  in  Philadelphia  were  ordered 
at  the  same  time  to  inoculate  all  the 
soldiers  who  passed  through  that  city 
on  their  way  to  join  the  army.  The 
same  precautions  were  taken  in  the 
other  military  stations,  and  thus  the 
army  was  relieved  from  an  evil,  which 
would  have  materially  interfered  with 
the  success  of  the  ensuing  campaign. 
The  example  of  the  soldiery  proved  a 
signal  benefit  to  the  entire  population  : 
the  practice  of  inoculation  became  gen 
eral  ;  and,  by  little  and  little,  this  fatal 
malady  disappeared  almost  entirely. 

In  the  hope  that  something  might  be 
effected  at  New  York,  Washington  or 
dered  General  Heath,  who  was  in  com 
mand  in  the  Highlands,  to  move  down 
towards  the  city  with  a  considerable 
force.  Heath  did  so,  and  in  a  rather 
grandiloquent  summons  called  upon 
Fort  Independence  to  surrender.  The 
enemy,  however,  stood  their  ground, 
and  Heath,  after  a  few  days,  retreated, 
having  done  nothing,  and  exposed  him 
self  to  ridicule  for  not  having  followed 
up  his  words  with  suitable  deeds. 

While  Washington  was  actively  em 
ployed  in  the  Jerseys  in  asserting  the 
independence  of  America,  Congress 
could  not  afford  him  much  assistance ; 


but  that  body  was  active  in  promoting 
the  same  cause  by  its  enactments  and 
recommendations.  Hitherto  the  colo 
nies  had  been  united  by  no  bond  but 
that  of  their  common  danger  and  com 
mon  love  of  liberty.  Congress  resolved 
to  render  the  terms  of  their  union  more 
definite,  to  ascertain  the  rights  and  du 
ties  of  the  several  colonies,  and  their 
mutual  obligations  towards  each  other. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  sketch 
the  principles  of  the  union  or  confeder 
ation. 

This  committee  presented  a  report  in 
thirteen  Articles  of  Confederation  and 
perpetual  Union  between  the  States, 
and  proposed,  that,  instead  of  calling 
themselves  the  UNITED  COLONIES,  as 
they  had  hitherto  done,  they  should 
assume  the  name  of  the  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA  ;  that  each  State  should 
retain  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  in 
dependence,  and  every  power,  jurisdic 
tion,  and  right,  which  is  not  by  the 
confederation  expressly  delegated  to 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assem 
bled  ;  that  they  enter  into  a  firm  league 
for  mutual  defence ;  that  the  free  in 
habitants  of  any  of  the  States  shall  be 
entitled  to  the  privileges  and  immuni 
ties  of  free  citizens  in  any  other  State  ; 
that  any  traitor  or  great  delinquent 
fleeing  from  one  State  and  found  in 

O 

another,  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the 
State  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offence  ; 
that  full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given 
in  each  of  the  States  to  the  records,  acts, 
and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other 
State  ;  that  delegates  shall  be  annually 


Cii.vi'.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


557 


chosen,  in  such  manner  as  the  legisla 
ture  of  each  State  shall  direct,  to  meet 
in  Congress  on  the  first  Monday  of  No 
vember,  with  power  to  each  State  to 
recall  its  delegates,  or  any  of  them,  at 
any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  send 
others  in  their  stead ;  that  no  State 
shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by 
less  than  two  or  more  than  seven  mem 
bers,  and  no  person  shall  be  a  delegate 
for  more  than  three  out  of  six  years, 
nor  shall  any  delegate  hold  a  place  of 
emolument  under  the  United  States ; 
that  each  State  shall  maintain  its  own 
delegates ;  that  in  Congress  each  State 

O  /  O 

shall  have  only  one  vote  ;  that  freedom 
of  speech  shall  be  enjoyed  by  the  mem 
bers  ;  and  that  they  shall  be  free  from 
arrest,  except  for  treason,  felony,  or 
breach  of  the  peace ;  that  no  State, 
without  the  consent  of  Congress,  shall 
receive  any  ambassador,  or  enter  into 
any  treaty  with  any  foreign  power ; 
that  no  person  holding  any  office  in  any 
of  the  United  States  shall  receive  any 
present,  office,  or  title  from  any  foreign 
State  ;  and  that  neither  Congress  nor 
any  of  the  States  shall  grant  any  titles 
of  nobility  ;  that  no  two  or  more  of  the 
States  shall  enter  into  any  confedera 
tion  whatever  without  the  consent  of 
Congress ;  that  no  State  shall  impose 
any  duties  which  may  interfere  with 
treaties  made  by  Congress ;  that  in 
time  of  peace  no  vessels  of  war  or  mili 
tary  force  shall  be  kept  up  in  any  of 
the  States  but  by  the  authority  of  Con 
gress,  "but  every  State  shall  have  a  well- 
regulated  and  disciplined  militia ;  that 


no  State,  unless  invaded,  shall  engage 
in  war  without  the  consent  of  Congress, 
nor  shall  they  grant  letters  of  marque 
or  reprisal  till  after  a  declaration  of  war 
by  Congress  ;  that  colonels  and  inferior 
officers  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legis 
lature  of  each  State  for  its  own  troops  ; 
that  the  expenses  of  war  shall  be  de 
frayed  out  of  a  common  treasury,  sup 
plied  by  the  several  States  according  to 
the  value  of  the  land  in  each  ;  that 
taxes  shall  be  imposed  and  levied  by 
authority  and  direction  of  the  several 
States  within  the  time  prescribed  by 
Congress ;  that  Congress  has  the  sole 

O  /  O 

and  exclusive  right  of  deciding  on  peace 
and  war,  of  sending  and  receiving  am 
bassadors,  and  entering  into  treaties ; 
that  Congress  shall  be  the  last  resort 
on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences 
between  two  or  more  of  the  States ; 
that  Congress  have  the  sole  and  exclu 
sive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the 
alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their 
own  authority,  or  by  that  of  the  re 
spective  States,  fixing  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures,  regulating  the 
trade,  establishing  post-offices,  appoint 
ing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  except 
regimental  officers,  appointing  all  the 
officers  of  the  naval  forces,  and  commis 
sioning  all  officers  whatever  in  the  ser 
vice  of  the  United  States,  making  rules 
for  the  government  and  regulation  of 
the  said  land  and  naval  forces,  and  di 
recting  their  operations  ;  that  Congress 
have  authority  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  sit  during  their  recess,  to  be  denomi- 


558 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


nated  a  Committee  of  the  States,  and  to 
consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  State ; 
that  Congress  shall  have  power  to  as 
certain  the  necessary  sums  of  money  to 
be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  appropriate  and  apply 
the  same,  to  borrow  money  or  emit 
bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States, 
to  build  and  equip  a  navy,  to  fix  the 
number  of  land  forces,  and  to  make 
requisitions  from  each  State  for  its 
quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
white  inhabitants  in  such  State  ;  that 
the  consent  of  nine  States  shall  be 
requisite  to  any  great  public  measure 
of  common  interest ;  that  Congress 
shall  have  power  to  adjourn  to  any 
time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place 
within  the  United  States,  but  the  ad 
journment  not  to  exceed  six  months ; 
and  that  they  shall  publish  their  pro 
ceedings  monthly,  excepting  such  parts 
relating  to  treaties,  alliances,  or  military 
operations,  as  in  their  judgment  require 
secrecy ;  that  the  yeas  and  nays  of 
the  delegates  of  each  State  shall,  if  re 
quired,  be  entered  on  the  journal,  and 
extracts  granted  ;  that  the  Committee 
of  the  States,  or  any  nine  of  them,  shall, 
during  the  recess  of  Congress,  exercise 
such  powers  as  Congress  shall  vest  them 
with  ;  that  Canada,  if  willing,  shall  be 
admitted  to  all  the  advantages  of  the 
union  ;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  ad 
mitted,  unless  such  admission  shall  be 
agreed  to  by  nine  States ;  that  all  bills 
of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed,  or 
debts  contracted  by  Congress  before 
this  confederation,  shall  be  charges  on 


the  United  States ;  that  every  State 
shall  abide  by  the  determinations  of 
Congress  on  all  questions  submitted  to 
them  by  this  confederation ;  that  the 
articles  of  it  shall  be  inviolably  ob 
served  by  every  State ;  and  that  no 
alteration  in  any  of  the  articles  shall 
be  made,  unless  agreed  to  by  Congress, 
and  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  legis 
lature  of  every  State. 

Such  was  the  substance  of  this  con 
federation  or  union.  After  much  dis 
cussion,  at  thirty-nine  sittings,  the  arti 
cles  were  approved  by  Congress,  trans 
mitted  to  the  several  State  legislatures, 
and,  meeting  with  their  approbation, 
were  ratified  by  all  the  delegates  on 
the  15th  of  November,  1778. 

Congress  maintained  an  erect  pos 
ture,  although  its  affairs  then  wore  the 
most  gloomy  aspect.  It  was  under  the 
provisions  of  this  confederation  that  the 
war  was  afterwards  carried  on ;  and, 
considered  as  a  first  essay  of  legislative 
wisdom,  it  discovers  a  good  understand 
ing,  and  a  respectable  knowledge  of  the 
structure  of  society.  Had  peace  been 
concluded  before  the  settlement  of  this 
confederation,  the  States  would 
probably  have  broken  down 
into  so  many  independent  governments, 
and  the  strength  of  the  Union  been  lost 
in  a  number  of  petty  sovereignties. 

It  is  not  hazarding  much  to  say  that, 
considering  all  the  circumstances,  it  was 
the  best  form  of  government  which 
could  have  been  framed  at  that  time. 
Its  radical  defect  arose  from  its  being  a 
confederation  of  independent  States,  in 


17TT. 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GEXERALS  HOWE. 


559 


which,  the  central  government  had  no 
direct  recourse  to  the  people.  It  re 
quired  all  grants  of  men  or  money  to 
be  obtained  from  the  State  govern 
ments,  who  were  often,  during  the  war, 
extremely  dilatory  in  complying  with 
the  requisitions  of  Congress.  This  de 
fect  'was  strongly  felt  by  Washington, 
who  was  often  compelled  to  exert  his 
personal  influence,  which,  in  all  the 
States,  was  immense,  to  obtain  the  sup 
plies  which  Congress  had  no  power  to 
exact.  We  shall  see  hereafter,  that  in 
forming  the  new  constitution,  a  work 
in  which  Washington  took  a  leading 

O  O 

part,  this  defect  was  remedied. 

While  Congress  was  beginning  to 
form  these  articles  of  confederation, 
and  Washington  was  giving  a  new  as 
pect  to  the  war  in  New  Jersey,  the 
people  of  Great  Britain,  long  accus 
tomed  to  colonial  complaints  and  quar 
rels,  and  attentive  merely  to  their  own 
immediate  interests,  paid  no  due  regard 
to  the  progress  of  the  contest,  or  to  the 
importance  of  the  principles  in  which  it 
originated.  Large  majorities  in  both 
houses  of  parliament  supported  the 
ministry  in  all  their  violent  proceed 
ings  ;  and  although  a  small  minority, 
including  several  men  of  distinguished 
talents,  who  trembled  for  the  fate  of 
British  liberty  if  the  court  should  suc 
ceed  in  establishing  its  claims  against 
the  colonists,  vigorously  opposed  the 
measures  of  administration,  yet  the  great 
body  of  the  people  manifested  a  loyal 
zeal  in  favor  of  the  war ;  and  the  ill 
success  of  the  colonists,  in  the  cam 


paign  of  1776,  gave  that  zeal  additional 
energy. 

But,  amidst  all  the  popularity  of  their 
warlike  operations,  the  difficulties  of  the 
ministry  soon  began  to  multiply.  In 
consequence  of  hostilities  with  the  Amer 
ican  provinces,  the  British  West  India 
islands  experienced  a  scarcity  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  About  the  time 
when  the  West  India  fleet  was  about  to 
set  sail,  under  convoy,  on  its  homeward 
voyage,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
negroes  of  Jamaica  meditated  an  insur 
rection.  By  means  of  the  draughts  to 
complete  the  army  in  America,  the 
military  force  in  that  island  had  been 
weakened ;  and  the  ships  of  war  were 
detained  to  assist  in  suppressing  the 
attempts  of  the  negroes.  By  this  delay, 
the  Americans  gained  time  for  equip 
ping  their  privateers.  After  the  fleet 
sailed,  it  was  dispersed  by  stormy 
weather ;  and  many  of  the  ships,  richly 
laden,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Amer 
ican  cruisers,  who  were  permitted  to 
sell  their  prizes  in  the  ports  of  France, 
both  in  Europe  and  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  conduct  of  France  was  now  so 
openly  manifested,  that  it  could  no 
longer  be  winked  at,  and  it  drew  forth 
a  remonstrance  from  the  British  cabinet. 
The  remonstrance  was  civilly  answered, 
and  the  traffic  in  British  prizes  was  car 
ried  on  somewhat  more  covertly  in  the 
French  ports  in  Europe ;  but  it  was  evi 
dent  that  both  France  and  Spain  were 
in  a  state  of  active  preparation  for  war. 
The  British  ministry  could  no  longer 
shut  their  eyes  against  the  gathering 


560 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


storm,  and  began  to  prepare  for  it. 
About  the  middle  of  October,  17*76, 
they  put  sixteen  additional  ships  into 
commission,  and  made  every  exertion  to 
man  them. 

On  the  31st  of  October  the  parlia 
ment  met,  and  was  opened  by  a  speech 
from  the  throne,  in  which  his  majesty 
stated,  that  it  would  have  given  him 
much  satisfaction  if  he  had  been  able  to 
inform  them  that  the  disturbances  in 
the  revolted  colonies  were  at  an  end, 
and  that  the  people  of  America,  recov 
ering  from  their  delusion,  had  returned 
to  their  duty ;  but  so  mutinous  and  de 
termined  was  the  spirit  of  their  leaders, 
that  they  had  openly  abjured  and  re 
nounced  all  connection  and  communi 
cation  with  the  mother  country,  and  had 
rejected  every  conciliatory  proposition. 
Much  mischief,  he  said,  would  accrue, 
not  only  to  the  commerce  of  Great 
Britain,  but  to  the  general  system  of 
Europe,  if  this  rebellion  were  suffered 
to  take  root.  The  conduct  of  the  colo 
nists  would  convince  every  one  of  the 
necessity  of  the  measures  proposed  to 
be  adopted,  and  the  past  success  of  the 
British  arms  promised  the  happiest  re 
sults  ;  but  preparations  must  be  promptly 
made  for  another  campaign.  A  hope 
was  expressed  of  the  general  continu 
ance  of  tranquillity  in  Europe,  but  that 
it  was  thought  advisable  to  increase  the 

O 

defensive  resources  at  home. 

The  addresses  to  the  speech  were  in 
the  usual  form,  but  amendments  were 
moved  in  both  houses  of  parliament ;  in 
the  Commons  by  Lord  John  Cavendish, 


IT  7  6. 


and  in  the  Lords  by  the  Marquis  of 
Rockingham.  After  an  animated  de 
bate  the  amendment  was  rejected,  in 
the  House  of  Commons  by  242  against 
87,  and  in  the  Lords  by  91  against  26. 
During  the  session  of  parliament  some 
other  attempts  were  made  for  adopting 
conciliatory  measures,  but  the  influence 
of  ministry  was  so  powerful,  that  they 
were  all  completely  defeated,  and  the 
plans  of  administration  received  the 
approbation  and  support  of  parliament. 
During  the  winter,  which  was  very 
severe,  the  British  troops  at  Brunswick 
and  Amboy  were  kept  on  con 
stant  duty,  and  suffered  consid 
erable  privations.  The  Americans  were 
vigilant  and  active,  and  the  British 
army  could  seldom  procure  provisions 
or  forage  without  fighting.  But  al 
though  in  the  course  of  the  winter  the 
affairs  of  the  United  States  had  begun 
to  wear  a  more  promising  aspect,  yet 
there  were  still  many  friends  of  royalty 
in  the  provinces.  By  their  open  attach 
ment  to  the  British  interest,  numbers 
had  already  exposed  themselves  to  the 
hostility  of  the  patriotic  party ;  and 
others,  from  affection  to  Britain  or  dis 
trust  of  the  American  cause,  gave  their 
countenance  and  aid  to  General  Howe. 
Early  in  the  season  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  these  men  joined  the  royal  army, 
and  were  embodied  under  the  direction 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  with  the 
same  pay  as  the  regular  troops,  besides 
the  promise  of  an  allotment  of  land  at 
the  close  of  the  disturbances.  Gover 
nor  Tryon,  who  had  been  extremely 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


561 


active  in  engaging  and  disciplining 
them,  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major-general  of  the  loyal  provincial- 
isls.* 

The  campaign  opened  on  both  sides 
by  rapid  predatory  incursions  and  bold 
desultory  attacks.  At  Peekskill,  on  the 
North  River,  about  fifty  miles  above 
New  York,  the  Americans  had  formed 
a  post,  at  which,  during  the  winter,  they 
had  collected  a  considerable  quantity  of 
provisions  and  camp-equipage,  to  supply 
the  stations  in  the  vicinity  as  occasion 
might  require. 

The  most  mountainous  part  of  the 
district,  named  the  Manor  of  Courland, 
was  formed  into  a  kind  of  citadel,  re 
plenished  with  stores,  and  Peekskill 
served  as  a  port  to  it.  On  the  23d  of 
March,  as  soon  as  the  river  was  clear 
of  ice,  Howe,  who  thought  Peekskill  of 
more  importance  than  it  really  was, 
detached  Colonel  Bird,  with  about  five 
hundred  men,  under  convoy  of  a  frigate 

°  About  this  time  the  royalists  in  the  counties  of  Som 
erset  and  Worcester,  in  the  province  of  Maryland,  he- 
came  so  formidable  that  an  insurrection  was  dreaded. 
And  it  was  feared  that  the  insurgents  would,  in  such  a 
case,  be  joined  by  a  number  of  disaffected  persons  in  the 
county  of  Sussex,  in  the  Delaware  State.  Congress,  to 
prevent  this  evil,  recommended  the  apprehension  and 
removal  of  all  persons  of  influence,  or  of  desperate  char 
acters,  within  the  counties  of  Sussex,  Worcester,  and 
Somerset,  who  manifested  a  disaffection  to  the  American 
cause,  to  some  remote  place  within  their  respective 
States,  there  to  be  secured.  From  appearances,  Con 
gress  had  also  reason  to  believe  that  the  loyalists  in  the 
New  England  governments  and  New  York  State,  had 
likewise  concerted  an  insurrection.  See  Gordon's  His 
tory  of  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  ii.  pp.  461,  462. 
By  the  same  authority  we  are  informed  that  General 
Gates  wrote  to  General  Fellowes  for  a  strong  military 
force,  for  the  prevention  of  plots  and  insurrection  in  the 
provinces  of  New  England  and  New  York. 
VOL.  I.— 71 


and  some  armed  vessels,  against  that 
post.  General  JV*'Dougal,  who  com 
manded  there,  had  then  only  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men  in  the  place. 
He  had  timely  notice  of  Colonel  Bird's 
approach ;  and,  sensible  that  his  post 
was  untenable,  he  exerted  himself  to 
remove  the  stores  to  the  strong  grounds 
about  two  miles  and  a  half  in  his  rear ; 
but  before  he  had  made  much  progress 
in  the  work  the  British  appeared,  when 
he  set  fire  to  the  stores  and  buildings, 
and  retreated.  Colonel  Bird  landed, 
and  completed  the  destruction  of  the 
stores  which  he  was  unable  to  remove. 
On  the  same  day  he  re-embarked,  and 
returned  to  New  York. 

On  the  8th  of  April,  says  Gordon, 
Congress  concluded  upon  the  erection 
of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Gen 
eral  Warren,  in  the  town  of  Boston ; 
and  another  to  the  memory  of  General 
Mercer,  in  Fredericksburg,  in  Virginia; 
and  that  the  eldest  son  of  General  War 
ren,  and  the  youngest  son  of  General 
Mercer,  be  educated  from  henceforward 
at  the  expense  of  the  United  States. 
They  conveyed  in  a  few  words  the 
highest  eulogiuin  on  the  characters  and 
merits  of  the  deceased.  Through  in 
attention,  General  Warren,  who  fell  on 
Breed's  Hill,  had  not  been  properly 
noted  when  Congress  passed  their  re 
solve  respecting  General  Montgomery: 
the  proposal  for  paying  due  respect  to 
the  memory  of  Mercer,  led  to  the  like 
in  regard  to  Warren. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  and  General  Grant,  with  about 


562 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


two  thousand  men,  attempted  to  sur 
prise  and  cut  off  General  Lincoln,  who, 
with  five  hundred  men,  was  posted  at 
Bound  Brook,  seven  miles  from  Bruns 
wick,  and  nearly  succeeded  in  their 
enterprise.  But,  by  a  bold  and  rapid 
movement,  Lincoln,  when  almost  sur 
rounded,  forced  his  way  between  the 
British  columns  and  escaped,  with  the 
loss  of  sixty  men,  his  papers,  three  field- 
pieces,  and  some  baggage. 

At  that  early  period  of  the  campaign, 
Howe  attempted  no  grand  movement 
against  the  main  body  of  the  army  under 
Washington,  at  Morristown,  but  he 
made  several  efforts  to  interrupt  his 
communications,  destroy  his  stores,  and 
impede  his  operations.  He  had  received 
information  that  the  Americans  had 
collected  a  large  quantity  of  stores  in 
the  town  of  Danbury,  and  in  other 
places  on  the  borders  of  Connecticut. 
These  he  resolved  to  destroy ;  and  ap 
pointed  Major-general  Try  on  of  the 
provincials,  who  panted  for  glory  in  his 
newly-acquired  character,  to  command 
an  expedition  for  that  purpose;  but 
prudently  directed  Generals  Agnew  and 
Sir  William  Erskine  to  accompany  him. 

On  the  25th  of  April  the  fleet  ap 
peared  off  the  coast  of  Connecticut,  and 
in  the  evening  the  troops  were  landed 
without  opposition  between  Fail-field 
and  Norwalk.  General  Silliman,  then 
casually  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
immediately  dispatched  expresses  to 
assemble  the  militia.  In  the  mean  time 
Try  on  proceeded  to  Danbury,  which  he 
reached  about  two  the  next  day.  On 


his  approach,  Colonel  Huntingdon,  who 
had  occupied  the  town  with  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  retired  to  a 
neighboring  height,  and  Danbury,  with 
the  magazines  it  contained,  was  con 
sumed  by  fire. 

General  Arnold,  who  was  also  in  the 
State  superintending  the  recruiting  ser 
vice,  joined  General  Silliman  at  Read 
ing,  where  that  officer  had  collected 
about  five  hundred  militia.  General 
Wooster,  who  had  resigned  his  commis 
sion  in  the  continental  service,  and  been 
appointed  major-general  of  the  militia, 
fell  in  with  them  at  the  same  place,  and 
they  proceeded  in  the  night  through  a 
heavy  rain  to  Bethel,  about  eight  miles 
from  Danbury. 

Having  heard  next  morning  that 
Tryon,  after  destroying  the  town  and 
magazines,  was  returning,  they  divided 
their  troops ;  and  General  Wooster,* 
with  about  three  hundred  men,  fell  in 
his  rear,  while  Arnold,  with  about  five 
hundred,  crossing  the  country,  took  post 
in  his  front  at  Ridgefield.  Wooster 
came  up  with  his  rear  about  eleven  in 
the  morning,  attacked  it  with  great  gal 
lantry,  and  a  sharp  skirmish  ensued,  in 
which  he  was  mortally  wounded,f  and 
his  troops  were  repulsed. 

Tryon  then  proceeded  to  Ridgefield, 
where  he  found  Arnold  already  in 
trenched  on  a  strong  piece  of  ground, 
and  prepared  to  dispute  his  passage. 
A  warm  skirmish  ensued,  which  con 
tinued  nearly  an  hour.  Arnold  was  at 

°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chaptei. 
f  Congress  voted  a  monument  to  his  memory. 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


563 


length  driven  from  the  field ;  after  which 
he  retreated  to  Paugatuck,  about  three 
miles  east  of  Nor  walk. 

At  break  of  day  next  morning,  after 
setting  Ridgefield  on  fire,  the  British 
resumed  their  march.  About  eleven 
in  the  forenoon,  April  28th,  they  were 
again  met  by  Arnold,  whose  numbers 
increased  during  the  day  to  rather 
more  than  one  thousand  men ;  among 
whom  were  some  continental  troops. 
A  continued  skirmishing  was  kept  up 
until  five  in  the  afternoon,  when  the 
British  formed  on  a  hill  near  their 
ships.  The  Americans  attacked  them 
with  intrepidity,  but  were  repulsed 
and  broken.  Tryon,  availing  himself 
of  this  respite,  re-embarked  his  troops 
and  returned  to  New  York. 

The  loss  of  the  British  amounted  to 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy  men.* 
That  of  the  Americans  was  represented 
by  Tryon  as  being  much  more  consider 
able.  By  themselves,  it  was  not  admit 
ted  to  exceed  one  hundred.  In  this 
number,  however,  were  comprehended 
General  Wooster,  Lieutenant-colonel 
Gould,  and  another  field-ofiicer,  killed  ; 
and  Colonel  Lamb  wounded.  Several 
other  officers  and  volunteers  were  killed. 

Military  and  hospital  stores  to  a  con 
siderable  amount,  which  were  greatly 
needed  by  the  army,  were  destroyed 
in  the  magazines  at  Danbury  but  the 
loss  most  severely  felt  was  rather  more 
than  one  thousand  tents,  which  had 

°  Stedman,  the  Britis'i  historian  of  the  Revolution, 
acknowledges  a  loss  of  two  hundred,  including  ten 
officers. 


been  provided  for  the  campaign  about 
to  open. 

Not  long  afterwards  this  enterprise 
was  successfully  retaliated.  A  British 
detachment  had  been  for  some  time 
employed  in  collecting  forage  and  pro 
visions  on  the  eastern  end  of  Long 
Island.  Howe  supposed  this  part  of 
the  country  to  be  so  completely  se 
cured  by  the  armed  vessels  which  in 
cessantly  traversed  the  Sound,  that  he 
confided  the  protection  of  the  stores 
deposited  at  a  small  port  called  Sag 
Harbor,  to  a  schooner  with  twelve 
guns  and  a  company  of  infantry. 

General  Parsons,  who  commanded  a 
few  recruits  at  New  Haven,  thinking  it 
practicable  to  elude  the  cruisers  in  the 
bay,  formed  the  design  of  surprising 
this  party,  and  other  adjacent  posts, 
the  execution  of  which  was  intrusted 
to  Lieutenant-colonel  Meigs,  a  gallant 
officer,  who  had  accompanied  Arnold 
in  his  memorable  march  to  Quebec. 
He  embarked  with  about  two  hun 
dred  and  thirty  men  on  board  thirteen 
whale-boats,  and  proceeded  along  the 
coast  to  Guilford,  where  he  was  to  cross 
the  Sound.  With  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  of  his  detachment,  under 
convoy  of  two  armed  sloops,  he  pro 
ceeded  (May  23d)  across  the  Sound  to 
the  north  division  of  the  island  near 
Southhold,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
which  a  small  foraging  party,  against 
which  the  expedition  was  in  part  di 
rected,  was  supposed  to  lie ;  but  they 
had  marched  two  days  before  to  New 
York.  The  boats  were  conveyed  across 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


the  laud,  a  distance  of  about  fifteen 
miles,  into  a  bay  which  deeply  inter 
sects  the  eastern  end  of  Long  Island, 
where  the  troops  re-embarked.  Cross 
ing  the  bay,  they  landed  at  two  in  the 
morning,  about  four  miles  from  Sag 
Harbor,  which  they  completely  sur 
prised  and  carried  with  charged  bayo 
nets.  At  the  same  time,  a  division 
of  the  detachment  secured  the  armed 
schooner  and  the  vessels  laden  with 
forage,  which  were  set  on  fire  and  en 
tirely  consumed.  Six  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  and  ninety  taken  prisoners. 
A  very  few  escaped  under  cover  of  the 
night. 

The  object  of  his  expedition  being 
effected,  without  the  loss  of  a  man, 
Colonel  Meigs  returned  to  Guilford 
with  his  prisoners.  "  Having,"  as  was 
stated  in  the  letter  to  General  Parsons, 
"  moved  with  such  uncommon  celerity, 
as  to  have  transported  his  men,  by  land 
and  water,  ninety  miles  in  twenty-five 
hours."  Congress  directed  a  sword  to 
be  presented  to  him,  and  passed  a  reso 
lution  expressing  the  high  sense  enter 
tained  of  his  merit,  and  of  the  prudence, 
activity,  and  valor  displayed  by  himself 
and  his  party. 

The  exertions  made  by  Washington 
through  the  winter  to  raise  a  powerful 
army  for  the  ensuing  campaign,  had  not 
been  successful.  The  hopes  respecting 
its  strength,  which  the  flattering  reports 
made  from  every  quarter  had  author 
ized  him  to  form,  were  cruelly  disap 
pointed  ;  and  he  found  himself  not  only 
unable  to  carry  into  effect  the  offensive 


operations  he  had  meditated,  but  un 
equal  even  to  defensive  warfare.  That 
steady  and  persevering  courage,  how 
ever,  which  had  supported  himself  and 
the  American  cause  through  the  gloomy 
scenes  of  the  preceding  year,  did  not 
forsake  him  ;  and  that  sound  judgment 
which  applies  to  the  best  advantage 
those  means  which  are  attainable,  how 
ever  inadequate  they  may  be,  still  re 
mained.  His  plan  of  operations  was 
adapted  to  that  which  he  believed  his 
enemy  had  formed.  He  was  persuaded 
either  that  General  Burgoyne,  who  was 
then  at  Quebec,  would  endeavor  to  take 
Ticonderoga  and  to  penetrate  to  the 
Hudson,  in  which  event  General  Howe 
would  co-operate  with  him  by  moving 
up  that  river,  and  attempting  to  possess 
himself  of  the  forts  and  high  grounds 
commanding  its  passage ;  or,  that  Bur 
goyne  would  join  the  grand  army  at 
New  York  by  sea ;  after  which  the 
combined  armies  would  proceed  against 
Philadelphia. 

To  counteract  the  designs  of  the  en 
emy,  whatever  they  might  be,  to  de 
fend  the  three  great  points,  Ticonde 
roga,  the  Highlands  of  New  York,  and 
Philadelphia,  against  two  powerful  ar 
mies  so  much  superior  to  him,  in  arms, 
in  numbers,  and  in  discipline,  it  was 
necessary  to  make  such  an  arrangement 
of  his  troops  as  would  enable  the  parts 
reciprocally  to  aid  each  other,  without 
neglecting  objects  of  great,  and  almost 
equal  magnitude,  which  were  alike 
threatened,  and  were  far  asunder.  To 
effect  these  purposes,  the  troops  of  New 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


565 


England  and  New  Yoik  were  divided 
between  Ticonderoga  and  Peekskill, 
while  those  from  Jersey  to  North  Car 
olina  inclusive,  were  directed  to  assem 
ble  at  the  camp  to  be  formed  in  Jersey. 
The  more  southern  troops  remained  in 
that  State  for  its  protection. 

These  arrangements  being  made,  and 
the  recruits  collected,  the  camp  at  Mor- 
ristown  was  broken  up,  the  detachments 
called  in,  and  the  army  assembled  at 
Middlebrook  (May  28th),  just  behind 
a  connected  ridge  of  strong  and  com 
manding  heights,  north  of  the  road 
leading  to  Philadelphia,  and  about  ten 
miles  from  Brunswick. 

This  camp,  the  approaches  to  which 
were  naturally  difficult,  Washington 
took  care  to  strengthen  still  further  by 
intrenchments.  The  heights  in  front 
commanded  a  prospect  of  the  course 
of  the  Karitan,  the  road  to  Philadel 
phia,  the  hills  about  Brunswick,  and  a 
considerable  part  of  the  country  be 
tween  that  place  and  Amboy ;  so  as 
to  afford  him  a  full  view  of  the  most 
interesting  movements  of  the  enemy. 

The  force  brought  into  the  field  by 
the  United  States  required  all  the  aid 
which  could  be  derived  froir  strong  po 
sitions,  and  unremitting  vis  dance.  On 
the  20th  of  May,  the  army  in  Jersey, 
excluding  cavalry  and  artillery,  amount 
ed  to  only  eight  thousand  three  hun 
dred  and  seventy-eight  men,  of  whom 
upwards  of  two  thousand  were  sick. 
The  effective  rank  and  file  were  only 
five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight. 


Had  this  army  been  composed  of  the 
best  disciplined  troops,  its  inferiority, 
in  point  of  numbers,  must  have  limited 
its  operations  to  defensive  war ;  and 
have  rendered  it  incompetent  to  the 
protection  of  any  place  whose  defence 
would  require  a  battle  in  the  open  field. 
But  more  than  half  the  troops  were  un 
acquainted  with  the  first  rudiments  of 
military  duty,  and  had  never  looked 
an  enemy  in  the  face.  As  an  addi 
tional  cause  of  apprehension,  a  large 
proportion  of  the  soldiers,  especially 
from  the  Middle  States,  were  foreign 
ers,  in  whose  attachment  to  the  Amer 
ican  cause  full  confidence  could  not  be 
placed. 

Washington,  anticipating  a  move 
ment  by  land  towards  Philadelphia, 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  give  or 
ders  for  assembling  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Delaware  an  army  of  mili 
tia,  strengthened  by  a  few  continental 
troops,  the  command  of  which  was 
given  to  General  Arnold,  who  was  then 
in  Philadelphia,  employed  in  the  settle 
ment  of  his  accounts. 

The  first  and  real  object  of  the  cam 
paign,  on  the  part  of  Howe,  was  the  ac 
quisition  of  Philadelphia.  He  intended 
to  march  through  Jersey ;  and,  after 
securing  the  submission  of  that  State, 
to  cross  the  Delaware  on  a  portable 
bridge  constructed  in  the  winter  for 
the  purpose,  and  proceed  by  land  to 
that  city.  If,  in  the  execution  of  this 
plan,  the  Americans  could  be  brought 
to  a  general  action  on  equal  ground, 
the  advantages  of  the  royal  army  must 


566 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


insure  a  victory.  But  should  Wash 
ington  decline  an  engagement,  and  be 
a<?ain  pressed  over  the  Delaware,  the 
object  would  be  as  certainly  obtained. 

Had  Howe  taken  the  field  before  the 
continental  troops  were  assembled,  this 
plan  might  probably  have  been  exe 
cuted  without  any  serious  obstruction  ; 
but  the  tents  and  camp  equipage  ex 
pected  from  Europe  did  not  arrive  until 
Washington  had  collected  his  forces, 
and  taken  possession  of  the  strong  post 
on  the  Heights  of  Middlebrook.  It 

O 

would  be  dangerous  to  attack  him  on 
such  advantageous  ground ;  for,  al 
though  his  camp  might  be  forced,  vic 
tory  would  probably  be  attended  with 
such  loss  as  to  disable  the  victor  from 
reaping  its  fruits. 

If  it  was  deemed  too  hazardous  to 
attack  the  strong  camp  at  Middlebrook, 
an  attempt  to  cross  the  Delaware  in  the 
face  of  an  army  collected  on  its  western 
bank,  while  that  under  Washington  re 
mained  unbroken  in  his  rear,  was  an 
experiment  of  equal  danger.  It  suited 
the  cautious  temper  of  Howe  to  devise 
some  other  plan  of  operation  to  which 
he  might  resort,  should  he  be  unable  to 
seduce  Washington  from  his  advanta 
geous  position. 

The  two  great  bays  of  Delaware  and 
Chesapeake  suggested  the  alternative  of 
proceeding  by  water,  should  he  be  un 
able  to  manoeuvre  Washington  out  of 
his  present  encampment. 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  being  set 
tled,  and  some  small  reinforcements 
with  the  expected  camp  equipage  be 


ing  received  from  Europe,  Howe,  leav 
ing  a  garrison  in  New  York,  and  a 
guard  in  Amboy,  assembled  his  army 
at  Brunswick,  and  gave  strong  indi 
cations  of  an  intention  to  penetrate 
through  the  country  to  the  Delaware, 
and  reach  Philadelphia  by  land. 

Believing  this  to  be  his  real  design, 
Washington  (June  13th)  placed  a  se 
lect  corps  of  riflemen  under  the  com 
mand  of  Colonel  Morgan,  who  had  dis 
tinguished  himself  in  the  unfortunate 

o 

attempt  to  storm  Quebec,  and  in  whom 
those  peculiar  qualities  which  fit  a  man 
for  the  command  of  a  partisan  corps, 
designed  to  act  on  the  lines  of  a  formi 
dable  enemy,  were  eminently  united. 

He  was  ordered  to  take  post  at  Van- 
vighton's  bridge  on  the  Raritan,  just 
above  its  confluence  with  the  Millstone 
River,  to  watch  the  left  flank  of  the 
British  army,  and  seize  every  occasion 
to  harass  it. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  14th, 
Howe,  leaving  two  thousand  men  under 
the  command  of  General  Matthews  at 
Brunswick,  advanced  in  two  columns 
towards  the  Delaware.  The  front  of 
the  first,  under  Cornwallis,  reached 
Somerset  Court  House,  nine  miles  from 
Brunswick,  by  the  appearance  of  day ; 
and  the  second,  commanded  by  General 
de  Heister,  reached  Middlebush  about 
the  same  time. 

This  movement  was  made  with  the 
view  of  inducing  Washington  to  quit 
his  fortified  camp,  and  approach  the 
Delaware ;  in  which  event,  Howe  ex 
pected  to  bring  on  an  engagement  on 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


567 


ground  less  disadvantageous  than  that 
now  occupied  by  the  American  army. 
But  Washington  understood  the  im 
portance  of  his  position  too  well  to 
abandon  it. 

On  the  first  intelligence  that  the 
enemy  was  in  motion,  he  drew  out  his 
whole  army,  and  formed  it,  to  great 
advantage,  on  the  heights  in  front  of  his 
camp.  This  position  was  constantly 
maintained.  The  troops  remained  in 
order  of  battle  during  the  day  ;  and,  in 
the  night,  slept  on  the  ground  to  be 
defended. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Jersey  militia, 
with  an  alacrity  theretofore  unexampled 
in  that  State,  took  the  field  in  great 
numbers.  They  principally  joined  Gen 
eral  Sullivan,  who  had  retired  from 
Princeton,  behind  the  Sourland  hills 
towards  Flemington,  where  an  army  of 
some  extent  was  forming,  which  could 
readily  co-operate  with  that  under  the 
immediate  inspection  of  Washington. 

The  settled  purpose  of  Washington 
was  to  defend  his  camp,  but  not  to 
hazard  a  general  action  on  other  ground. 
He  had  therefore  determined  not  to 
advance  from  the  heights  he  occupied, 
into  the  open  country,  either  towards 
the  enemy  or  the  Delaware. 

The  object  of  Howe  was,  by  acting 
on  his  anxiety  for  Philadelphia,  to  se 
duce  him  from  the  strong  ground  about 
Middlebrook,  and  tempt  him  to  ap 
proach  the  Delaware,  in  the  hope  of 
defending  its  passage.  Should  he  suc 
ceed  in  this,  he  had  little  doubt  of  being 
able  to  bring  on  an  engagement,  in 


which  he  counted  with  certainty  on 
victory. 

The  considerations  which  restrained 
Ho  we  from  attempting  to  march  through 
Jersey,  leaving  the  American  army  in 
full  force  in  his  rear,  had  determined 
Washington  to  allow  him  to  proceed  to 
the  Delaware,  if  such  should  be  his  in 
tention.  In  that  event,  he  had  deter 
mined  to  throw  those  impediments  only 
in  the  way  of  the  hostile  army  which 
might  harass  and  retard  its  march  ;  and, 
maintaining  the  high  and  secure  grounds 
north  of  the  road  to  be  taken  by  the 
enemy,  to  watch  for  an  opportunity  of 
striking  some  important  blow  with 
manifest  advantage. 

Washington  was  not  long  in  pene 
trating  Howe's  designs.  "  The  views 
of  the  enemy,"  he  writes  to  General 
Arnold  in  a  letter  of  the  17th,  "must 
be  to  destroy  this  army,  and  get  pos 
session  of  Philadelphia.  I  am,  however, 
clearly  of  opinion,  that  they  will  not 
move  that  way  until  they  have  endeav 
ored  to  give  a  severe  blow  to  this  army. 
The  risk  would  be  too  great  to  attempt 
to  cross  a  river,  when  they  must  expect 
to  meet  a  formidable  opposition  in  front, 
and  would  have  such  a  force  as  ours  in 
their  rear.  They  might  possibly  be 
successful,  but  the  probability  would  be 
infinitely  against  them.  Should  they 
be  imprudent  enough  to  make  the  at 
tempt,  I  shall  keep  close  upon  their 
heels,  and  will  do  every  thing  in  my 
power  to  make  the  project  fatal  to 
them. 

"  But,  besides  the  argument  in  favor 


,V,s 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


of  their  intending,  in  the  first  place,  a 
stroke  at  this  army,  drawn  from  the 
policy  of  the  measure,  every  appear 
ance  contributes  to  confirm  the  opinion. 
Had  their  design  been  for  the  Dela 
ware  in  the  first  instance,  they  would 
probably  have  made  a  secret,  rapid 
march  for  it,  and  not  have  halted  so  as 
to  awaken  our  attention,  and  give  us 
time  to  prepare  for  obstructing  them. 
Instead  of  that  they  have  only  advanced 
to  a  position  necessary  to  facilitate  an 
attack  on  our  right,  the  part  in  which 
we  are  most  exposed.  In  addition  to 
this  circumstance,  they  have  come  out 
as  light  as  possible,  leaving  all  their 
baggage,  provisions,  boats,  and  bridges, 
at  Brunswick.  This  plainly  contradicts 
the  idea  of  their  intending  to  push  for 
the  Delaware." 

Finding  the  American  army  could 
not  be  drawn  from  its  strong  position, 
Howe  determined  to  waste  no  more 
time  in  threatening  Philadelphia  by 
land,  but  to  withdraw  from  Jersey,  and 
to  embark  his  army  as  expeditiously  as 
possible  for  the  Chesapeake  or  the 
Delaware.  On  the  night  of  the  19th 
of  June,  he  returned  to  Bruns 
wick,  and  on  the  22d  to  Amboy, 
from  which  place  the  heavy  baggage 
and  a  few  of  his  troops  passed  into 
Staten  Island,  on  the  bridge  which  had 
been  designed  for  the  Delaware.* 

°  Lieutenant-colonel  Palfrey,  formerly  an  aid-de-camp 
to  General  Washington,  and  now  paymaster-general, 
wrote  to  his  friend,  "  I  was  at  Brunswick  just  after  the 
enemy  had  left  it.  Never  let  the  British  troops  upbraid 
the  Americans  with  want  of  cleanliness,  for  such  dog- 
kennels  as  their  huts  were  my  eyes  never  beheld.  Mr. 


1T7T. 


Washington  had  expected  this  move 
ment  from  Brunswick,  and  had  made 
arrangements  to  derive  some  advantage 
from  it.  General  Greene  was  detached 
with  three  brigades  to  annoy  the  Brit 
ish  rear;  and  Sullivan  and  Maxwell 
were  ordered  to  co-operate  with  him. 
In  the  mean  time  the  army  paraded  on 
the  Heights  of  Middlebrook,  ready  to 
act  as  circumstances  might  require. 

About  sunrise,  Colonel  Morgan  drove 
in  a  picket-guard,  soon  after  which  that 
division  commenced  its  march  to  Am 
boy.  Some  sharp  skirmishing  took 
place  between  this  party  and  Morgan's 
regiment,  but  the  hope  of  gaining  any 
important  advantage  was  entirely  dis 
appointed  ;  and  the  retreat  to  Amboy 
was  effected  with  inconsiderable  loss. 

In  order  to  cover  his  light  parties, 
which  still  hung  on  the  British  flank 
and  rear,  Washington  advanced  six  or 
seven  miles,  to  Quibbletown  on  the 
road  to  Amboy;  and  Lord  Stirling'sf 
division  was  pushed  still  further,  to  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Me  tucking  Meet 
ing  House,  for  the  purpose  of  co-opera 
ting  with  the  light  parties,  should  the 
retreat  to  Staten  Island  afford  an  oppor 
tunity  of  striking  at  the  rear. 

Believing  it  now  practicable  to  bring 
on  an  engagement,  and  probably  hoping 
to  turn  the  left  of  the  American  army, 
and  gain  the  heights  in  its  rear,  Howe, 


Burton's  house,  where  Lord  Cornwallis  resided,  stunk 
so  I  could  not  bear  to  enter  it.  The  houses  were  torn  to 
pieces,  and  the  inhabitants  as  well  as  the  soldiers  have 
suffered  greatly  for  want  of  provisions." — Gordon,  History 
of  the  American  Revolution . 
f  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GEXERALS  HOWE. 


569 


in  the  night  of  the  25th,  recalled  the 
troops  from  Staten  Island ;  and,  early 
next  morning,  made  a  rapid  movement, 
in  two  columns,  towards  Westfield.  The 
right,  under  the  command  of  Cornwallis, 
took  the  route  by  Woodbridge  to  the 
Scotch  Plains ;  and  the  left,  led  by  Howe 
in  person,  marched  by  Metucking  Meet 
ing  House,  to  fall  into  the  rear  of  the 
right  column.  It  was  intended  that  the 
left  should  take  a  separate  road,  soon 
after  this  junction,  and  attack  the  left 
flank  of  the  American  army  at  Quibble- 
town  ;  while  Cornwallis  should  gain  the 
heights  on  the  left  of  the  camp  at  Mid- 
dlebrook.  Four  battalions  with  six 
pieces  of  cannon  were  detached  to  Bon- 
hamtown. 

About  Woodbridge,  the  right  column 
fell  in  with  one  of  the  American  parties 
of  observation,  which  gave  notice  of  this 
movement.  Washington  discerned  his 
danger,  put  the  whole  army  instantly  in 
motion,  and  regained  the  camp  at  Mid- 
dlebrook.  Cornwallis  fell  in  with  Lord 
Stirling,  and  a  sharp  skirmish  ensued, 
in  which  the  Americans  were  driven 
from  their  ground  with  the  loss  of  three 
field-pieces,  and  a  few  men.  They  re 
treated  to  the  hills  about  the  Scotch 
Plains,  and  were  pursued  as  far  as 
Westfield.  Perceiving  the  passes  in 
the  mountains  on  the  left  of  the  Ameri 
can  camp  to  be  guarded,  and  the  object 
of  this  skilful  manoeuvre  to  be,  conse 
quently,  unattainable,  Cornwallis  re 
turned  through  Rah  way  to  Amboy ; 
and  the  whole  army  crossed  over  to 
Staten  Island. 

Voc.  I.— 72 


Washington  was  now  again  left  to 

O  O 

his  conjectures  respecting  the  plan  of 
the  campaign.  The  very  next  day  after 
Howe  had  finally  evacuated  the  Jerseys, 
intelligence  was  received  of  the  appear 
ance  of  Burgoyne  on  Lake  Champlain, 
and  that  Ticonderoga  was  threatened. 
This  intelligence  strengthened  the  opin 
ion  that  the  design  of  Howe  must  be 
to  seize  the  passes  in  the  mountains  on 
the  Hudson,  secure  the  command  of  that 
river,  and  effect  a  junction  between  the 
two  armies.  Yet  Washington  could 

O 

not  permit  himself  to  yield  so  entirely 
to  this  impression,  as  to  make  a  move 
ment  which  might  open  the  way  by 
land  to  Philadelphia.  His  army  there 
fore  maintained  its  station  at  Middle- 
brook  ;  but  arrangements  were  made  to 
repel  any  sudden  attack  on  the  posts 
which  defended  the  Hudson. 

Some  changes  made  in  the  stations 
of  the  British  ships  and  troops  having 
relieved  Washington  from  his  appre 
hensions  of  a  sudden  march  to  Phila 
delphia,  he  advanced  Sullivan's  division 
to  Pompton  Plains,  on  the  way  to  Peeks- 
kill,  and  proceeded  with  the  main  body 
of  his  army  to  Morristown ;  thus  ap 
proaching  the  Highlands  of  New  York, 
without  removing  so  far  from  Middle- 
brook  as  to  be  unable  to  regain  that 
camp  should  Howe  indicate  an  intention 
to  seize  it. 

Meanwhile  Howe  prosecuted  dili 
gently  his  plan  of  embarkation,  which 
was,  necessarily,  attended  with  circum 
stances  indicating  a  much  longer  voyage 
than  one  up  the  North  River.  These 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[HOOK  IV. 


circumstances  were  immediately  com 
municated  to  the  Eastern  States,  and 
Congress  was  earnestly  pressed  to 
strengthen  the  fortifications  on  the 
Delaware,  and  to  increase  the  obstruc 
tions  in  that  river. 

In  the  midst  of  these  appearances, 
certain  intelligence  was  received  that 
Burgoyne  was  in  great  force  on  the 
lakes,  and  was  advancing  against  Ticon- 
derosra.  This  intelligence  confirmed  the 

O  *— ' 

opinion  that  the  main  object  of  Howe 
must  be  to  effect  a  junction  with  Bur 
goyne  on  the  North  River.  Under  this 
impression,  Washington  ordered  Sulli 
van  to  Peekskill,  and  slowly  advanced 
himself,  first  to  Pompton  Plains,  and 
afterwards  to  the  Clove,  where  he  de 
termined  to  remain  until  the  views  of 
the  enemy  should  be  disclosed. 

While  Washington  thus  anxiously 
watched  the  movements  of  his  adver 
sary,  an  agreeable  and  unexpected  piece 
of  intelligence  was  received  from  New 
England.  The  command  of  the  British 
troops  in  Rhode  Island  had  devolved 
on  General  Prescot.  Thinking  himself 
perfectly  secure  in  an  island,  the  water 
surrounding  which  was  believed  to  be 
entirely  guarded  by  his  cruisers,  and  at 
the  head  of  an  army  greatly  superior  to 
any  force  then  collected  in  that  depart 
ment,  he  indulged  himself  in  convenient 
quarters,  rather  distant  from  camp ;  and 
was  remiss  with  respect  to  the  guards 
about  his  person.  Information  of  this 
negligence  was  communicated  to  the 
main,  and  a  plan  was  formed  to  sur 
prise  him.  This  spirited  enterprise  was 


executed,  with  equal  courage  and  ad 
dress,  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Barton  of 
the  Rhode  Island  militia. 

On  the  night  of  the  10th,  he  em 
barked  on  board  four  whale-boats,  at 
Warwick  Neck,  with  a  party  consisting 
of  about  forty  persons,  including  cap 
tains  Adams  and  Philips,  and  several 
other  officers.  After  proceeding  about 
ten  miles  by  water,  unobserved  by  the 
British  guard-boats,  although  several 
ships  of  war  lay  in  that  quarter,  he 
landed  on  the  west  of  the  island,  about 
midway  between  Newport  and  Bristol 
Ferry,  and  marching  a  mile  to  the  quar 
ters  of  Prescot,  dexterously  seized  the 
sentinel  at  his  door,  and  one  of  his  aids. 
The  general  himself  was  taken  out  of 
bed,  and  conveyed  to  a  place  of  safety. 

The  success  of  this'  intrepid  enterprise 
diffused  the  more  joy  throughout  Amer 
ica,  because  it  was  supposed  to  secure 
the  liberation  of  General  Lee,  by  ena 
bling  Washington  to  offer  an  officer  of 
equal  rank  in  exchange  for  him. 

Congress  expressed  a  high  sense  of 
the  gallant  conduct  of  Colonel  Barton 
and  his  party ;  and  presented  him  with 
a  sword  as  a  mark  of  approbation. 

As  the  fleet  fell  down  towards  Sandy 
Hook,  Washington  withdrew  slowly 
from  the  Clove,  and  disposed  his  army 
in  different  divisions,  so  as  to  march  to 
any  point  which  might  be  attacked. 

At  length  the  embarkation  was  com 
pleted,  and  the  fleet  put  to  sea. 

Still,  its  destination  was  uncertain. 
It  might  be  going  to  the  South,  or  it 
might  return  to  New  York  and  ascend 


CHAP.  X.J 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


571 


the  Hudson.  Soon,  however,  Washing 
ton  received  intelligence  that  it  had 
been  seen  off  the  capes  of  the  Dela 
ware.  It  was  of  course  expected  to 
come  up  the  Delaware,  and  attack 
Philadelphia. 

Washington  ordered  the  army  to 
march  to  Germantown ;  and  himself 
hastened  forward  to  Chester.  The 
fleet  of  the  British  had  disappeared 
again.  It  might  have  returned  to  New 
York,  or  it  might  have  sailed  to  New 
England,  with  a  view  to  joining  Bur- 
goyne,  as  he  was  advancing  on  Ticon- 
deroga. 

During  this  period  of  suspense  and 
conjecture,  Washington  was  for  several 
days  in  Philadelphia,  consulting  on  pub 
lic  measures  with  the  committees  and 
members  of  Congress.  Here  he  first 
met  Lafayette.  This  young  nobleman, 
whose  name  has  since  become  so  dear 
to  every  American  heart,  was  born  at 
Auvergne,  in  France,  on  the  6th  of  Sep 
tember,  1757.  His  family  was  of  an 
cient  date,  and  of  the  highest  rank 
among  the  French  nobility.  He  was 
left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  heir  to 
an  immense  estate,  and  exposed  to  all 
the  temptations  of  "the  gayest  and 
most  luxurious  city  on  earth  at  the  pe 
riod  of  its  greatest  corruption.  He  es 
caped  unhurt."  Having  completed  his 
college  education,  he  married  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  the  daughter  of  the  Duke 
D'Ayen,  of  the  family  of  Noailles.  She 
was  younger  than  himself,  and  was  al 
ways  "the  encourager  of  his  virtues, 
and  the  heroic  partner  of  his  suffer 


ings,  his  great  name,  and  his  honorable 
grave." 

In  the  summer  of  17  7 6  (says  Mr.  Ev 
erett),*  and  just  after  the  American 
declaration  of  independence,  Lafayette 
was  stationed  at  Metz,  a  garrisoned 
town  on  the  road  from  Paris  to  the 
German  frontier,  with  the  regiment  to 
which  he  was  attached  as  a  captain  of 
dragoons,  not  then  nineteen  years  of 
age.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the 
brother  of  the  king  of  England,  hap 
pened  to  be  on  a  visit  to  Metz,  and  a 
dinner  was  given  to  him  by  the  com 
mandant  of  the  garrison.  Lafayette 
was  invited  with  other  officers  to  the 
entertainment.  Dispatches  had  just 
been  received  by  the  duke  from  Eng 
land,  relating  to  American  affairs — the 
resistance  of  the  colonists,  and  the 
strong  measures  adopted  by  the  min 
isters  to  crush  the  rebellion.  Among 
the  details  stated  by  the  Duke  of  Glou 
cester  was  the  extraordinary  fact,  that 
these  remote,  scattered,  and  unprotected 
settlers  of  the  wilderness  had  solemnly 
declared  themselves  an  independent  peo 
ple.  That  word  decided  the  fortunes 
of  the  enthusiastic  listener ;  and  not 
more  distinctly  was  the  great  Declara 
tion  a  charter  of  political  liberty  to  the 
rising  States,  than  it  was  a  commission 
to  their  youthful  champion  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  same  cause. 

The  details  which  he  heard  were  new 
to  him.  The  American  contest  was 
known  to  him  before  but  as  a  rebel- 

°  Eulogy  on  Lafayette.     See  Orations  and  Speeches  on 
various  occasions,  by  Edward  Everett,  vol.  i.  p.  4fi2. 


572 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


^ — a  tumultuary  affair  in  a  remote 
transatlantic  colony.  He  now,  with  a 
promptness  of  perception  which,  even 
at  this  distance  of  time,  strikes  us  as 
little  less  than  miraculous,  addressed  a 
multitude  of  inquiries  to  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester  on  the  subject  of  the  con 
test.  His  imagination  was  kindled  at 

O 

the  idea  of  a  civilized  people  strug 
gling  for  political  liberty.  His  heart 
was  warmed  with  the  possibility  of 
drawing  his  sword  in  a  good  cause. 
Before  he  left  the  table,  his  course  was 
mentally  resolved  on  ;  and  the  brother 
of  the  king  of  England  (unconsciously, 
no  doubt)  had  the  singular  fortune  to 
enlist,  from  the  French  court  and  the 
French  army,  this  gallant  and  fortunate 
champion  in  the  then  unpromising  cause 
of  the  colonial  Congress. 

He  immediately  repaired  to  Paris 
to  make  further  inquiries  and  arrange 
ments  towards  the  execution  of  his 
great  plan.  He  confided  it  to  two 
young  friends,  officers  like  himself,  the 
Count  de  Segur  and  Viscount  de  Noail- 
les,  and  proposed  to  them  to  join  him. 
They  shared  his  enthusiasm,  and  deter 
mined  to  accompany  him,  but,  on  con 
sulting  their  families,  they  were  refused 
permission.  But  they  faithfully  kept 
Lafayette's  secret.  Happily — shall  I 
say — he  was  an  orphan,  independent  of 
control,  and  master  of  his  own  fortune, 
amounting  to  near  forty  thousand  dol 
lars  per  annum. 

He  next  opened  his  heart  to  the 
Count  de  Broglie,  a  marshal  in  the 
French  army.  To  the  experienced  war 


rior,  accustomed  to  the  regular  cam 
paigns  of  European  service,  the  project 
seemed  rash  and  Quixotic,  and  one  that 
he  could  not  countenance.  Lafayette 
begged  the  count  at  least  not  to  betray 
him,  as  he  was  resolved  (notwithstand 
ing  his  disapproval  of  the  project)  to  go 
to  America.  This  the  count  promised, 
adding,  however,  "  I  saw  your  uncle  fall 
in  Italy,  and  I  witnessed  your  father's 
death  at  the  battle  of  Minden,  and  I 
will  not  be  accessory  to  the  ruin  of  the 
only  remaining  branch  of  the  family." 
He  then  used  all  the  powers  of  argument 
which  his  age  and  experience  suggested 
to  him,  to  dissuade  Lafayette  from  the 
enterprise,  but  in  vain.  Finding  his 
determination  unalterable,  he  made  him 
acquainted  with  the  Baron  de  Kalb, 
who,  the  count  knew,  was  about  to  em 
bark  for  America  ; — an  officer  of  expe 
rience  and  merit,  who,  as  is  well  known, 
fell  at  the  battle  of  Camden. 

The  Baron  de  Kalb  introduced  La 
fayette  to  Silas  Deane,  then  agent  of  the 
United  States  in  France,  who  explained 
to  him  the  state  of  affairs  in  America, 
and  encouraged  him  in  his  project. 
Deane  was  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  the  French  language,  and  of  man 
ners  somewhat  repulsive.  A  less  en 
thusiastic  temper  than  that  of  Lafayette 
might,  perhaps,  have  been  chilled  by 
the  reception  that  he  met  with  from 
Deane.  He  had,  as  yet,  not  been  ac 
knowledged  in  any  public  capacity ; 
and  was  beset  by  the  spies  of  the  Brit 
ish  ambassador.  For  these  reasons,  it 
was  judged  expedient  that  the  visit  of 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


575 


Our  readers  will  pardon  this  some 
what  lengthened  quotation  respecting 
the  bosom  friend  of  Washington.  We 
now  return  to  our  narrative  of  events. 

Late  in  the  month  of  August,  Wash 
ington  was  relieved  from  his  suspense 
in  regard  to  the  movements  of  Howe. 
He  received  intelligence  that  the  Brit 
ish  fleet  had  sailed  up  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  that  he  was  landing  his  army  at 
the  Head  of  Elk  River,  now  Elkton. 
It  was  at  length  clearly  apparent  that 
his  object  was  the  capture  of  Phila 
delphia. 

At  the  place  of  debarkation,  the 
British  army  was  within  a  few  days' 
march  oJ  Philadelphia :  no  great  rivers 
were  in  its  way  ;  and  there  was  no  very 
strong  position  of  which  the  enemy 
could  take  possession.  On  landing, 
General  Howe  issued  a  proclamation, 
promising  that  private  property  should 
be  respected,  and  offering  pardon  and 
protection  to  all  who  should  submit  to 
him ;  but,  as  the  American  army  was  at 
hand,  the  proclamation  produced  little 
effect. 

Washington  distinctly  understood  the 
nature  of  the  contest  in  which  he  was 
engaged ;  and,  sensible  of  the  inferiority 
of  his  raw  and  disorderly  army  to  the 
veteran  troops  under  Howe,  he  wished 
to  avoid  a  general  engagement;  but, 
aware  of  the  effect  which  the  fall  of 
Philadelphia  would  produce  on  the 
minds  of  the  people,  determined  to 
make  every  effort  in  order  to  retard 
the  progress  and  defeat  the  aim  of  the 
royal  army.  Accordingly,  he  marched 


to  meet  General  Howe,  who,  from  want 
of  horses,  many  of  which  had  perished 
in  the  voyage,  and  from  other  causes, 
was  unable  to  proceed  from  the  Head  of 
the  Elk  before  the  3d  of  September. 
On  the  advance  of  the  royal  army, 
Washington  retreated  across  Brandy- 
wine  Creek,  which  falls  into  the  Dela 
ware  at  Wilmington.  He  took  post, 
with  his  main  body,  opposite  Chad's 
Ford,  where  it  was  expected  the  British 
would  attempt  the  passage;  and  ordered 
General  Sullivan,  with  a  detachment,  to 
watch  the  fords  above.  He  sent  Gen 
eral  Maxwell,  with  about  one  thousand 
light  troops,  to  occupy  the  high  ground 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Brandywine, 
to  skirmish  with  the  British,  and  retard 
them  in  their  progress. 

On  the  morning  of  the  llth  of  Sep 
tember,  the  British  army  advanced  in 
two  columns ;  the  right,  under  General 
Knyphausen,  marched  straight  to  Chad's 
Ford ;  the  left,  under  Cornwallis,  ac 
companied  by  Howe  and  generals  Grey, 
Grant,  and  Agnew,  proceeded  by  a  cir 
cuitous  route  towards  a  point  named 
the  Forks,  where  the  two  branches  of 
the  Brandywine  unite,  with  a  view  to 
turn  the  right  of  the  Americans  and 
gain  their  rear.  General  Knyphausen's 
van  soon  found  itself  opposed  to  the 
light  troops  under  General  Maxwell. 
A  smart  conflict  ensued.  General  Knyp 
hausen  reinforced  his  advanced  guard, 
and  drove  the  Americans  across  the 
rivulet,  to  shelter  themselves  under  their 
batteries  on  the  north  bank.  General 
Knyphausen  ordered  some  artillery  to 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


IV. 


be  placed  on  the  most  advantageous 
points,  and  a  cannonade  was  carried  on 
with  the  American  batteries  on  the 
heights  beyond  the  ford. 

Meanwhile  the  left  wing  of  the  Brit 
ish  crossed  the  fords  above  the  Forks. 
Of  this  movement  General  Washington 
had  early  notice;  but  the  information 
which  he  received  from  different  quar 
ters,  through  his  raw  and  unpractised 
scouts,  was  confused  and  contradictory, 
and  consequently  his  operations  were 
embarrassed.  After  passing  the  fords, 
Cornwallis  took  the  road  to  Dilworth, 
which  led  him  on  the  American  right. 
General  Sullivan,  who  had  been  ap 
pointed  to  guard  that  quarter,  occupied 
the  heights  above  Birmingham  Church, 
his  left  extending  to  the  Brandywine, 
his  artillery  judiciously  placed,  and  his 
right  flank  covered  by  woods.  About 
four  in  the  afternoon  Cornwallis  formed 
the  line  of  battle  and  began  the  attack : 
for  some  time  the  Americans  sustained 
it  with  intrepidity,  but  at  length  gave 
way.  When  Washington  heard  the 
firing  in  that  direction,  he  ordered  Gen 
eral  Greene,  with  a  brigade,  to  sup 
port  General  Sullivan.  General  Greene 
marched  four  miles  in  forty-two  min 
utes,  but,  on  reaching  the  scene  of 
action,  he  found  General  Sullivan's 
division  defeated,  and  in  confusion. 
He  covered  the  retreat;  and,  after 
some  time,  finding  an  advantageous 
position,  he  renewed  the  battle,  and 
arrested  the  progress  of  the  pursuing 
enemy. 

General  Knyphausen,  as  soon  as  he 


heard  the  firing  of  Cornwallis's  division, 
forced  the  passage  of  Chad's  Ford,  at 
tacked  the  troops  opposed  to  him,  and 
compelled  them  to  make  a  precipitate 
and  disorderly  retreat.  General  Wash 
ington,  writh  the  part  of  his  army  which 
he  was  able  to  keep  together,  retired 
with  his  artillery  and  baggage  to 
Chester,  where  he  halted,  within  eight 
miles  of  the  British  army,  till  next 
mornincr,  when  he  retreated  to  Phila- 

O' 

delphia. 

Among  the  foreign  officers  engaged 
in  this  battle  besides  Lafayette,  who 
was  wounded  in  the  leg  during  the  ac 
tion,  were  General  Deborre,*  a  French 
officer ;  General  Conway,  an  Irishman, 
who  had  served  in  France ;  Captain 
Louis  Fleury,  a  French  engineer ;  and 
Count  Pulaski,  a  Polish  nobleman,  sub 
sequently  distinguished  as  a  commander 
of  cavalry. 

As  must  ever  be  the  case  in  new- 
raised  armies,  unused  to  danger,  and 
from  which  undeserving  officers  have 
not  been  expelled,  their  conduct  was 
not  uniform.  Some  regiments,  es 
pecially  those  which  had  served  the 
preceding  campaign,  maintained  their 
ground  with  the  firmness  and  intre 
pidity  of  veterans,  while  others  gave 
way  as  soon  as  they  were  pressed.  The 
author  of  a  very  correct  history  of  the 
war,  speaking  of  this  action,  says  :  "  A 
part  of  the  troops,  among  whom  were 

°  Deborre's  brigade  broke  first ;  and,  on  an  inquiry 
into  his  conduct  being  directed,  he  resigned.  A  misun 
derstanding  existed  between  him  and  Sullivan,  on  whose 
right  he  was  stationed. 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


particularly  numbered  some  Virginia 
regiments,  and  the  whole  corps  of  artil 
lery,  behaved  exceedingly  well  in  some 
of  the  actions  of  this  day,  exhibiting  a 
degree  of  order,  firmness,  and  resolu 
tion,  and  preserving  such  a  countenance 
in  extremely  sharp  service,  as  would 
not  have  discredited  veterans.  Some 
other  bodies  of  their  troops  behaved 
very  badly." 

The  official  letter  of  Sir  "William 
Howe  stated  his  loss  at  rather  less 
than  one  hundred  killed,  and  four  hun 
dred  wounded  ;  and  this  account  was 
accepted  at  the  time  as  true.  A  late 
discovery  shows  its  falsehood.  Mr. 
Headley,  in  his  recent  Life  of  Wash 
ington,  notices  the  finding  of  a  docu 
ment  which  settles  the  question. 

It  was  found,  he  says,  among  General 
James  Clinton's  papers,  carefully  filed 
away  and  endorsed  by  himself.  On 
the  back,  in  his  own  handwriting,  is 
inscribed  :  "  Taken  from  the  enemy's 
ledgers,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of 
General  Washington's  army  at  the  ac 
tion  of  Germantown." 

"Within  is  the  following  statement  : 

"  State  of  the  British  troops  and  po 
sition  they  were  in  when  they  made 
the  attack  at  Brandy  wine,  the  llth  of 
September,  IT  7  7. 

The  upper  ford,  under  the  command 
of  Lt.  Lord  Cornwallis  : 


2d  regiment  British  Guards  )  (  fcnied  and 

2d        "        Light-infantry  I  '  "(wounded. 


Light-infantry 

2d  brigade  British  Foot 2,240, 

1st  division  Hessians 800, 

Ferguson's  Riflemen, 80, 


360 
70 
46 


Total,  4,860      1,088 


Middle  ford,  under  the  command  of 
Major-general  Gray : 

2d  battalion  Guards, 500 

2d        "         2d   Highlanders,  700 
2d        "         70th          "  700 


Total,  1,900 

Lower  ford,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-general  Knyphausen : 


2d  brigade,  consisting  of  the 

4th,  5th,  10th,  15th,  23d, 

27th,    28th,   40th,   44th, 

and  55th  regiments, 

Hessians  to  the  amount  of. . .     800 

Queen's  Bangers 480 


2,240,        580 


28 
290 


killed  and 
wounded. 


Total,  3,520 
1,900 
4,860 


The  whole  British  force,  10,280 
1,986 


898 

1,088 
1,986 


The  estimate,  says  Mr.  Headley,  of 
the  total  force  which  the  British  had 
on  the  field,  makes  the  two  armies 
actually  engaged  about  equal.  The 
heavy  loss  here  given  seems,  at  first 
sight,  almost  incredible,  and  puts  an 
entirely  different  aspect  on  the  battle. 
Of  the  authenticity  and  accuracy  of 
this  document  I  think  there  can  be  no 
doubt. 

From  the  ardor  with  which  Washing 
ton  had  inspired  his  troops  before  this 
action,  it  is  probable  that  the  conflict 
would  have  been  more  severe,  had  the 
intelligence  respecting  the  movement 
on  the  left  of  the  British  army  been 
less  contradictory.  Raw  troops,  chang 
ing  their  ground  in  the  moment  of  ac 
tion,  and  attacked  in  the  agitation  of 
moving,  are  easily  thrown  into  confu 
sion.  This  was  the  critical  situation  of 


VOL.  I.— 73 


578 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


a  part  of  Sullivan's  division,  and  was 
the  cause  of  its  breaking  before  Greene 
could  be  brought  up  to  support  it ;  af 
ter  which,  it  was  impossible  to  retrieve 
the  fortune  of  the  day. 

But  had  the  best  disposition  of  the 
troops  been  made  at  the  time,  which 
subsequent  intelligence  would  suggest, 
the  action  could  not  have  terminated 
in  favor  of  the  Americans.  Their  infe 
riority  in  numbers,  in  discipline,  and  in 
arms,  was  too  great  to  leave  them  a 
probable  prospect  of  victory.  A  bat 
tle,  however,  was  not  to  be  avoided. 
The  opinion  of  the  public  and  of  Con 
gress  demanded  it.  The  loss  of  Phila 
delphia,  without  an  attempt  to  pre 
serve  it,  would  have  excited  discontent 
throughout  the  country,  which  might 
be  productive  of  serious  mischief;  and 
action,  though  attended  with  defeat, 
provided  the  loss  be  not  too  great, 
must  improve  an  army  in  which,  not 
only  the  military  talents,  but  even  the 
courage,  of  officers,  some  of  them  of 
high  rank,  remained  to  be  ascertained. 

The  battle  of  Brandywine  was  not 
considered  as  decisive  by  Congress,  the 
general,  or  the  army.  The  opinion  was 
carefully  cherished  that  the  British  had 
gained  only  the  ground  ;  and  that  their 
loss  was  still  more  considerable  than 
had  been  sustained  by  the  Americans. 
Congress  appeared  determined  to  risk 
another  battle  for  the  metropolis  of 
America.  Far  from  discovering  any 
intention  to  change  their  place  of  ses 
sion,  they  passed  vigorous  resolutions 
for  reinforcing  the  army,  and  directed 


Washington  to  give  the  necessary  or 
ders  for  completing  the  defences  of  the 
Delaware. 

From  Chester,  the  army  marched 
through  Darby,  over  the  Schuylkill 
bridge,  to  its  former  ground,  near  the 
falls  of  that  river.  Greene's  division, 
which,  having  been  less  in  action,  was 
more  entire  than  any  other,  covered 
the  rear  ;  and  the  corps  of  Maxwell  re 
mained  at  Chester  until  the  next  day, 
as  a  rallying  point  for  the  small  par 
ties  and  straggling  soldiers,  who  might 
yet  be  in  the  neighborhood. 

Having  allowed  his  army  one  day  for 
repose  and  refreshment,  Washington  re- 
crossed  the  Schuylkill,  and  proceeded 
on  the  Lancaster  road,  with  the  inten 
tion  of  risking  another  engagement. 

Sir  William  Howe  passed  the  night 
of  the  llth  on  the  field  of  battle.  On 
the  succeeding  day,  he  detached  Major- 
general  Grant  with  two  brigades  to 
Concord  meeting-house ;  and  on  the 
13th,  Lord  Cornwallis  joined  General 
Grant,  and  marched  towards  Chester. 
Another  detachment  took  possession  of 
Wilmington ;  to  which  place  the  sick 
and  wounded  were  conveyed. 

To  prevent  a  sudden  movement  to 
Philadelphia  by  the  lower  road,  the 
bridge  over  the  Schuylkill  was  loos 
ened  from  its  moorings,  and  General 
Armstrong  was  directed,  with  the  Penn 
sylvania  militia,  to  guard  the  passes  over 
that  river. 

On  the  15th,  the  American  army,  in 
tending  to  gain  the  left  of  the  British, 
reached  the  Warren  tavern,  on  the 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


579 


Lancaster  road,  twenty-three  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  Intelligence  was  received, 
early  next  morning,  that  Howe  was  ap 
proaching  in  two  columns.  It  being  too 
late  to  reach  the  ground  he  had  in 
tended  to  occupy,  Washington  resolved 
to  meet  and  engage  him  in  front. 

Both    armies    prepared,   with    great 
alacrity,  for  battle.     The  advanced  par 
ties  had  met.  and  were  besrin- 

1TTT.  .  .  ' 

mug  to  skirmish,  when  they 
were  separated  by  a  heavy  rain,  which, 
becoming  more  and  more  violent,  ren 
dered  the  retreat  of  the  Americans  a 
measure  of  absolute  necessity.  The  in 
feriority  of  their  arms  never  brought 
them  into  such  imminent  peril  as  on 
this  occasion.  Their  gun-locks  not  be 
ing  well  secured,  their  muskets  soon  be 
came  unfit  for  use.  Their  cartridge- 
boxes  had  been  so  badly  constructed, 
as  not  to  protect  their  ammunition 
from  the  tempest.  Their  cartridges 
were  soon  damaged ;  and  this  mis 
chief  was  the  more  serious,  because 
very  many  of  the  soldiers  were  with 
out  bayonets. 

The  army  being  thus  rendered  unfit 
for  action,  the  design  of  giving  battle 
was  reluctantly  abandoned  by  Wash 
ington,  and  a  retreat  commenced.  It 
was  continued  all  the  day,  and  great 
part  of  the  night,  through  a  cold  and 
most  distressing  rain,  and  very  deep 
roads.  A  few  hours  before  day  (Sep 
tember  17th),  the  troops  halted  at  the 
Yellow  Springs,  where  their  arms  and 
ammunition  were  examined,  and  the 
alarming  fact  was  disclosed,  that  scarce 


ly  a  musket  in  a  regiment  could  be  dis 
charged,  and  scarcely  one  cartridge  in 
a  box  was  fit  for  use.  This  state  of 
things  suggested  the  precaution  of  mov 
ing  to  a  still  greater  distance,  in  order 
to  refit  their  arms,  obtain  a  fresh  supply 
of  ammunition,  and  revive  the  spirits  of 
the  army.  Washington  therefore  re 
tired  to  Warwick  Furnace,  on  the  south 
branch  of  French  Creek,  where  ammu 
nition  and  muskets  might  be  obtained 
in  time  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the 
Schuylkill,  and  make  yet  another  effort 
to  save  Philadelphia. 

The  extreme  severity  of  the  weather 
had  entirely  stopped  the  British  army. 
During  two  days,  Howe  made  no  other 
movement  than  to  unite  his  columns. 

From  French  Creek,  General  Wayne 
was  detached  with  his  division  into  the 
rear  of  the  British,  with  orders  to  join 
General  Smallwood,*  and,  carefully  con 
cealing  himself  and  his  movements,  to 
seize  every  occasion  which  this  march 
might  offer,  of  engaging  them  to  advan 
tage.  Meanwhile,  General  Washington 
crossed  the  Schuylkill  at  Parker's  Ferry, 
and  encamped  on  both  sides  of  Perky- 
omen  Creek. 

General  Wayne  lay  in  the  woods 
near  the  entrance  of  the  road  from 
Darby  into  that  leading  to  Lancaster, 
about  three  miles  in  the  rear  of  the 
left  wing  of  the  British  troops  encamped 
at  Trydruffin,  where  he  believed  him 
self  to  be  perfectly  secure.  But  the 
country  was  so  extensively  disaffected, 

°  See  Document  [D]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


580 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


that  Howe  received  accurate  accounts 
of  liis  position  and  of  his  force.  Major- 
general  Gray  was  detached  to  surprise 
him,  and  effectually  accomplished  his 
purpose.  About  eleven,  in  the  night  of 
the  20th,  his  pickets,  driven  in  with 
charged  bayonets,  gave  the  first  intima 
tion  of  Gray's  approach.  Wayne  in 
stantly  formed  his  division ;  and  while 
his  ri^ht  sustained  a  fierce  assault,  di- 

O  ' 

rected  a  retreat  by  the  left,  under  cover 
of  a  few  regiments  who,  for  a  short 
time,  withstood  the  violence  of  the 
shock.  In  his  letter  to  Washington,  he 
says  that  they  gave  the  assailants  some 
well-directed  fires,  which  must  have 
done  considerable  execution ;  and  that, 
after  retreating  from  the  ground  on 
which  the  engagement  commenced,  they 
formed  again,  at  a  small  distance  from 
the  scene  of  action  ;  but  that  both  par 
ties  drew  off  without  renewing  the  con 
flict.  He  states  his  loss  at  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  wounded. 
The  British  accounts  admit,  on  their 
part,  a  loss  of  only  seven. 

When  the  attack  commenced,  General 
Smallwood,  who  was  on  his  march  to 
join  Wayne,  a  circumstance  entirely  un 
expected  by  General  Gray,  was  within 
less  than  a  mile  of  him ;  and,  had  he 
commanded  regulars,  might  have  given 
a  very  different  turn  to  the  night.  But 
his  militia  thought  only  of  their  own 
safety;  and,  having  fallen  in  with  a 
party  returning  from  the  pursuit  of 
Wayne,  fled  in  confusion  with  the  loss 
of  only  one  man. 

Some  severe  animadversions  on  this 


unfortunate  affair  having  been  made  in 
the  army,  General  Wayne  demanded  a 
court-martial,  which,  after  investigating 
his  conduct,  was  unanimously  of  opinion, 
"  that  he  had  done  every  thing  to  be 
expected  from  an  active,  brave,  and 
vigilant  officer ;"  and  acquitted  him  with 
honor. 

Having  secured  his  rear,  by  compel 
ling  Wayne  to  take  a  greater  distance, 
Howe  marched  along  the  valley  road  to 
the  Schuylkill,  and  encamped  on  the 
bank  of  that  river,  from  the  Fatland 
Ford  up  to  French  Creek,  along  the 
front  of  the  American  army.  To  secure 
his  right  from  being  turned,  Washing 
ton  again  changed  his  position,  and  en 
camped  with  his  left  near,  but  above 
the  British  right. 

Howe  now  relinquished  his  plan  of 
bringing  Washington  to  another  bat 
tle  ;  and  thinking  it  advisable,  perhaps, 
to  transfer  the  seat  of  war  to  the  neiorh- 

O 

borhood  of  his  ships,  determined  to 
cross  the  Schuylkill,  and  take  possession 
of  Philadelphia.  In  the  afternoon,  he 
ordered  one  detachment  to  cross  at 
Fatland  Ford,  which  was  on  his  right, 
and  another  to  cross  at  Gordon's  Ford, 
on  his  left,  and  to  take  possession  of 
the  heights  commanding  them.  These 
orders  were  executed  without  much 
difficulty,  and  the  American  troops 
placed  to  defend  these  fords  were  easily 
dispersed. 

This  service  being  effected,  the  whole 
army  marched  by  its  right,  about  mid 
night,  and  crossing  at  Fatland  without 
opposition,  proceeded  a  considerable 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


581 


distance  towards  Philadelphia,  and  en 
camped,  with  its  left  near  S  weed's  Ford, 
and  its  right  on  the  Manatawny  road, 
having  Stony  Run  in  its  front. 

It  was  now  apparent  that  only  im 
mediate  victory  could  save  Philadelphia 
from  the  grasp  of  the  British  general, 
whose  situation  gave  him  the  option  of 
either  taking  possession  of  that  place, 
or  endeavoring  to  bring  on  another  en 
gagement.  If,  therefore,  a  battle  must 
certainly  be  risked  to  save  the  capital, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  attack  the 
enemy. 

Public  opinion,  which  a  military  chief 
finds  too  much  difficulty  in  resisting,  and 
the  opinion  of  Congress  required  a  bat 
tle  ;  but,  on  a  temperate  consideration 
of  circumstances,  Washington  came  to 
the  wise  decision  of  avoiding  one  for  the 
present. 

His  reasons  for  this  decision  were 
conclusive.  Wayne  and  Smallwood 
had  not  yet  joined  the  army.  The  con 
tinental  troops  ordered  from  Peekskill, 
who  had  been  detained  for  a  time  by 
an  incursion  from  New  York,  were  ap 
proaching  ;  and  a  reinforcement  of  Jer 
sey  militia,  under  General  Dickenson, 
was  also  expected. 

To  these  powerful  motives  against 
risking  an  engagement,  other  considera 
tions  of  great  weight  were  added, 
founded  on  the  condition  of  his  soldiers. 
An  army,  manoeuvring  in  an  open  coun 
try,  in  the  face  of  a  very  superior 
enemy,  is  unavoidably  exposed  to  ex 
cessive  fatigue,  and  extreme  hardship. 
The  effect  of  these  hardships  was  much 


increased  by  the  privations  under  which 
the  American  troops  suffered.  While 
in  almost  continual  motion,  wading  deep 
rivers,  and  encountering  every  vicissi 
tude  of  the  seasons,  they  were  without 
tents,  nearly  without  shoes,  or  winter 
clothes,  and  often  without  food. 

A  council  of  war  concurred  in  the 
opinion  Washington  had  formed,  not  to 
march  against  the  enemy,  but  to  allow 
his  harassed  troops  a  few  days  for  re 
pose,  and  to  remain  on  his  present 
ground  until  the  expected  reinforce 
ments  should  arrive. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Bran- 
dywine,  the  distressed  situation  of  the 
army  had  been  represented  to  Con 
gress,  who  had  recommended  the  ex 
ecutive  of  Pennsylvania  to  seize  the 
cloths  and  other  military  stores  in  the 
warehouses  of  Philadelphia,  and,  after 
granting  certificates  expressing  their 
value,  to  convey  them  to  a  place  of 
safety.  The  executive,  being  unwilling 
to  encounter  the  odium  of  this  strong 
measure,  advised  that  the  extraordi 
nary  powers  of  the  commander-in-chief 
should  be  used  on  the  occasion.  Lieu 
tenant-colonel  Alexander  Hamilton,  one 
of  the  general's  aids,  already  in  high 
estimation  for  his  talents  and  zeal,  was 
employed  on  this  delicate  business. 
"Your  own  prudence,"  said  the  gene 
ral,  in  a  letter  to  him  while  in  Phila 
delphia,  "will  point  out  the  least  ex 
ceptionable  means  to  be  pursued  ;  but 
remember,  delicacy  and  a  strict  adher 
ence  to  the  ordinary  mode  of  applica 
tion  must  give  place  to  our  necessities. 


582 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


We  must,  if  possible,  accommodate  the 
sold iera  with  such  articles  as  they  stand 
in  need  of,  or  we  shall  have  just  reason 
to  apprehend  the  most  injurious  and 
alarming  consequences  from  the  ap 
proaching  season." 

All  the  efforts,  however,  of  this  very 
active  officer  could  not  obtain  a  supply 
in  any  degree  adequate  to  the  pressing 
and  increasing  wants  of  the  army. 

Colonel  Hamilton  was  also  directed 
to  cause  the  military  stores  which  had 
been  previously  collected  to  a  large 
amount  in  Philadelphia,  and  the  ves 
sels  which  were  lying  at  the  wharves, 
to  be  removed  up  the  Delaware.  This 
duty  was  executed  with  so  much  vigi 
lance,  that  very  little  public  property 
fell,  with  the  city,  into  the  hands  of  the 
British  general,  who  entered  it  on  the 
26th  of  September.  The  mem 
bers  of  Congress  separated  on 
the  18th,  in  the  evening,  and  reassem 
bled  at  Lancaster  on  the  27th  of  the 
same  month.  From  thence  they  subse 
quently  adjourned  to  Yorktown,  where 
they  remained  eight  months,  till  Phila 
delphia  was  evacuated  by  the  British. 

From  the  25th  of  August,  when  the 
British  army  landed  at  the  Head  of 
Elk,  until  the  26th  of  September  when 
it  entered  Philadelphia,  the  campaign 
had  been  active,  and  the  duties  of  the 
American  general  uncommonly  arduous. 
Some  English  writers*  bestow  high  en- 

0  All  English  writers  do  not  concur  in  this  view  of  the 
matter.  The  British  historian,  Stedrnan,  gives  the  fol 
lowing  sharp  criticism  on  Howe's  conduct  in  the  affair 
of  the  Brandywine  : 

"  The  victory  does  not  seem  to  have  been  improved  in 


17T7. 


comiums  on  Sir  William  Howe  for  his 
military  skill,  and  masterly  movements 
during  this  period.  At  Brandywine 
especially,  Washington  is  supposed  to 
have  been  "  out-generaled,  more  out 
generaled  than  in  any  action  during 
the  war."  If  all  the  operations  of  this 
trying  period  be  examined,  and  the 
means  in  possession  of  both  be  consid 
ered,  the  American  chief  will  appear  in 
no  respect  inferior  to  his  adversary,  or 
unworthy  of  the  high  place  assigned  to 
him  in  the  opinions  of  his  countrymen. 
With  an  army  decidedly  inferior,  not 
only  in  numbers,  but  in  every  military 
requisite  except  courage,  in  an  open 
country,  he  employed  his  enemy  near 
thirty  days  in  advancing  about  sixty 
miles.  In  this  time  he  fought  one  gen 
eral  action  ;  and,  though  defeated,  wras 
able  to  reassemble  the  same  undisci- 


the  degree  which  circumstances  appeared  to  have  admit 
ted.  When  the  left  column  of  the  British  had  turned 
Washington's  right  flank,  his  whole  army  was  hemmed 
in  : — General  Knyphausen  and  the  Brandywine  in  front  ; 
Sir  William  Howe  and  Lord  Cornwallis  on  his  right ;  the 
Delaware  in  his  rear  ;  and  the  Christiana  River  on  his 
left.  He  was  obliged  to  retreat  twenty- three  miles  to 
Philadelphia,  when  the  British  lay  within  eighteen  miles 
of  it.  Had  the  commander-in-chief  detached  General 
Knyphausen' s  column  in  pursuit  early  next  morning. 
General  Washington  might  with  ease  have  been  inter 
cepted,  cither  at  the  Heights  of  Crum  Creek,  nine  miles  ; 
at  Derby,  fourteen  ;  or  at  Philadelphia,  eighteen  miles, 
from  the  British  camp  :  or,  the  Schuylkill  might  have 
been  passed  at  Gray's  Ferry,  only  seventy  yards  over, 
and  Philadelphia,  with  the  American  magazines,  taken, 
had  not  the  pontoons  been  improvidently  left  at  New 
York  as  useless.  Any  one  of  these  movements,  it  was 
thought,  might  have  been  attended  with  the  total  de 
struction  of  the  American  army.  For  some  reason,  how 
ever,  which  it  is  impossible  to  divine,  the  commander- 
in-chief  employed  himself  for  several  days  in  making 
slight  movements  which  could  not  by  any  possibility 
produce  any  important  benefits  to  the  British  cause." 


CHAP.  X.] 


WASHINGTON  OUT-GENERALS  HOWE. 


583 


plined,  unclothed,  and  almost  unfed 
army ;  and,  the  fifth  day  afterwards, 
again  to  offer  battle.  When  the  ar 
mies  were  separated  by  a  storm  which 
involved  him  in  the  most  distressing 
circumstances,  he  extricated  himself 
from  them,  and  still  maintained  a  re 
spectable  and  imposing  countenance. 

The  only  advantage  he  is  supposed 
to  have  given  was  at  the  battle  of 
Brandy  wine ;  and  that  was  produced 
by  the  contrariety  and  uncertainty  of 
the  intelligence  received.  A  general 
must  be  governed  by  his  intelligence, 
and  must  regulate  his  measures  by  his 
information.  It  is  his  duty  to  obtain 
correct-  information ;  and  among  the 
most  valuable  traits  of  a  military  char 
acter,  is  the  skill  to  select  those  means 
which  will  obtain  it.  Yet  the  best  se 
lected  means  are  not  always  successful ; 
and,  in  a  new  army,  where  military 
talent  has  not  been  well  tried  by  the 
standard  of  experience,  the  general  is 
peculiarly  exposed  to  the  chance  of  em 
ploying  not  the  best  instruments.  In 
a  country,  too,  which  is  covered  with 
wood,  precise  information  of  the  num 
bers  composing  different  columns  is  to 
be  gained  with  difficulty. 


Taking  into  view  the  whole  series  of 
operations,  from  the  landing  of  Howe 
at  the  Head  of  Elk  to  his  entering  Phil 
adelphia,  the  superior  generalship  of 
Washington  is  clearly  manifest.  Howe 
with  his  numerous  and  well-appointed 
army  performed  a  certain  amount  of 
routine  work,  and  finally  gained  the  im 
mediate  object  which  he  had  in  view — 
the  possession  of  Philadelphia — when, 
by  every  military  rule,  he  should  have 
gone  up  the  Hudson  to  co-operate  with 
Burgoyne.  Washington  with  his  army, 
composed  almost  entirely  of  raw  re 
cruits  and  militia,  kept  his  adversary 
out  of  Philadelphia  a  month,  still  men 
aced  him  with  an  imposing  front  in  his 
new  position,  and  subsequently  held 
him  in  check  there  while  Gates  was 
defeating  and  capturing  Burgoyne. 

We  shall  see,  in  the  ensuing  chapter, 
that  although  Howe*  had  attained  his 
first  object  in  gaining  possession  of  Phil 
adelphia,  he  had  still  many  new  difficul 
ties  and  dangers  to  encounter  at  the 
hands  of  his  daring  and  persevering 
opponent  before  he  could  comfortably 
establish  himself  in  winter-quarters. 

°  See  Document  [E]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  X. 


[A.] 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  OTHO  H.  WILLIAMS. 

THIS  gentleman  was  formed  for  eminence  in 
any  station.  His  talents  were  of  a  high  order, 
and  his  attainments  various  and  extensive. 
Possessing  a  person  of  uncommon  symmetry, 
and  peculiarly  distinguished  by  the  elegance 
of  his  manners,  he  would  have  graced,  alike,  a 
court  or  a  camp. 

Rich  in  that  species  of  military  science  which 
is  acquired  by  experience,  and  a  correct,  system 
atic,  and  severe  disciplinarian,  General  Greene 
confided  to  him  the  important  trust  of  adjutant- 
general  to  the  Southern  army.  The  services 
which,  in  this  and  other  capacities,  he  rendered 
to  that  division  of  the  American  forces,  in  the 
course  of  their  toilsome  and  perilous  operations, 
were  beyond  all  praise. 

He  was  born  in  the  county  of  Prince  George, 
Maryland,  in  the  year  1748,  and  received,  dur 
ing  his  youth,  but  a  slender  education.  This 
he  so  much  improved  by  subsequent  study,  that 
few  men  had  a  finer  taste,  or  a  more  cultivated 
intellect. 

He  commenced  his  military  career,  as  lieu 
tenant  of  a  rifle  company,  in  1775  ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  the  following  year,  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  a  major  in  a  rifle  regiment. 

In  this  corps  he  very  honorably  distinguished 
himself  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Washington,  on 
York  Island,  when  assaulted  by  Sir  William 
Howe ;  and,  on  the  surrender  of  that  post,  be 
came  a  prisoner. 

Having  suffered  much  by  close  confinement 
during  his  captivity,  he  was  exchanged  for  Major 
Ackland,  after  the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  and  im 
mediately  rejoined  the  standard  of  his  country. 

Being  now  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel 


of  a  regiment  of  infantry,  he  was  detached,  un 
der  the  Baron  do  Kalb,  to  the  army  of  the 
South. 

General  Gates  having  been  appointed  to  the 
command  of  this  division  of  the  American  forces, 
he  was  present  with  that  oflicer,  at  his  defeat 
before  Camden  ;  and  during  the  action  mani 
fested  great  valor  and  skill  in  directing  and 
leading  the  operations  against  the  enemy,  while 
resistance  was  practicable ;  and  an  equal  degree 
of  self-possession  and  address  in  conducting  the 
troops  from  the  field,  when  compelled  to  retreat. 

But  as  an  oflicer,  his  valor  and  skill  in  battle 
were  among  the  lowest  of  his  qualifications. 
His  penetration  and  sagacity,  united  to  a  pro 
found  judgment,  and  a  capacious  mind,  ren 
dered  him  in  the  cabinet  particularly  valua 
ble.  Hence  he  was  one  of  General  Greene's 
favorite  counsellors  during  the  whole  of  his 
Southern  campaigns.  Nor  did  any  thing  ever 
occur,  either  through  neglect  or  mistake,  to  im 
pair  the  confidence  thus  reposed  in  him.  In  no 
inconsiderable  degree,  he  was  to  Greene,  what 
that  officer  had  been  to  General  Washington, 
his  strongest  hope  in  all  emergencies  where 
great  policy  and  address  were  required.  This 
was  clearly  manifested  by  the  post  assigned  to 
him  by  General  Greene  during  his  celebrated 
retreat  through  North  Carolina. 

In  that  great  and  memorable  movement,  on 
which  the  fate  of  the  South  was  staked,  to  Wil 
liams  was  confided  the  command  of  the  rear 
guard,  which  was  literally  the  shield  and  ram 
part  of  the  army.  Had  he  relaxed,  but  for  a 
moment,  in  his  vigilance  and  exertion,  or  been 
guilty  of  a  single  imprudent  act,  ruin  must  have 
ensued. 

Nor  was  his  command  much  less  momentous, 
when,  recrossing  the  Dan,  Greene  again  ad- 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


585 


vanccd  on  the  enemy.  Still  in  the  post  of  dan 
ger  and  honor,  he  now,  in  the  van  of  the  army, 
commanded  the  same  corps  with  which  he  had 
previously  moved  in  the  rear. 

A  military  friend,  who  knew  him  well,  has 
given  us  the  following  summary  of  his  char 
acter  : 

lie  possessed  that  range  of  mind,  although 
self-educated,  which  entitled  him  to  the  highest 
military  station,  and  was  actuated  by  true  cour 
age,  which  can  refuse  as  well  as  give  battle. 
Soaring  far  above  the  reach  of  vulgar  praise,  he 
singly  aimed  at  promoting  the  common  weal, 
satisfied  with  the  consciousness  of  doing  right, 
and  desiring  only  that  share  of  applause  which 
was  justly  his  own. 

There  was  a  loftiness  and  liberality  in  his 
character  which  forbade  resort  to  intrigue  and 
hypocrisy  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  views, 
and  rejected  the  contemptible  practice  of  dis 
paraging  others  to  exalt  himself. 

In  the  field  of  battle  he  was  self-possessed, 
intelligent,  and  ardent ;  in  camp,  circumspect, 
attentive,  and  systematic ;  in  council,  sincere, 
deep,  and  perspicuous.  During  the  campaigns 
of  General  Greene,  he  was  uniformly  one  of  his 
few  advisers,  and  held  his  unchanged  confidence. 
Nor  was  he  less  esteemed  by  his  brother  officers, 
or  less  respected  by  his  soldiery. 

Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  war,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  He 
was  afterwards  collector  of  customs  for  Mary 
land  ;  and  held  that  post  till  he  died,  at  the  age 
of  forty-six  years,  July  16th,  1794. 


[B.] 
BRIGADIER-GENERAL  DAVID  WOOSTER. 

The  family  papers  of  General  Wooster  were 
destroyed  by  the  British,  at  the  sacking  of  the 
town  of  New  Haven,  in  1779,  and  the  biogra 
phers  of  this  able  officer  can  learn  nothing  of  his 
ancestry  and  his  early  years,  except  that  he  was 
born  in  Stratford,  Connecticut,  on  the  2d  of 
March,  1710,  and  that  he  graduated  at  Yale 
College  in  1738.  In  1739  we  find  him  em 
ployed  as  captain  of  a  vessel,  armed  by  the 
colony,  to  guard  and  protect  the  coast  during 
VOL.  I.— 74 


the  Spanish  war.  Soon  after,  he  married  the 
daughter  of  President  Clap,  of  Yale  College. 
He  was  employed  as  a  captain  in  Colonel 
Burr's  regiment,  sent,  as  part  of  the  Connec 
ticut  troops,  against  Louisburg.  He  greatly 
distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  and  capture 
of  that  place.  He  was  retained  among  those 
who  garrisoned  the  fortress,  and  afterwards  se 
lected  to  take  charge  of  a  cartel-ship  for  France 
and  England.  In  England  he  was  received 
with  marked  honor,  presented  to  the  king,  and 
the  young  American  officer  became  the  favorite 
of  the  court.  The  king  admitted  him  into  the 
regular  service,  and  he  was  made  a  captain  in 
Sir  William  Pepperrell's  regiment,  with  half-pay 
for  life.  After  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  he 
returned  to  his  family  ;  but  the  commencement 
of  the  French  War,  in  1756,  again  called  him  to 
the  field,  and  during  its  continuance  he  rose  to 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  When  he  was 
restored  to  his  home  by  the  peace  of  1 763,  he 
carried  with  him  many  marks  of  the  valor  which 
had  won  him  promotion.  Pie  next  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  New  Haven,  where  he 
was  appointed  collector  of  the  customs.  The 
favors  shown  him  by  royalty,  however,  had 
not  weaned  him  from  the  love  of  his  country, 
and  though  an  officer  in  the  British  regular  ser 
vice,  entitled  to  half-pay  for  his  life,  and  a  rev 
enue-officer,  he  gave  up  all  in  her  behalf.  His 
pen  and  sword  were  among  the  first  employed 
in  the  contest  for  liberty,  and  his  life  was  early 
given  to  seal  his  fidelity  to  the  cause.  When 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  April  19th,  1775,  had 
fairly  begun  the  contest,  he  immediately  em 
ployed  his  energies  and  talents  in  devising  a 
plan  for  getting  possession  of  some  of  the  for 
tresses  held  by  the  British  arms  in  the  colonies, 
and  with  a  few  others,  on  their  own  risk  and  re 
sponsibility,  sent  Ethan  Allen  and  Benedict  Ar 
nold  to  Ticonderoga,  which  was  surprised  and 
taken  on  the  10th  of  May.  This  bold  step 
seems  to  have  taken  the  Congress  no  less  than 
the  garrison  wholly  by  surprise.  When  in 
formed  of  it,  they  recommended  that  an  inven 
tory  of  the  cannon  and  military  stores  found  in 
the  fort  should  be  taken,  "in  order  that  they 
may  be  safely  returned  when  the  restoration  ot 
the  former  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and 


586 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


these  colonies,  so  ardently  wished  for  by  the  lat 
ter,  shall  render  it  prudent  and  consistent  with 
the  overruling  care  of  self-preservation." 

General  Wooster  was  the  third  on  the  list  of 
eight  brigadier-generals  appointed  by  Congress 
on  the  22d  of  June,  1775.  He  had  command  in 
Canada  during  the  unfortunate  campaign  of 
1776,  where  suffering  and  want,  with  the  small 
pox,  proved  the  worst  enemies  of  the  army. 
On  his  return  from  this  trying  situation,  he  re 
quested  Congress  to  order  a  court  of  inquiry, 
by  which  he  was  acquitted  of  all  blame. 

He  was  next  appointed  major-general  of  the 
militia  of  Connecticut,  and  during  the  winter  of 
1776  and  1777,  he  was  employed  in  protecting 
his  State  against  the  enemy.  While  engaged 
in  this  duty,  the  British  with  two  thousand  men 
from  New  York  landed  between  Norwalk  and 
Fairfield,  and  destroyed  the  magazines  at  Dan- 
bury.  The  rain  prevented  the  troops  ordered 
from  New  Haven  from  arriving  in  time  to  pre 
vent  this  damage,  but  generals  Wooster  and 
Arnold,  with  six  hundred  men,  collected  by 
General  Silliman,  attacked  the  enemy  in  his  re 
treat.  The  inequality  of  numbers  was  so  great, 
however,  that  the  militia  gave  way,  and  General 
Wooster,  while  endeavoring  to  rally  them,  re 
ceived  a  mortal  wound.  His  wife  and  son  came 
to  attend  him  at  Danbury.  He  told  them  he 
was  dying,  but  with  the  strong  hope  and  per 
suasion  that  his  country  would  gain  her  inde 
pendence.  His  death  took  place  on  the  2d  of 
May,  1777,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 

Congress,  in  appreciation  of  his  merits  and 
services,  passed  resolutions  for  erecting  a  monu 
ment  to  his  memory,  made  an  appropriation  for 
the  purpose,  and  requested  the  governor  of  Con 
necticut  to  carry  it  into  execution  ;  but  the  re 
mains  of  this  gallant  officer  and  patriot  still  lie 
in  an  unmarked  grave,  in  the  village  he  died 
defending. 


[C-] 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WILLIAM  ALEXANDER. 

General  William  Alexander,  commonly  called 
Lord  Stirling,  was  a  native  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  He  was  considered  by  many  as  the 


rightful  heir  to  the  title  and  estate  of  an  earl 
dom  in  Scotland,  of  which  country  his  father 
was  a  native ;  and  although  M-hen  he  went  to 
North  Britain  in  pursuit  of  this  inheritance,  he 
failed  of  obtaining  an  acknowledgment  of  his 
claim  by  government,  yet,  among  his  friends 
and  acquaintances,  he  received,  by  courtesy,  the 
title  of  Lord  Stirling.  In  his  youth  his  labors 
were  arduous  in  the  pursuit  of  science,  and  he 
discovered  an  early  fondness  for  the  study  of 
mathematics  and  astronomy,  in  which  he  at 
tained  great  eminence. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  he  attached  himself  to  the  cause  of  Amer 
ica,  and  entered  the  field  against  her  enemies. 
He  was  a  brave,  discerning,  and  intrepid  officer. 
In  the  battle  on  Long  Island,  August  27th, 
1776,  he  shared  largely  in  the  glory  and  dis 
asters  of  the  day.  The  part  he  bore  in  that 
engagement  is  described  as  follows :  "  The  fire 
towards  Brooklyn  gave  the  first  intimation  to 
the  American  right  that  the  enemy  had  gained 
their  rear.  Lord  Stirling,  perceiving  the  danger 
with  which  he  was  threatened,  and  that  he  could 
only  escape  it  by  instantly  retreating  across  the 
creek,  by  the  Yellow  Mills,  not  far  from  the 
cove,  orders  to  this  effect  were  immediately 
given,  and  the  more  effectually  to  secure  the 
retreat  of  the  main  body  of  the  detachment,  he 
determined  to  attack,  in  person,  a  corps  of  the 
British  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  stationed  at  a 
house  somewhat  above  the  place  at  which  he 
proposed  crossing  the  creek.  About  four  hun 
dred  men  were  chosen  out  for  this  purpose ; 
and  the  attack  was  made  with  great  spirit. 
This  small  corps  was  brought  up  to  the  charge 
several  times,  and  Lord  Stirling  stated  that  he 
was  on  the  point  of  dislodging  Lord  Cornwallis 
from  his  post ;  but  the  force  in  his  front  increas 
ing,  and  General  Grant  also  advancing  on  his 
rear,  the  brave  men  he  commanded  were  no 
longer  able  to  oppose  the  superior  numbers 
which  assailed  them  on  every  quarter,  and  those 
who  survived  were,  with  their  general,  made 
prisoners  of  war.  This  bold  and  well-judged 
attempt,  though  unsuccessful,  was  productive  of 
great  advantages.  It  gave  an  opportunity  to  a 
large  part  of  the  detachment  to  save  themselves 
by  crossing  the  creek. 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


587 


Immediately  after  his  exchange,  Lord  Stirling 
joined  the  army  under  the  immediate  command 
of  General  Washington.  In  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown,  his  division  and  the  brigade  of  gen 
erals  Nash  and  Maxwell,  formed  the  corps  of 
reserve.  At  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  he  com 
manded  the  left  wing  of  the  American  army. 
At  an  important  period  of  the  engagement, 
he  brought  up  a  detachment  of  artillery,  com 
manded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Carrington,  with 
some  field-pieces,  which  played  with  great  effect 
on  the  enemy,  who  were  pressing  on  to  the 
charge.  These  pieces,  with  the  aid  of  several 
parties  of  infantry,  detached  for  the  purpose, 
effectually  put  a  stop  to  their  advance.  The 
American  artillery  maintained  their  ground 
with  admirable  firmness  under  a  heavy  fire 
from  the  British  field-artillery. 

His  attachment  to  Washington  was  proved  in 
the  latter  part  of  1777,  by  transmitting  to  him 
an  account  of  the  disaffection  of  General  Con- 
way  to  the  commander-in-chief.  In  the  letter, 
he  said,  "  such  wicked  duplicity  of  conduct  I 
shall  always  think  it  my  duty  to  detect." 

He  died  at  Albany,  January  15th,  1783,  aged 
fifty-seven  years. 


[D.] 
GENERAL  WILLIAM  SMALLWOOD. 

This  gallant  officer  bore  a  distinguished  part 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  a  native  of 
the  State  of  Maryland,  and  joined  the  cause  of 
his  country  in  August,  1776.  He  was  at  that 
time  colonel  of  a  battali  n,  with  which  he  ar 
rived  in  New  York  city  on  the  8th  of  that 
month.  In  the  stirring  scenes  at  ending  the 
defeat  of  the  Americans  at  Long  Island  and 
White  Plains,  he  performed  a  distinguished 
part,  and  was  rewarded  (October  23d)  by  his 
appointment  as  brigadier-general.  In  August 
of  the  following  year,  he  led  the  Maryland 
militia  in  Sullivan's  attempt  on  Staten  Island. 
While  Washington  was  using  every  exertion  to 
defend  Philadelphia  against  Sir  William  Howe, 
Sinallwood  mustered  about  twelve  hundred  mi 
litia  from  his  native  State,  and  hastened  to  join 
the  main  army.  This  he  did  September  28th, 


1777,  although  sickness  had  reduced  the  num 
ber  of  his  troops  to  one  thousand.  In  the  battle 
of  Germantown  he  behaved  writh  much  bravery 
at  the  head  of  the  Marylanders  and  Jerseymen, 
and  in  the  retreat  displayed  ah1  the  coolness  and 
ability  of  a  veteran  commander.  In  December 
of  the  same  year  he  was  ordered  by  Washing 
ton  to  Wilmington,  in  order  to  prevent  that 
town  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  British, 
who  were  at  that  time  marching  against  it. 
Early  in  1779,  the  enemy  made  a  similar  at 
tempt  upon  Elizabethtown.  To  repel  this, 
Smallwood,  with  the  Maryland  division  of  the 
army,  and  General  St.  Clair,  with  the  Pennsyl 
vania  division,  were  put  in  motion  by  different 
routes  to  form  a  junction  at  the  Scotch  Plains, 
and  proceed  to  reinforce  General  Maxwell,  and 
act  as  circumstances  might  require.  The  troops 
were  recalled,  however,  before  they  had  ad 
vanced  far,  in  consequence  of  intelligence  being 
received  of  the  sudden  retreat  of  the  enemy. 

General  Smallwood  was  with  Gates  in  the 
disastrous  campaign  of  that  officer  in  the  South. 
In  the  fall  of  1780,  he  was  named  as  the  officer 
to  receive  the  appointment  of  major-general 
from  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  wras  accord 
ingly  commissioned  by  Congress.  On  account 
of  some  misunderstanding  with  the  Baron  Steu- 
ben  about  rank,  he  left  the  southern  army,  and 
eyen  hinted  at  a  determination  to  resign. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  continued  in  his 
native  State  until  1785,  when  he  was  elected  to 
Congress.  He  became  governor  of  Maryland 
the  same  year,  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  that 
office  until  1788.  After  this  he  retired  to  pri 
vate  life,  until  1792,  when  his  death  occurred. 


PL] 

GENERAL  HOWE. 

William,  son  of  the  second  Viscount  Howe, 
and  younger  brother  of  the  celebrated  admiral, 
Richard,  Earl  Howe,  after  having  passed  some 
time  at  Eton,  became  a  cornet  in  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland's  regiment  of  dragoons  ;  and,  dur 
ing  the  Seven  Years'  War,  distinguished  him 
self  in  America,  particularly  under  General 
Wolfe  at  Quebec.  In  1764,  he  obtained  the 


588 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


command  of  the  fourth  regiment  of  foot ;  in 
1772,  he  became  a  major-general ;  and,  in  1775, 
having  previously  been  appointed  colonel  of  the 
"Welsh  Fusileers,  commanded  one  division  of  the 
army  under  General  Gage  at  the  battle  of  Bun 
ker  Hill,  fought  immediately  after.  On  the  de 
parture  of  General  Gage  for  England,  lie  as 
sumed  the  chief  command  of  the  British  forces 
in  America ;  and,  evacuating  Boston,  which  was 
then  besieged  by  Washington,  proceeded  to 
Halifax,  whence  he  proceeded,  in  August,  1776, 
to  Long  Island,  where,  on  the  27th  of  that 
month,  he  defeated  the  American  general,  Sul 
livan,  two  thousand  of  whose  troops  were  either 
killed,  wounded,  or  made  prisoners,  besides  him 
self  and  twelve  other  field-officers.  On  the 
loth  of  September,  he  took  possession  of  New 
York,  and,  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  at 
tacked  General  Washington  at  White  Plains. 
He  soon  after  retired  into  winter-quarters,  and 
while  the  Americans  were  preparing  for  an  ac 
tive  campaign,  passed  his  time  in  culpable  in 
dolence. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1777,  he  attempted  by 
stratagem  to  bring  Washington  to  an  engage 
ment,  but  without  success.  On  the  7th  of  the 
following  month,  he  was  made  a  major-general, 
and  received  a  red  ribbon  for  his  previous  ser 
vices.  Shortly  afterwards,  he  encountered  and 
defeated  the  Americans  on  the  Heights  of  Bran 
dy  wine ;  he  next  took  possession  of  Philadel 
phia.  He  passed  the  winter,  it  is  said,  as  he 
had  the  preceding  one,  "  in  more  ease  than  dili 
gence;''  and  shortly  after  he  had  opened  the 
next  campaign,  was  superseded  in  his  command 
by  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  The  "  British  officers," 
says  Gordon,  in  his  History  of  the  American 
Revolution,  "to  express  their  esteem  for  Sir 
William  Howe,  prepared  a  magnificent  enter 
tainment,  with  which  to  grace  his  departure  for 
Great  Britain.  It  consisted  of  a  variety  of  parts, 
on  land  and  water ;  was  called  the  Mischianza  ; 
and  was  given  on  Monday,  the  18th  of  May, 
1778.  It  was  indeed  magnificent;  began  at 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  ended  at  four  the 
next  morning.  There  was  a  grand  and  beauti 
ful  exhibition  of  fireworks,  towards  the  conclu 
sion  of  which,  a  triumphal  arch  appeared  glori 
ously  illuminated,  with  Fame  blowing  from  her 


trumpet,  in  letters  of  light — 'Thy  laurels  shall 
never  fade.'" 

On  a  parliamentary  investigation  of  his  con 
duct,  which  took  place  in  1779,  it  appeared  that, 
in  the  opinion  of  Sir  Charles  Grey,  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  and  other  military  men,  he  had  done  all 
that  could  be  expected,  considering  the  paucity 
of  his  force,  which,  according  to  the  evidence 
taken,  was  totally  inadequate  to  the  subjugation 
of  the  colonies.  In  1782,  he  was  made  lieu 
tenant-general  of  the  ordnance  ;  in  1786,  colonel 
of  the  nineteenth  dragoons,  and,  shortly  after 
wards,  a  full  general.  In  1795,  he  became  gov 
ernor  of  Berwick  ;  in  1799,  he  succeeded  to  the 
Irish  viscountship  of  his  distinguished  brother, 
Admiral  Howe;  in  1804,  he  resigned  his  office 
of  lieutenant  of  the  ordnance  ;  and  died,  with 
out  issue,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1814,  at  which 
time  he  was  a  privy-counsellor  and  governor  of 
Plymouth.  He  had  represented  Nottingham  in 
several  parliaments ;  but  does  not  appear  to 
have  taken  a  conspicuous  part  in  political  affairs. 

Although  this  officer  had  obtained  the  ap 
plause  of  his  superiors,  while  at  the  head  of  a 
regiment  as  well  as  of  a  division,  it  is  quite  clear 
that  he  had  neither  acquired  experience,  nor 
evinced  ability  enough,  to  warrant  his  appoint 
ment  to  so  important  a  command  as  that  to 
which  he  was  injudiciously  raised.  With  his 
comparatively  insufficient  force,  government  ex 
pected  him,  not  merely  to  beat  his  indefatigable 
and  well-supported  antagonist,  but  completely 
to  subdue  the  revolted  colonies,  which,  notwith 
standing  his  occasional  successes,  were  in  a  situ 
ation  to  defy  a  general  of  more  genius  with 
much  greater  means.  Of  his  intrepidity,  he 
had,  before  he  succeeded  General  Gage,  given 
sufficient  proof.  While  serving  under  Wolfe, 
with  whom  he  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite, 
he  led  the  body,  as  Bisset  states,  which  first 
seized  the  Heights  of  Abraham  ;  and  at  Bunker 
Hill,  his  conduct  merited  and  obtained  consider 
able  eulogy  ;  but  in  diligence,  energy,  and  mili 
tary  talent  as  a  commander,  he  was  far  inferior 
to  the  great  Washington.  He  might,  perhaps, 
have  been  more  enterprising  as  a  general,  had 
he  not  also  been  appointed  to  act  as  one  of  the 
commissioners  for  effecting  a  reconciliation  with 
the  colonies.  His  employment  in  this  capacity 


CHAP.  X.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


589 


is,  with  some  truth,  said  to  have  been  incon 
sistent  with  his  duties  as  comraander-in-chief; 
and  it  was  insinuated,  that  instead  of  prosecu 
ting  hostilities  with  proper  zeal  and  activity,  he 
had  gone  to  the  utmost  verge  of  his  instruc 
tions  to  effect  an  amicable  arrangement  with 


the  Americans.  This,  however,  it  is  proper  to 
state,  he  solemnly  denies,  in  a  narrative  of  his 
proceedings ;  protesting  that  he  had,  in  con 
junction  with  his  brother,  carried  on  the  war 
with  as  much  vigor  as  the  force  in  their  hands 
would  permit. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

1777, 

WASHINGTON      HOLDS      HOWE      IN      CHECK. 

Washington  not  disheartened  at  the  loss  of  Philadelphia. — He  is  reinforced. — He  determines  to  attack  Howe's 
army. — Howe  detaches  a  part  of  his  army  to  attack  the  forts  on  the  Delaware. — Battle  of  Germantown. — Wash 
ington's  commentary  on  it. — Sullivan's. — Thanks  of  Congress. — The  forts  on  the  Delaware  reinforced. — Opera 
tions  at  Fort  Mifflin. — Lord  Howe  sails  up  the  Delaware. — Attack  on  Fort  Mercer  repulsed. — Death  of  Count 
Donop. — British  frigates  destroyed. — Thanks  of  Congress. — Preparations  for  defending  Fort  MifHin. — News  from 
Burgoyne. — Hamilton  sent  to  the  North  for  reinforcements. — They  come  too  late. — Tremendous  attack  on  Fort 
Mifflin. — It  is  battered  to  pieces  and  evacuated. — Fort  Mercer  attacked  and  destroyed.- — Greene  in  New  Jersey. 
— Cornwallis  at  Gloucester  Point. — Communication  between  the  fleet  and  army  of  the  Howes  fully  opened. — 
An  attack  on  the  city  proposed. — Its  utter  impracticability  decided. — Lafayette  attacks  a  picket  of  Cornwallis'a 
at  Gloucester  Point. — He  is  placed  in  command  of  a  division. — Board  of  War  enlarged.— Allusion  to  "  Conway's 
Cabal." — Howe  marches  out  of  Philadelphia  to  attack  Washington's  army,  and  drive  him  beyond  the  moun 
tains. — Skirmishes  and  returns  to  the  city. — Washington  goes  into  winter-quarters  at  Valley  Forge. — Compara 
tive  situation  of  the  two  armies. 


WASHINGTON  seems  to  have  been  by 
no  means  disheartened  at  the  loss  of 
Philadelphia.  On  the  contrary,  he 
justly  regarded  the  circumstance  of 
the  enemy  holding  that  city  as  one 
which  might,  as  in  the  sequel  it  actually 
did,  turn  to  the  advantage  of  the  Amer 
ican  cause.  Writing  to  Governor  Trum- 
bull  on  the  1st  of  October,  he  says : 
"  You  will  hear,  before  this  gets  to  hand, 
that  the  enemy  have  at  length  gained 
possession  of  Philadelphia.  Many  una 
voidable  difficulties  and  unlucky  acci 
dents  which  we  had  to  encounter, 
helped  to  promote  this  success.  This 
is  an  event  which  we  have  reason  to 
wish  had  not  happened,  and  which 
will  be  attended  with  several  ill  con 
sequences;  but  I  hope  it  will  not  be 


so  detrimental  as  many  apprehend,  and 
that  a  little  time  and  perseverance  will 
give  us  some  favorable  opportunity  of 
recovering  our  loss,  and  of  putting  our 
affairs  in  a  more  nourishing  condition. 
Our  army  has  now  had  the  rest  and  re 
freshment  it  stood  in  need  of,  and  our 
soldiers  are  in  very  good  spirits." 

Philadelphia  being  lost,  Washington 
sought  to  make  its  occupation  incon 
venient  and  insecure,  by  render 
ing  it  inaccessible  to  the  British 
fleet.  With  this  design,  works  had 
been  erected  on  a  low  marshy  island  in 
the  Delaware,  near  the  junction  of  the 
Schuylkill,  which,  from  the  nature  of 
its  soil,  was  called  Mud  Island.  On 
the  opposite  shore  of  Jersey,  at  Red 
Bank,  a  fort  had  also  been  constructed 


1TTT. 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


591 


which  was  defended  with  heavy  artil 
lery.  In  the  deep  channel  between,  or 
under  cover  of  these  batteries,  several 
ranges  of  cfievaux-de-frise  had  been 
sunk.  These  were  so  strong  and  heavy 
as  to  be  destructive  of  any  ship  which 
might  strike  against  them,  and  were 
sunk  in  such  a  depth  of  water  as  ren 
dered  it  equally  difficult  to  weigh  them 
or  cut  them  through  ;  no  attempt  to 
raise  them,  or  to  open  the  channel  in 
any  manner,  could  be  successful  until 
the  command  of  the  shores  on  both 
sides  should  be  obtained. 

Other  ranges  of  chevaux-de-frise  had 
been  sunk  about  three  miles  lower  down 
the  river  ;  and  some  considerable  works 
were  in  progress  at  Billingsport  on  the 
Jersey  side,  which  were  in  such  forward 
ness  as  to  be  provided  with  artillery. 
These  works  were  further  supported  by 
several  galleys  mounting  heavy  cannon, 
together  with  two  floating-batteries,  a 
number  of  armed  vessels,  and  some  fire- 
ships. 

The  present  relative  situation  of  the 
armies  gave  a  decisive  importance  to 
these  works.  Cutting  off  the  communi 
cation  of  Howe  with  his  brother's  fleet, 
they  prevented  his  receiving  supplies 
by  water.  While  the  American  ves 
sels  in  the  river  above  Fort  Mifflin,  the 
name  given  to  the  fort  on  Mud  Island, 
rendered  it  difficult  to  forage  in  Jersey, 
Washington  hoped  to  render  his  sup 
plies  on  the  side  of  Pennsylvania  so 
precarious,  as  to  compel  him  to  evac 
uate  Philadelphia. 

The  advantages  of  this  situation  were 


considerably  diminished  by  the  capture 
of  the  Delaware  frigate. 

The  day  after  Cornwallis  entered 
Philadelphia,  three  batteries  were  com 
menced  for  the  purpose  of  acting  against 
any  American  ships  which  might  ap 
pear  before  the  town.  While  yet  in 
complete,  they  were  attacked  by  two 
frigates,  assisted  by  several  galleys  and 
gondolas.  The  Delaware,  being  left 
by  the  tide  while  engaged  with  the 
battery,  grounded  and  was  captured ; 
soon  after  which,  the  smaller  frigate 
and  the  other  vessels  retired  under  the 
guns  of  the  fort.  This  circumstance 
was  the  more  unfortunate,  as  it  gave 
the  British  general  the  command  of  the 
ferry,  and,  consequently,  free  access  to 
Jersey,  and  enabled  him  to  intercept 
the  communication  between  the  forts 
below  and  Trenton,  from  which  place 
the  garrisons  were  to  have  drawn  their 
military  stores. 

All  the  expected  reinforcements,  ex-* 
cept  the    State   regiment   and   militia 
from  Virginia,  being  arrived,  and  the 
detached   parties  being  called  in,  the 
effective  strength  of  the  army  amounted 
to  eight  thousand   continental   troops, 
and  three  thousand  militia.     With  this 
force  Washington   determined    to    ap 
proach  the  enemy,  and  seize  the  first 
favorable  moment  to  attack  him.      In 
pursuance   of   this    determination,   the 
army  took   a   position    on   the 
Skippack  road,  September  30th, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia, 
and  sixteen  from  Germantown, — a  vil 
lage  stretching  on  both  sides  the  great 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


road  leading  northward  from  Philadel 
phia,  which  forms  one  continued  street 
nearly  two  miles  in  length.  The  Brit 
ish  line  of  encampment  crossed  this  vil 
lage  at  right  angles  near  the  centre,  and 
Cornwallis,  with  four  regiments  of  gren 
adiers,  occupied  Philadelphia.  The  im 
mediate  object  of  General  Howe  being 
the  removal  of  the  obstructions  in  the 
river,  Colonel  Stirling,  with  two  regi 
ments,  had  been  detached  to  take  pos 
session  of  the  fort  at  Billingsport,  which 
he  accomplished  without  opposition. 
This  service  being  effected,  and  the 
works  facing  the  water  destroyed,  Colo 
nel  Stirling  was  directed  to  escort  a 
convoy  of  provisions  from  Chester  to 
Philadelphia.  Some  apprehensions  be 
ing  entertained  for  the  safety  of  this 
convoy,  another  regiment  was  detached 
from  Germantown,  with  directions  to 
join  Colonel  Stirling. 

This  division  of  the  British  force 
appeared  to  Washington  to  furnish  a 
fair  opportunity  to  engage  Sir  William 
Howe  with  advantage.  Determining 
to  avail  himself  of  it,  he  formed  a  plan 
for  surprising  the  camp  at  Germantown. 
This  plan  consisted,  in  its  general  out 
line,  of  a  night  march  and  double  at 
tack,  consentaneously  made,  on  both 
flanks  of  the  enemy's  right  wing  ;  while 
a  demonstration,  or  attack,  as  circum 
stances  should  render  proper,  was  to  be 
directed  on  the  western  flank  of  his  left 
wing.  With  these  orders  and 

11T7. 

objects,  the  American  army  be 
gan  its  march  from  Skippack  Creek  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  3d 


of  October,  in  two  columns — the  right, 
under  Sullivan  and  Wayne,  taking  the 
Chestnut  Hill  road,  followed  by  Stir 
ling's  division  in  reserve  ;  the  left,  com 
posed  of  the  divisions  of  Greene  and 
Stephen,  with  M'Dougal's  brigade  and 
fourteen  hundred  Maryland  and  Jersey 
militia,  taking   the   Limekiln  and  old 
York  roads ;  while  Armstrong's  Penn 
sylvania  militia  advanced  by  the  Eidge 
road.     Washington    accompanied    the 
right  wing,  and  at  dawn  of  day,  next 
morning,  attacked  the  royal  army.     Af 
ter  a  smart  conflict,  he  drove  in  the  ad 
vanced-guard,  which  was  stationed  at 
the  head  of  the  village,  and,  with  his 
army  divided  into  five  columns,  prose 
cuted  the  attack ;  but  Lieutenant-colo 
nel  Musgrave,  of  the  fortieth  regiment, 
which  had  been  driven  in,  and  who  had 
been  able  to  keep  five  companies  of  the 
regiment  together,  threw  himself  into  a 
large  stone  house  in  the  village,  belong 
ing  to  Mr.  Chew,  which  stood  in  front 
of  the  main  column  of  the  Americans, 
and  there  almost  a  half  of  Washington's 
army  was  detained  for  a  considerable 
time.     Instead  of  masking  Chew's  house 
with  a  sufficient  force,  and  advancing 
rapidly    with    their    main    body,    the 
Americans  attacked  the  house,  which 
was  obstinately  defended.     The  delay 
was  very  unfortunate ;  for  the  critical 
moment  was  lost  in  fruitless  attempts 
on  the  house ;    the  royal   troops   had 
time  to  get  under  arms,  and  be  in  readi 
ness  to  resist  or  attack,  as  circumstances 
required.      General  Grey  came  to  the 
assistance   of  Colonel   Musgrave ;    the 


CHAP.  XI.J 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


593 


engagement  for  some  time  was  general 
and  warm ;  at  length  the  Americans 
began  to  give  way,  and  effected  a  re 
treat,  with  all  their  artillery.  The 
morning  was  very  foggy,  a  circum 
stance  which  had  prevented  the  Ameri 
cans  from  combining  and  conducting 
their  operations  as  they  otherwise 
might  have  done,  but  which  now  fa 
vored  their  retreat  by  concealing  their 
movements. 

In  this  engagement,  the  British  had 
six  hundred  men  killed  or  wounded ; 
among  the  slain  were  Brigadier-general 
Agnew  and  Colonel  Bird,  officers  of  dis 
tinguished  reputation.  The  Americans 
lost  an  equal  number  in  killed  and 
wounded,  besides  four  hundred,  who 
were  taken  prisoners.  General  Nash, 
of  North  Carolina,  was  among  those 
who  were  killed.  After  the  battle, 
Washington  returned  to  his  encamp 
ment  at  Skippack  Creek. 

The  plan  of  attack  formed  by  Wash 
ington  for  the  battle  of  Germantown 
was  fully  justified  by  the  result.  The 
British  camp  was  completely  surprised, 
and  their  army  was  on  the  point  of  be 
ing  entirely  routed,  when  the  continued 
fog  led  the  American  soldiers  to  mis 
take  friends  for  foes,  and  caused  a  panic 
which  threw  every  thing  into  confusion, 
and  enabled  the  enemy  to  rally. 

Washington,  writing  to  his  brother 
John  Augustine,  says :  "  If  it  had  not 
been  for  a  thick  fog,  which  rendered  it 
so  dark  at  times  that  we  were  not  able 
to  distinguish  friend  from  foe  at  the  dis 
tance  of  thirty  yards,  we  should,  I  be- 

VOL.  I.— 75 


lieve,  have  made  a  decisive  and  glorious 
day  of  it.     But  Providence  designed  it 
otherwise  :  for,  after  we  had  driven  the 
enemy  a  mile  or  two ;  after  they  were 
in  the  utmost  confusion  and  flying  be 
fore  us  in  most  places ;  after  we  were 
upon  the  point,  as  it  appeared  to  every 
body,  of  grasping  a  complete  victory, 
our  own  troops  took  fright  and   fled 
with  precipitation  and  disorder.     How 
to  account  for  this,  I  know  not ;  unless, 
as  I   before   observed,  the   fog   repre 
sented  their  own  friends  to  them  for 
a  reinforcement  of  the   enemy,  as  we 
attacked   in   different   quarters  at  the 
same  time,  and  were  about  closing  the 
wings  of  our  army  when  this  happened. 
One  thing,  indeed,   contributed  not  a 
little  to  our  misfortune,  and  that  was  a 
want  of  ammunition  on  the  right  wing, 
which  began  the  engagement,  and  in 
the  course  of  two  hours  and  forty  min 
utes,  which  time  it  lasted,  had,  many  of 
them,  expended  the  forty  rounds  that 
they  took  into  the  field.     After  the  en 
gagement,  we  removed  to  a  place  about 
twenty  miles  from  the  enemy,  to  collect 
our  forces  together,  to  take  care  of  our 
wounded,   get  furnished  with  necessa 
ries  again,  and  be  in  a  better  posture 
either  for  offensive  or  defensive  opera 
tions.     We  are  now  advancing  towards 
the   enemy  again,  being   at  this  time 
within  twelve  miles  of  them." 

Writing   to   the    President   of  Con 
gress    (October   7th),    he    still 

.  11*  i        /«  ITT  T» 

imputes  the  disaster  to  the  fog : 
"It  is  with  much  chagrin  and  mortifi 
cation  I  add,  that  every  account  con- 


594 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


IV. 


firms  the  opinion  I  at  first  entertained, 
that  our  troops  retreated  at  the  instant 
when  victory  was  declaring  herself  in 
our  favor.  The  tumult,  disorder,  and 
even  despair,  which,  it  seems,  had  taken 
place  in  the  British  army,  were  scarcely 
to  be  paralleled ;  and,  it  is  said,  so 
strongly  did  the  idea  of  a  retreat  pre 
vail,  that  Chester  was  fixed  on  as  their 
rendezvous.  I  can  discover  no  other 
cause  for  not  improving  this  happy  op 
portunity,  than  the  extreme  haziness  of 
the  weather." 

Much  controversy  has  arisen  among 
writers  as  to  the  cause  of  failure  at  Ger- 
mantown  ;  but  Washington's  means  of 
observation  were  certainly  not  inferior 
to  those  of  any  other  person  whatever, 
and  in  the  above  extracts  the  whole 
matter  is  clearly  explained.  He  does 
not  refer  to  the  delay  at  Chew's  house 
as  the  cause  of  failure.  Panic-struck  as 
the  British  were,  they  would  have  been 
defeated,  notwithstanding  the  delay  at 
that  impromptu  fortress,  if  the  fog  had 
not  occasioned  the  American  soldiers 
to  believe  that  the  firing  on  their  own 
side  proceeded  from  the  enemy,  and 
that  they  were  about  to  be  surrounded. 
Hence  the  recoil  and  retreat.  It  was 
apparently  a  great  misfortune ;  but  it 
was  the  destiny  of  Washington  to 
achieve  greatness  in  spite  of  severe  and 
repeated  misfortunes. 

The  same  opinion  respecting  the  fog 
is  expressed  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  from  General  Sullivan  to 
the  president  of  New  Hampshire  : 

"  We  brought  off  all  our  cannon  and 


all  our  wounded.  Our  loss  in  the  ac 
tion  amounts  to  less  than  seven  hun 
dred,  mostly  wounded.  We  lost  some 
valuable  officers,  among  whom  were  the 
brave  General  Nash,  and  my  two  aids- 
de-camp,  majors  Sherburne  and  White, 
whose  singular  bravery  must  ever  do 
honor  to  their  memories.  Our  army 
rendezvoused  at  Paulen's  Mills,  and 
seems  very  desirous  of  another  action. 
The  misfortunes  of  this  day  were  prin 
cipally  owing  to  a  thick  fog,  which,  be 
ing  rendered  still  more  so  by  the  smoke 
of  the  cannon  and  musketry,  prevented 
our  troops  from  discovering  the  motions 
of  the  enemy,  or  acting  in  concert  with 
each  other.  I  cannot  help  observing, 
that  with  great  concern  I  saw  our  brave 
commander  exposing  himself  to  the  hot 
test  fire  of  the  enemy  in  such  a  manner, 
that  regard  to  my  country  obliged  me 
to  ride  to  him,  and  beg  him  to  retire. 
He,  to  gratify  me  and  some  others, 
withdrew  a  small  distance ;  but  his 
anxiety  for  the  fate  of  the  day  soon 
brought  him  up  again,  where  he  re 
mained  till  our  troops  had  retreated." 

Congress  unanimously  adopted  the 
following  resolution  on  hearing  of  the 
battle  of  Germantown : 

"  He-solv ed,  That  the  thanks  of  Con 
gress  be  given  to  General  Washington, 
for  his  wise  and  well-concerted  attack 
upon  the  enemy's  army  near  German- 
town,  on  the  4th  instant,  and  to  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  for 
their  brave  exertions  on  that  occasion  ; 
Congress  being  well  satisfied,  that  the 
best  designs  and  boldest  efforts  may 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON"  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


595 


sometimes  fail  by  unforeseen  incidents, 
trusting  that,  on  future  occasions,  the 
valor  and  virtue  of  the  army  will,  by 
the  blessing  of  Heaven,  be  crowned 
with  complete  and  deserved  success." 

The  attention  of  both  armies  was 
now  principally  directed  to  the  forts 
below  Philadelphia.  These  it  was  the 
great  object  of  Howe  to  destroy,  and  of 
Washington  to  defend  and  maintain. 

The  loss  of  the  Delaware  frigate,  and 
of  Billingsport,  greatly  discouraged  the 
seamen  by  whom  the  galleys  and  float 
ing-batteries  were  manned.  Believing 
the  fate  of  America  to  be  decided,  an 
opinion  strengthened  by  the  intelli 
gence  received  from  their  connections 
in  Philadelphia,  they  manifested  the 
most  alarming  defection,  and  several 
officers  as  well  as  sailors  deserted  to  the 
enemy.  This  desponding  temper  was 
checked  by  the  battle  of  Germantown, 
and  by  throwing  a  garrison  of  conti 
nental  troops  into  the  fort  at  Red 
Bank,  called  Fort  Mercer,  the  defence 
of  which  had  been  intrusted  to  militia. 
This  "fort  commanded  the  channel  be 
tween  the  Jersey  shore  and  Mud  Island ; 
and  the  American  vessels  were  secure 
under  its  guns.  The  militia  of  Jersey 
were  relied  on  to  reinforce  its  garrison, 
and  also  to  form  a  corps  of  observation 
which  might  harass  the  rear  of  any  de 
tachment  investing  the  place. 

To  increase  the  inconvenience  of 
Howe's  situation  by  intercepting  his 
supplies,  Washington  ordered  six  hun 
dred  militia,  commanded  by  General 
Potter,  to  cross  the  Schuylkill,  and  scour 


the  country  between  that  river  and 
Chester ;  and  the  militia  on  the  Dela 
ware,  above  Philadelphia,  were  directed 
to  watch  the  roads  in  that  vicinity. 

The  more  effectually  to  stop  those 
who  were  seduced  by  the  hope  of  gold 
and  silver  to  supply  the  enemy  at  this 
critical  time,  Congress  passed  a  resolu 
tion  subjecting  to  martial  law  and  to 
death,  all  who  should  furnish  them 
with  provisions,  or  certain  other  enu 
merated  articles,  who  should  be  taken 
within  thirty  miles  of  any  city,  town,  or 
place,  in  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  or  Dela 
ware,  occupied  by  British  troops. 

These  arrangements  being  made  to 
cut  off  supplies  from  the  country,  Wash 
ington  took  a  strong  position  at  White 
Marsh,  within  fourteen  miles  of  Phila 
delphia. 

Meanwhile,  General  Howe  was  ac 
tively  preparing  to  attack  Fort  Mif- 
flin  from  the  Pennsylvania  shore.  He 
erected  some  batteries  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Schuylkill,  in  order  to  command 
Webb's  Ferry,  which  were  attacked  by 
Commodore  Hazlewood,  and  silenced ; 
but,  the  following  night,  a  detachment 
crossed  over  Webb's  Ferry  into  Prov 
ince  Island,  and  constructed  a  slight 
work  opposite  Fort  Mifflin,  within  two 
musket-shots  of  the  blockhouse,  from 
which  they  were  enabled  to  throw  shot 
and  shells  into  the  barracks.  When 
daylight  discovered  this  work,  three 
galleys  and  a  floating-battery  were  or 
dered  to  attack  it,  and  the  garrison  sur 
rendered.  While  the  boats  were  bring 
ing  off  the  prisoners,  a  large  column  of 


596 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


British  troops  were  seen  marching  into 
the  fortress,  upon  which  the  attack  on 
it  was  renewed,  but  without  success ; 
and  two  attempts  made  by  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Smith*  to  storm  it,  failed.  In 
a  few  nights,  works  were  completed  on 
the  high  ground  of  Province  Island, 
which  enfiladed  the  principal  battery 
of  Fort  Mifflin,  and  rendered  it  neces 
sary  to  throw  up  some  cover  on  the 
platform  to  protect  the  men  who 
worked  the  guns. 

The  aids  expected  from  the  Jersey 
militia  were  not  received.  "Assure 
yourself,"  said  Lieutenant-colonel  Smith, 
in  a  letter  pressing  earnestly  for  a  rein 
forcement  of  continental  troops,  "that 
no  dependence  is  to  be  put  on  the  mili 
tia  ;  whatever  men  your  Excellency  de 
termines  on  sending,  no  time  is  to  be 
lost."  The  garrison  of  Fort  Mifflin  was 
now  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  effectives,  and  that  of  Red  Bank  did 
not  much  exceed  two  hundred. 

In  consequence  of  these  represen 
tations,  Washington  ordered  Colonel 
Christopher  Greene,  of  Rhode  Island, 
with  his  regiment,  to  Red  Bank,  and 
Lieutenant-colonel  John  Greene,  of  Vir 
ginia,  with  about  two  hundred  men,  to 
Fort  Mifflin. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Bran- 
dywine,  Admiral  Howe  had  sailed  for 
the  Delaware,  where  he  expected  to 


0  This  was  Lieutenant-colonel  Samuel  Smith,  of  the 
Maryland  line.  After  serving  in  this  perilous  post  at 
Fort  Mifflin,  he  was  made  general,  and  in  that  rank  as 
sisted  in  the  defence  of  Baltimore  in  the  War  of  1812. 
See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


arrive  in  time  to  meet  and  co-operate 
with  the  army  in  and  about  Philadel 
phia.  But  the  winds  were  so  unfavor 
able,  and  the  navigation  of  the  Bay  of 
Delaware  so  difficult,  that  his  van  did 
not  get  into  the  river  until  the  4th  of 
October.  The  ships  of  war  and  trans 
ports  which  followed,  came  up  from  the 
6th  to  the  8th,  and  anchored  from  New 
Castle  to  Reedy  Island. 

The  frigates,  in  advance  of  the  fleet, 
had  not  yet  succeeded  in  their  en 
deavors  to  effect  a  passage  through 
the  lower  double  row  of  clievaux-de- 
fri-se.  Though  no  longer  protected  by 
the  fort  at  Billingsport,  they  were  de 
fended  by  the  water  force  above,  and 
the  work  was  found  more  difficult  than 
had  been  expected.  It  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  October  that  the  impedi 
ments  were  so  far  removed  as  to  afford 
a  narrow  and  intricate  passage  through 
them.  In  the  mean  time,  the  fire  from 
the  Pennsylvania  shore  had  not  pro 
duced  all  the  effect  expected  from  it ; 
and  it  was  perceived  that  greater  exer 
tions  would  be  necessary  for  the  reduc 
tion  of  the  works  than  could  safely  be 
made  in  the  present  relative  situation 
of  the  armies.  Under  this  impression, 
General  Howe,  soon  after  the  return  of 
the  American  army  to  its  former  camp 
on  the  Skippack,  withdrew  his  troops 
from  Germantown  into  Philadelphia,  as 
preparatory  to  a  combined  attack  by 
land  and  water  on  forts  Mercer  and 
Mifflin. 

After  effecting  a  passage  through  the 
works  sunk  in  the  river  at  Billingsport, 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


597 


other  difficulties  still  remained  to  be 
encountered  by  the  ships  of  war.  Sev 
eral  rows  of  clievaux-de-frise  had  been 
sunk  about  half  a  mile  below  Mud 
Island,  which  were  protected  by  the 
guns  of  the  forts,  as  well  as  by  the 
movable  water  force.  To  silence  these 
works,  therefore,  was  a  necessary  pre 
liminary  to  the  removal  of  these  ob 
structions  in  the  channel. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  a  detach 
ment  of  Hessians,  amounting  to  twelve 
hundred  men,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Count  Donop,  crossed  the  Delaware 
at  Philadelphia,  with  orders  to  storm 
Fort  Mercer,  at  Red  Bank.  The  for 
tifications  consisted  of  extensive  outer 
works,  within  which  was  an  intrench- 
nient  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  boarded 
and  fraized.  Late  in  the  evening  of 
the  22d,  Count  Donop  appeared  before 
the  fort,  and  attacked  it  with  great  in 
trepidity.  It  was  defended  with  equal 
resolution  by  the  brave  garrison  of 
Rhode  Island  continentals,  under  com 
mand  of  Colonel  Christopher  Greene. 
The  outer  works  being  too  extensive 
to  be  manned  by  the  troops  in  the  fort, 
were  used  only  to  gall  the  assailants 
while  advancing.  On  their  near  ap 
proach,  the  garrison  retired  within  the 
inner  intrenchment,  whence  they  poured 
upon  the  Hessians  a  heavy  and  destruc 
tive  fire.  Colonel  Donop*  received  a 

°  Donop  was  a  brave  officer.  He  was  found  on  the 
battle-field  by  Captain  Mauduit  Duplessis,  a  talented 
French  engineer,  who  had  assisted  Greene  in  defence  of 
the  fort ;  and  who  attended  the  unfortunate  count  on  his 
death-bed  till  he  expired,  three  days  after  the  battle,  at 
the  early  age  of  thirty-seven.  "I  die,"  said  he,  in  his 


mortal  wound  ;  and  Lieutenant-colonel 
Mengerode,  the  second  in  command,  fell 
about  the  same  time.  Lieutenant-colo 
nel  Linsing,  the  oldest  remaining  officer, 
drew  off  his  troops,  and  returned  next 
day  to  Philadelphia.  The  loss  of  the 
assailants  was  estimated  by  the  Ameri 
cans  at  four  hundred  men.  The  garri 
son  was  reinforced  from  Fort  Mifflin, 
and  aided  by  the  galleys  which  flanked 
the  Hessians  in  their  advance  and  re 
treat.  The  American  loss,  in  killed 
and  wounded,  amounted  to  only  thirty- 
two  men. 

The  ships  having  been  ordered  to 
co-operate  with  Count  Donop,  the  Au 
gusta,  with  four  smaller  vessels,  passed 
the  lower  line  of  clievaux-de-fri.se,  oppo 
site  to  Billingsport,  and  lay  above  it, 
waiting  until  the  assault  should  be 
made  on  the  fort.  The  flood-tide  set 
ting  in  about  the  time  the  attack  com 
menced,  they  moved  with  it  up  the 
river.  The  obstructions  sunk  in  the 
Delaware  had  in  some  degree  changed 
its  channel,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
Augusta  and  the  Merlin  grounded  a 
considerable  distance  below  the  second 
line  of  clievaux-de-frise,  and  a  strong 
wind  from  the  north  so  checked  the 
rising  of  the  tide,  that  these  vessels 
could  not  be  floated  by  the  flood. 
Their  situation,  however,  was  not  dis 
cerned  that  evening,  as  the  frigates 

last  hour,  "a  victim  of  my  ambition,  and  of  the  avarice 
of  my  sovereign."  A  fine  commentary  on  the  mercenary 
system  of  the  German  princes.  The  government  of  Hesse 
Cassel  quite  recently  caused  the  remains  of  Count  Donop 
to  be  removed  from  Bed  Bank,  to  be  interred  with  dis 
tinguished  honor  in  his  own  country. 


598 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


which  were  able  to  approach  the  fort, 
and  the  batteries  from  the  Pennsylva 
nia  shore,  kept  up  an  incessant  fire  on 
the  garrison,  till  night  put  an  end  to 
the  cannonade.  Early  next  morning  it 
was  recommenced,  in  the  hope  that,  un 
der  its  cover,  the  Augusta  and  the  Mer 
lin  might  be  got  off.  The  Americans, 
on  discovering  their  situation,  sent  four 
fire-ships  against  them,  but  without  ef 
fect.  Meanwhile,  a  warm  cannonade 
took  place  on  both  sides,  in  the  course 
of  which  the  Augusta  took  fire,  and  it 
was  found  impracticable  to  extinguish 
the  flames.  Most  of  the  men  were  taken 
out,  the  frigates  withdrawn,  and  the 
Merlin  set  on  fire  ;  after  which  the  Au 
gusta  blew  up,  and  a  few  of  the  crew 
were  lost  in  her. 

This  repulse  inspired  Congress  with 
flattering  hopes  for  the  permanent  de 
fence  of  the  posts  on  the  Delaware. 
That  body  expressed  its  high  sense  of 
the  merits  of  Colonel  Greene,  of  Rhode 
Island,  who  had  commanded  in  Fort 
Mercer ;  of  Lieutenant-colonel  Smith,  of 
Maryland,  who  had  commanded  in  Fort 
Mifflin  ;  and  of  Commodore  Hazlewood, 
who  commanded  the  galleys  ;  and  pre 
sented  a  sword  to  each  of  these  officers, 
as  a  mark  of  the  estimation  in  which 
their  services  were  held. 

The  situation  of  these  forts  was  far 
from  justifying  this  confidence  of  their 
being  defensible.  That  on  Mud  Island 
had  been  unskilfully  constructed,  and 
required  at  least  eight  hundred  men 
fully  to  man  the  lines.  The  island  is 
about  half  a  mile  long.  Fort  Mifflin 


was  placed  at  the  lower  end,  having  its 
principal  fortifications  in  front  for  the 
purpose  of  repelling  ships  coming  up 
the  river.  The  defences  in  the  rear 
consisted  only  of  a  ditch  and  palisade, 
protected  by  two  block-houses,  the  up 
per  story  of  one  of  which  had  been  de 
stroyed  in  the  late  cannonade.  Above 
the  fort  were  tAvo  batteries  opposing 
those  constructed  by  the  British  on 
Province  and  Carpenter's  islands,  which 
were  separated  from  Mud  Island  only 
by  a  narrow  passage  between  four  and 
five  hundred  yards  wide. 

The  garrison  of  Fort  Mifflin  consist 
ed  of  only  three  hundred  continental 
troops,  who  were  worn  down  with  fa 
tigue  and  incessant  watching,  under  the 
constant  apprehension  of  being  attacked 
from  Province  Island,  from  Philadel 
phia,  and  from  the  ships  below. 

Having  failed  in  every  attempt  to 
draw  the  militia  of  New  Jersey  to  the 
Delaware,  Washington  determined  to 
strengthen  the  garrison  by  further 
drafts  from  his  army.  Three  hundred 
Pennsylvania  militia  were  detached,  to 
be  divided  between  the  two  forts  ;  and, 
a  few  days  afterwards,  General  Varnurn 
was  ordered,  with  his  brigade,  to  take  a 
position  about  Woodbury,  near  Red 
Bank,  and  to  relieve  and  reinforce  the 
garrisons  of  both  forts  as  far  as  his 
strength  would  permit.  Washington 
hoped  that  the  appearance  of  so  re 
spectable  a  continental  force  might  en 
courage  the  militia  to  assemble  in 
greater  numbers. 

Aware  of  the   advantage   to   result 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


599 


from  a  victory  over  the  British  army 
while  separated  from  the  fleet,  Wash 
ington  had  been  uniformly  determined 
to  risk  much  to  gain  one.  He  had, 
therefore,  after  the  battle  of  German- 
town,  continued  to  watch  assiduously 
for  an  opportunity  to  attack  his  enemy 
once  more  to  advantage.  The  circum 
spect  caution  of  General  Howe  afforded 
none.  After  the  repulse  at  Red  Bank, 
his  measures  were  slow  but  certain ; 
and  were  calculated  to  insure  the  pos 
session  of  the  forts  without  exposing 
his  troops  to  the  hazard  of  an  assault. 

In  this  state  of  things,  intelligence 
was  received  of  the  successful  termina 
tion  of  the  northern  campaign,  in  con 
sequence  of  which  great  part  of  the 
troops  who  had  been  employed  against 
Burgoyne,  might  be  drawn  to  the  aid 
of  the  army  in  Pennsylvania.  But 
Washington  had  just  grounds  to  ap 
prehend  that,  before  these  reinforce 
ments  could  arrive,  Howe  would  gain 
possession  of  the  forts,  and  remove 
the  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Delaware.  This  apprehension  fur 
nished  a  strong  motive  for  vigorous  at 
tempts  to  relieve  Fort  Mifflin.  But  the 
relative  force  of  the  armies,  the  diffi 
culty  of  acting  offensively  against  Phil 
adelphia,  and,  above  all,  the  reflection 
that  a  defeat  might  disable  him  from 
meeting  his  enemy  in  the  field  even  af 
ter  the  arrival  of  the  troops  expected 
from  the  North,  determined  Washing 
ton  not  to  hazard  a  second  attack  under 
existing  circumstances. 

To  expedite  the  reinforcements  for 


which  he  waited,  Washington  dispatch 
ed  Colonel  Hamilton  to  General  Gates, 
with  directions  to  represent  to  him  the 
condition  of  the  armies  in  Pennsylva 
nia  ;  and  to  urge  him,  if  he  contem 
plated  no  other  service  of  more  impor 
tance,  immediately  to  send  the  regi 
ments  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp 
shire  to  aid  the  army  of  the  middle  de 
partment.  These  orders  were  not  per 
emptory,  because  it  was  possible  that 
some  other  object  (as  the  capture  of 
New  York)  still  more  interesting  than 
the  expulsion  of  General  Howe  from 
Philadelphia,  might  be  contemplated 
by  Gates  ;  and  Washington  meant  not 
to  interfere  with  the  accomplishment  of 
such  object. 

On  reaching  General  Putnam,  Colo 
nel  Hamilton  found  that  a  considerable 
part  of  the  northern  army  had  joined 
that  officer,  but  that  Gates  had  detained 
four  brigades  at  Albany  for  an  expedi 
tion  intended  to  be  made  in  the  winter 
against  Ticonderoga. 

Having  made  such  arrangements  with 
Putnam  as  he  supposed  would  secure 
the  immediate  march  of  a  large  body 
of  continental  troops  from  that  station, 
Colonel  Hamilton  proceeded  to  Albany 
for  the  purpose  of  remonstrating  with 
General  Gates  against  retaining  so  large 
and  valuable  a  part  of  the  army  unem 
ployed  at  a  time  when  the  most  immi 
nent  danger  threatened  the  vitals  of  the 

o 

country.  Gates  was  by  no  means  dis 
posed  to  part  with  his  troops.  He 
could  not  believe  that  an  expedition 
then  preparing  at  New  York,  was  de 


600 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  IV. 


signed  to  reinforce  General  Howe  ;  and 

o 

insisted  that,  should  the  troops  then 
embarked  at  that  place,  instead  of  pro 
ceed  ins:  to  the  Delaware,  make  a  sud- 

O  ' 

den  movement  up  the  Hudson,  it  would 
be  in  their  power,  should  Albany  be 
left  defenceless,  to  destroy  the  valuable 
arsenal  which  had  been  there  erected, 
and  the  military  stores  captured  with 
Burgoyne,  which  had  been  chiefly  de 
posited  in  that  town. 

Having,  after  repeated  remonstrances, 
obtained  an  order  directing  three  bri 
gades  to  the  Delaware,  Hamilton  has 
tened  back  to  Putnam,  and  found  the 
troops  which  had  been  ordered  to  join 
Washington,  still  at  Peekskill.  The 
detachment  from  New  York  had  sug 
gested  to  Putnam  the  possibility  of  tak 
ing  that  place  ;  and  he  does  not  appear 
to  have  made  very  great  exertions  to 
divest  himself  of  a  force  he  deemed 
necessary  for  an  object  the  accomplish 
ment  of  which  would  give  so  much 
splendor  to  his  military  character.  In 
addition  to  this  circumstance,  an  opinion 
had  gained  ground  among  the  soldiers, 
that  their  share  of  service  for  the  cam 
paign  had  been  performed,  and  that  it 
was  time  for  them  to  go  into  winter- 
quarters.  Great  discontents  too  pre 
vailed  concerning  their  pay,  which  the 
government  had  permitted  to  be  more 
than  six  months  in  arrear ;  and  in  Poor's 
brigade,  a  mutiny  broke  out,  in  the 
course  of  which  a  soldier  who  was  run 
through  the  body  by  his  captain,  shot 
the  captain  dead  before  he  expired. 
Colonel  Hamilton  came  in  time  to  bor 


row  money  from  the  governor,  George 
Clinton,*  of  New  York,  to  put  the 
troops  in  motion ;  and  they  proceeded 
by  brigades  to  the  Delaware.  But 
these  several  delays  retarded  their  ar 
rival  until  the  contest  for  the  forts  on 
that  river  was  terminated. 

The  preparations  of  Sir  William 
Howe  being  completed,  a  large  bat 
tery  on  Province  Island  of  twenty-four 
and  thirty-two  pounders,  and  two  how 
itzers  of  eight  inches  each,  opened,  early 
in  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  Novem 
ber,  upon  Fort  Mifflin,  at  the  distance 
of  five  hundred  yards,  and  kept  up 
an  incessant  fire  for  several  successive 
days.  The  blockhouses  were  reduced 
to  a  heap  of  ruins ;  the  palisades  were 
beaten  down ;  and  most  of  the  guns 
dismounted  and  otherwise  disabled. 
The  barracks  were  battered  in  every 
part,  so  that  the  troops  could  not  re 
main  in  them.  They  were  under  the 
necessity  of  working  and  watching  the 
whole  night  to  repair  the  damages  of 
the  day,  and  to  guard  against  a  storm, 
of  which  they  were  in  perpetual  appre 
hension.  If  in  the  day  a  few  moments 
were  allowed  for  repose,  it  was  taken 
on  the  wet  earth,  which,  in  consequence 
of  heavy  rains,  had  become  a  soft  mud. 
The  garrison  was  relieved  by  General 
Varnum  every  forty-eight  hours ;  but 
his  brigade  was  so  weak  that  half  the 
men  were  constantly  on  duty. 

Colonel  Smith  was  decidedly  of  opin 
ion,  and  General  Varnum  concurred  with 

0  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


601 


him,  that  the  garrison  could  not  repel 
an  assault,  and  ought  to  be  withdrawn  ; 
but  Washington  still  cherished  the  hope 
that  the  place  might  be  maintained  un 
til  he  should  be  reinforced  from  the 
northern  army.  Believing  that  an  as 
sault  would  not  be  attempted  until  the 
works  were  battered  down,  he  recom 
mended  that  the  whole  night  should 
be  employed  in  making  repairs.  His 
orders  were  that  the  place  should  be 
defended  to  the  last  extremity ;  and 
never  were  orders  more  faithfully  exe 
cuted. 

Several  of  the  garrison  were  killed, 
and  among  them  Captain  Treat,  a  gal 
lant  officer,  who  commanded  the  artil 
lery.  Colonel  Smith  received  a  con 
tusion  on  his  hip  and  arm  which  com 
pelled  him  to  give  up  the  command, 
and  retire  to  Red  Bank.  Major  Fleury, 
a  French  officer  of  distinguished  merit, 
who  served  as  engineer,  reported  to 
Washington  that,  although  the  block 
houses  were  beaten  down,  all  the  guns 
in  them,  except  two,  disabled,  and  sev 
eral  breaches  made  in  the  walls,  the 
place  was  still  defensible  ;  but  the  gar 
rison  was  so  unequal  to  the  numbers  re 
quired  by  the  extent  of  the  lines,  and 
was  so  dispirited  by  watching,  fatigue, 
and  constant  exposure  to  the  cold  rains 
which  were  almost  incessant,  that  he 
dreaded  the  event  of  an  attempt  to 
carry  the  place  by  storm.  Fresh  troops 
were  ordered  to  their  relief  from  Var- 
num's  brigade,  and  the  command  was 
taken,  first  by  Colonel  Russell,  and  af 
terwards  by  Major  Thayer.  The  artil- 

VOL.  I.— 76 


lery,  commanded  by  Captain  Lee,  con 
tinued  to  be  well  served.  The  be 
siegers  were  several  times  thrown  into 
confusion,  and  a  floating-battery  which 
opened  on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  was 
silenced  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

The  defence  being  unexpectedly  ob 
stinate,  the  assailants  brought  up  their 
ships  (November  15th)  as  far  as 
the  obstructions  in  the  river  per 
mitted,  and  added  their  fire  to  that  of 
the  batteries,  which  was  the  more  fatal 
as  the  cover  for  the  troops  had  been 
greatly  impaired.  The  brave  garrison, 
however,  still  maintained  their  ground 
with  unshaken  firmness.  In  the  midst 
of  this  stubborn  conflict,  the  Vigilant 
and  a  sloop-of-war  were  brought  up  the 
inner  channel,  between  Mud  and  Prov 
ince  islands,  which  had,  unobserved  by 
the  besieged,  been  deepened  by  the 
current  in  consequence  of  the  obstruc 
tions  in  the  main  channel ;  and,  taking 
a  station  within  one  hundred  yards  of 
the  works,  not  only  kept  up  a  destruc 
tive  cannonade,  but  threw  hand-gren 
ades  into  them ;  while  the  musketeers 
from  the  round-top  of  the  Vigilant 
killed  every  man  that  appeared  on  the 
platform. 

Major  Thayer  applied  to  the  commo 
dore  to  remove  these  vessels,  and  he 
ordered  six  galleys  on  the  service  ;  but, 
after  reconnoitering  their  situation,  the 
galleys  returned  without  attempting  any 
thing.  Their  report  was,  that  these 
ships  were  so  covered  by  the  batteries 
on  Province  Island  as  to  be  unassail 
able. 


G02 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


It  was  now  apparent  to  all  that  the 
fort  could  be  no  longer  defended.  The 
works  were  in  ruins.  The  position  of 
the  Vigilant  rendered  any  further  con 
tinuance  on  the  island  a  prodigal  and 
useless  waste  of  human  life ;  and  on  the 
16th,  about  eleven  at  night,  the  garri 
son  was  withdrawn. 

A  second  attempt  was  made  to  drive 
the  vessels  from  their  stations,  with  a 
determination,  should  it  succeed,  to  re 
possess  the  island ;  but  the  galleys 
effected  nothing ;  and  a  detachment 
from  Province  Island  soon  occupied 
the  ground  which  had  been  abandoned. 

The  day  after,  receiving  intelligence 
of  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Mifflin,  Wash 
ington  deputed  generals  De  Kalb  and 
Knox,  to  confer  with  General  Varnuin 
and  the  officers  at  Fort  Mercer  on  the 
practicability  of  continuing  to  defend 
the  obstructions  in  the  channel,  to  re 
port  thereon,  and  to  state  the  force 
which  would  be  necessary  for  that  pur 
pose.  Their  report  was  in  favor  of  con 
tinuing  the  defence.  A  council  of  the 
navy  officers  had  already  been  called 
by  the  commodore  in  pursuance  of  a 
request  of  the  commander-in-chief  made 
before  the  evacuation  had  taken  place, 
who  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that 
it  would  be  impracticable  for  the  fleet, 
after  the  loss  of  the  island,  to  maintain 
its  station,  or  to  assist  in  preventing  the 
clieiaux-de-frise  from  being  weighed  by 
the  ships  of  the  enemy. 

General  Howe  had  now  completed 
a  line  of  defence  from  the  Schuylkill 
to  the  Delaware  ;  and  a  reinforcement 


from  New  York  had  arrived  at  Ches 
ter.  These  two  circumstances  enabled 
him  to  form  an  army  in  the  Jerseys  suf 
ficient  for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Mer 
cer,  without  weakening  himself  so  much 
in  Philadelphia  as  to  put  his  lines  in 
hazard.  Still,  deeming  it  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  open  the  navigation  of 
the  Delaware  completely,  he  detached 
Lord  Cornwallis  about  one  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  17th,  with  a  strong  body  of 
troops  to  Chester.  From  that  place, 
his  lordship  crossed  over  to  Billings- 
port,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  rein 
forcement  from  New  York. 

Washington  received  immediate  in 
telligence  of  the  march  of  this  detach 
ment,  which  he  communicated  to  Gen 
eral  Varnum,  with  orders  that  Fort 
Mercer  should  be  defended  to  the  last 
extremity.  With  a  vieAv  to  military 
operations  in  that  quarter,  he  ordered 
one  division  of  the  army  to  cross  the 
river  at  Burlington,  and  dispatched  ex 
presses  to  the  northern  troops  who 
were  marching  on  by  brigades,  direct 
ing  them  to  move  down  the  Delaware 
on  its  northern  side  until  they  should 
receive  further  orders. 

General  Greene  was  selected  for  this 
expedition.  A  hope  was  entertained 
that  he  would  be  able,  not  only  to  pro 
tect  Fort  Mercer,  but  to  obtain  some 
decisive  advantage  over  Lord  Cornwal 
lis  ;  as  the  situation  of  the  fort,  which 
his  lordship  could  not  invest  without 
placing  himself  between  Timber  and 
Manto  creeks,  would  expose  the  assail 
ants  to  great  peril  from  a  respectable 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


603 


force  in  their  rear.  But,  before  Greene 
could  cross  the  Delaware,  Cornwallis 
approached  with  an  army  rendered 
more  powerful  than  had  been  expected 
by  the  junction  of  the  reinforcement 
from  New  York ;  and  Fort  Mercer  was 
evacuated. 

A  few  of  the  smaller  galleys  escaped 
up  the  river,  and  the  others  were  burnt 
by  their  crews. 

Washington  still  hoped  to  recover 
much  of  what  had  been  lost.  A  vic 
tory  would  restore  the  Jersey  shore, 
and  this  object  was  deemed  so  impor 
tant,  that  General  Greene's  instruc 
tions  indicated  the  expectation  that 
he  would  be  in  a  condition  to  fight 
Cornwallis. 

Greene  feared  the  reproach  of  avoid 
ing  an  action  less  than  the  just  censure 
of  sacrificing  the  real  interests  of  his 
country  by  engaging  the  enemy  on  dis 
advantageous  terms.  The  numbers  of 
the  British  exceeded  his,  even  counting 
his  militia  as  regulars ;  and  he  deter 
mined  to  wait  for  Glover's  brigade, 
which  was  marching  from  the  North. 

O 

Before  its  arrival,  Cornwallis  took  post 
on  Gloucester  Point,  a  point  of  land 
making  deep  into  the  Delaware,  which 
was  entirely  under  cover  of  the  guns  of 
the  ships,  from  which  place  he  was  em 
barking  his  baggage  and  the  provisions 
he  had  collected  for  Philadelphia. 

Believing  that  Cornwallis  would  im 
mediately  follow  the  magazines  he  had 
collected,  and  that  the  purpose  of  Howe 
was,  with  his  united  forces,  to  attack  the 
American  army  while  divided,  General 


Washington  ordered  Greene  to  recross 
the  Delaware,  and  join  the  army. 

Thus  after  one  continued  struggle  of 
more  than  six  weeks,  in  which  the  con 
tinental  troops  displayed  great  military 
virtues,  the  army  in  Philadelphia  se 
cured  itself  in  the  possession  of  that 
city,  by  opening  a  free  communication 
with  the  fleet. 

While  Lord  Cornwallis  was  in  Jer 
sey,  and  General  Greene  on  the  Dela 
ware  above  him,  the  reinforcements 
from  the  North  being  received,  an 
attack  on  Philadelphia  was  strongly 
pressed  by  several  officers  high  in 
rank ;  and  was  in  some  measure  urged 
by  that  torrent  of  public  opinion, 
which,  if  not  resisted  by  a  very  firm 
mind,  overwhelms  the  judgment,  and 
by  controlling  measures  not  well  com 
prehended,  may  frequently  produce, 
especially  in  military  transactions,  the 
most  disastrous  effects. 

The  officers  who  advised  this  measure 
were  Lord  Stirling,  generals  Wayne, 
Scott,  and  Woodford.  The  considera 
tions  urged  upon  Washington  in  its 
support  were — that  the  army  was  now 
in  greater  force  than  he  could  expect  it 
to  be  at  any  future  time ;  that  being 
joined  by  the  troops  who  had  conquered 
Burgoyne,  his  own  reputation,  the  repu 
tation  of  his  army,  the  opinion  of  Con 
gress  and  of  the  nation,  required  some 
decisive  blow  on  his  part ;  and  that  the 
rapid  depreciation  of  the  paper  cur 
rency,  by  which  the  resources  for  car 
rying  on  the  war  were  dried  up,  ren 
dered  indispensable  some  grand  ef 


604 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


fort  to  bring  it  to  a  speedy  termina 
tion. 

Washington   reconnoitered   the  ene- 

O 

my's  lines  with  great  care,  and  took 
into  serious  consideration  the  plan  of 
attack  proposed.  The  plan  proposed 
was :  that  General  Greene  should  em 
bark  two  thousand  men  at  Dunks'  Fer 
ry,  and  descending  the  Delaware  in  the 
night,  land  in  the  town  just  before  day, 
attack  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  and  take 
possession  of  the  bridge  over  the  Schuyl- 
kill ;  that  a  strong  corps  should  march 
down  on  the  west  side  of  that  river,  oc 
cupy  the  heights  enfilading  the  works 
of  the  enemy,  and  open  a  brisk  can 
nonade  upon  them,  while  a  detachment 
from  it  should  march  down  to  the 
bridge,  and  attack  in  front  at  the  same 

o    / 

instant  that  the  party  descending  the 
river  should  commence  its  assault  on 
the  rear. 

Not  only  the  commander-in-chief,  but 
some  of  his  best  officers,  those  who 
could  not  be  impelled  by  the  clamors 
of  the  ill-informed  to  ruin  the  public 
interests,  were  opposed  to  this  mad  en 
terprise.  The  two  armies,  they  said, 
were  now  nearly  equal  in  point  of  num 
bers,  and  the  detachment  under  Lord 
Cornwallis  could  not  be  supposed  to 
have  so  weakened  Sir  William  Howe 
as  to  compensate  for  the  advantages  of 
his  position.  His  right  was  covered  by 
the  Delaware,  his  left  by  the  Schuyl- 
kill,  his  rear  by  the  junction  of  those 
two  rivers,  as  well  as  by  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  and  his  front  by  a  line 
of  redoubts  extending  from  river  to 


river,  and  connected  by  an  abattis,  and 
by  circular  works.  It  would  be  indis 
pensably  necessary  tc  carry  all  these 
redoubts  ;  since  to  leave  a  part  of  them 
to  play  on  the  rear  of  the  columns, 
while  engaged  in  front  with  the  enemy 
in  Philadelphia,  would  be  extremely 
hazardous. 

Supposing  the  redoubts  carried,  and 
the  British  army  driven  into  the  town, 
yet  all  military  men  were  agreed  on  the 
great  peril  of  storming  a  town.  The 
streets  would  be  defended  by  an  artil 
lery  greatly  superior  to  that  of  the 
Americans,  which  would  attack  in 
front,  while  the  brick  houses  would  be 
lined  with  musketeers,  whose  fire  must 
thin  the  ranks  of  the  assailants. 

A  part  of  the  plan,  on  the  successful 
execution  of  which  the  whole  depended, 
was,  that  the  British  rear  should  be  sur 
prised  by  the  corps  descending  the  Del 
aware.  This  would  require  the  concur 
rence  of  too  many  favorable  circum 
stances  to  be  calculated  on  with  any 
confidence.  As  the  position  of  General 
Greene  was  known,  it  could  not  be  sup 
posed  that  Sir  William  Howe  would 
be  inattentive  to  him.  It  was  prob 
able  that  not  even  his  embarkation 
would  be  made  unnoticed  ;  but  it  was 
presuming  a  degree  of  negligence  which 
ought  not  to  be  assumed,  to  suppose 
that  he  could  descend  the  river  to 
Philadelphia  undiscovered.  So  soon 
as  his  movement  should  be  observed, 
the  whole  plan  would  be  comprehend 
ed,  since  it  would  never  be  conjectured 
that  Greene  was  to  attack  singly. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


605 


If  the  attack  in  front  should  fail, 
which  was  not  even  improbable,  the 
total  loss  of  the  two  thousand  men  in 
the  rear  must  follow ;  and  General 
Howe  would  maintain  his  superiority 
through  the  winter. 

The  situation  did  not  require  these 
desperate  measures.  The  British  gen 
eral  would  be  compelled  to  risk  a  bat 
tle  on  equal  terms,  or  to  manifest  a  con 
scious  inferiority  to  the  American  army. 
The  depreciation  of  paper  money  was 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  immense 
emissions  without  corresponding  taxes. 
It  was  by  removing  the  cause,  not  by 
sacrificing  the  army,  that  this  evil  was 
to  be  corrected. 

Washington  possessed  too  much  dis 
cernment  to  be  dazzled  by  the  false 
brilliant  presented  by  those  who  urged 
the  necessity  of  storming  Philadelphia, 
in  order  to  throw  lustre  round  his  own 
fame,  and  that  of  his  army ;  and  too 
much  firmness  of  temper,  too  much  vir 
tue  and  real  patriotism,  to  be  diverted 
from  a  purpose  believed  to  be  right,  by 
the  clamors  of  faction  or  the  discontents 
of  ignorance.  Disregarding  the  impor 
tunities  of  mistaken  friends,  the  malig 
nant  insinuations  of  enemies,  and  the 
expectations  of  the  ill-informed,  he  per 
severed  in  his  resolution  to  make  no 
attempt  on  Philadelphia.  He  saved  his 
army,  and  was  able  to  keep  the  field 
in  the  face  of  his  enemy ;  while  the 
clamor  of  the  moment  wasted  in  air 
and  was  forgotten. 

About  this  time  Washington  learnt, 
by  a  letter  from  General  Greene,  that 


his  young  friend,  Lafayette,  although 
hardly  recovered  from  the  wound  re 
ceived  at  Brandywine,  had  signalized  his 
spirit  and  courage  by  an  attack  on  Corn- 
wallis's  picket-guard  at  Gloucester  Point, 
below  Philadelphia.  "The  Marquis," 
writes  Greene,  "  with  about  four  hundred 
militia  and  the  rifle  corps,  attacked  the 
enemy's  picket  last  evening,  killed  about 
twenty,  wounded  many  more,  and  took 
about  twenty  prisoners.  The  Marquis 
is  charmed  with  the  spirited  behavior 
of  the  militia  and  rifle  corps ;  they 
drove  the  enemy  about  half  a  mile,  and 
kept  the  ground  till  dark.  The  ene 
my's  picket  consisted  of  about  three 
hundred,  and  were  reinforced  during 
the  skirmish.  The  Marquis  is  deter 
mined  to  be  in  the  way  of  danger." 

The  following  letter  to  Washington, 
cited  by  Sparks,  contains  Lafayette's 
own  account  of  this  affair  : 

"After  having  spent  the  most  part 
of  the  day  in  making  myself  well-ac 
quainted  with  the  certainty  of  the  en 
emy's  motions,  I  came  pretty  late  into 
the  Gloucester  road  between  the  two 
creeks.  I  had  ten  light-horse,  almost 
one  hundred  and  fifty  riflemen,  and  two 
pickets  of  militia.  Colonel  Arrnand, 
Colonel  Laumoy,  and  the  chevaliers 
Duplessis  and  Girnat,  were  the  French 
men  with  me.  A  scout  of  my  men, 
under  Duplessis,  went  to  ascertain  how 
near  to  Gloucester  were  the  enemy's 
first  pickets,  and  they  found  at  the  dis 
tance  of  two  miles  and  a  half  from  that 
place  a  strong  post  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  Hessians,  with  field-pieces,  and 


606 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boos:  IV. 


they  engaged  immediately.  As  my  lit 
tle  reconnoitering  party  were  all  in  fine 
spirits,  I  supported  them.  We  pushed 
the  Hessians  more  than  half  a  mile  from 
the  place  where  their  main  body  had 
been,  and  we  made  them  run  very  fast. 
British  reinforcements  came  twice  to 
them,  but,  very  far  from  recovering 
their  ground,  they  always  retreated. 
The  darkness  of  the  night  prevented 
us  from  pursuing  our  advantage.  Af 
ter  standing  on  the  ground  we  had 
gained,  I  ordered  them  to  return  very 
slowly  to  Haddonfield." 

The  Marquis  had  only  one  man  killed, 
and  six  wounded.  "  I  take  the  greatest 
pleasure,"  he  added,  "in  letting  you 
know  that  the  conduct  of  our  soldiers 
was  above  all  praise.  I  never  saw  men 
so  merry,  so  spirited,  and  so  desirous  to 
go  on  to  the  enemy,  whatever  force  they 
might  have,  as  that  same  small  party  in 
this  little  fight." 

Washington,  in  a  letter  to  Congress, 
dated  November  26th,  1777,  mentions 
this  affair  with  commendation,  and  sug 
gests,  as  he  had  repeatedly  done  before, 
Lafayette's  appointment  to  one  of  the 
vacant  divisions  of  the  army ;  and  on 
the  same  day  that  this  letter  was  re 
ceived,  Congress  voted  that  such  an 
appointment  would  be  agreeable  to 
them.  Three  days  afterwards  Wash 
ington  placed  Lafayette  in  command  of 
the  division  of  General  Stephen,  who 
had  been  dismissed  from  the  army  for 
having  been  intoxicated,  to  the  great 
injury  of  the  public  service,  on  the 
eventful  day  of  the  battle  of  German- 


town.  We  shall  see  that  this  appoint 
ment,  by  enabling  Lafayette  to  act 
occasionally  on  a  separate  command, 
afforded  him  the  opportunity  of  ren 
dering  essential  service  to  the  cause  of 
independence. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  the  Board 
of  War  was  increased  from  three  to 
five  members,  viz. :  General  Mifflin,  for 
merly  aid  to  Washington,  and  recent 
ly  quartermaster-general,  Joseph  Trum- 
bull,  Richard  Peters,  Colonel  Timothy 
Pickering,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Gen 
eral  Gates.  Gates  was  appointed  presi 
dent  of  the  Board,  with  many  flattering 
expressions  from  Congress.  His  recent 
triumph  over  Burgoyne  had  gained 
him  many  friends  among  the  members 
of  Congress,  and  a  few  among  the  offi 
cers  of  the  army.  His  head,  naturally 
not  over-strong,  had  been  turned  by 
success ;  and  he  entered  into  the  views 
of  a  certain  clique  which  had  recently 
been  formed,  whose  object  was  to  dis 
parage  Washington,  and  put  forward 
rather  high  pretensions  in  favor  of  the 
"  hero  of  Saratoga."  This  clique,  called 
from  the  name  of  its  most  active  mem 
ber,  General  Conway,  the  "  Conway  Ca 
bal,"  we  shall  notice  hereafter.  At  the 
time  of  this  change  in  the  constitution 
of  the  Board  of  War,  it  was  in  full 
activity  ;  and  its  operations  were  well 
known  to  Washington.  In  fact,  he  had 
already  applied  the  match  which  ulti 
mately  exploded  the  whole  conspiracy, 
and  brought  lasting  disgrace  on  every 
one  of  its  members. 

General  Howe  in  the  mean  time  was 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


607 


17T7. 


preparing  to  attack  Washington  in  his 
camp,  and,  as  he  confidently  threatened, 
to  "  drive  him  beyond  the  mountains." 

On  the  4th  of  December,  Captain 
M'Lane,  a  vigilant  officer  on  the  lines, 
discovered  that  an  attempt  to 
surprise  the  American  camp  at 
White  Marsh  was  about  to  be  made, 
and  communicated  the  information  to 
Washington.  In  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  General  Howe  marched  out 
of  Philadelphia  with  his  whole  force  ; 
and,  about  eleven  at  night,  M'Lane, 

7  O  I  I 

who  had  been  detached  with  one  hun 
dred  chosen  men,  attacked  the  British 
van  at  the  Three  Mile  Run,  on  the 
Germantown  road,  and  compelled  their 
front  division  to  change  its  line  of 
march.  He  hovered  on  the  front  and 
flank  of  the  advancing  army,  galling 
them  severely  until  three  next  morn 
ing,  when  the  British  encamped  on 
Chestnut  Hill,  in  front  of  the  American 
right,  and  distant  from  it  about  three 
miles.  A  slight  skirmish  had  also  taken 
place  between  the  Pennsylvania  militia 
under  General  Irvine,  and  the  advanced 
light  parties  of  the  enemy,  in  which  the 
general  was  wounded,  and  the  militia, 
without  much  other  loss,  were  dis 
persed. 

The  range  of  hills  on  which  the  Brit 
ish  were  posted,  approached  nearer  to 
those  occupied  by  the  Americans,  as 
they  stretched  northward. 

Having  passed  the  day  in  reconnoi- 
tering  the  right,  Howe  changed  his 
ground  in  the  course  of  the  night,  and 
moving  along  the  hills  to  his  right,  took 


an  advantageous  position,  about  a  mile 
in  front  of  the  American  left.  The 
next  day,  he  inclined  still  further  to  his 
right,  and,  in  doing  so,  approached  still 
nearer  to  the  left  wing  of  the  American 
army.  Supposing  a  general  engage 
ment  to  be  approaching,  Washington 
detached  Gist,  with  some  Maryland  mi 
litia,  and  Morgan,  with  his  rifle  corps, 
to  attack  the  flanking  and  advanced 
parties  of  the  enemy.  A  sharp  action 
ensued,  in  which  Major  Morris,  of  New 
Jersey,  a  brave  officer  in  Morgan's  regi 
ment,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  twen 
ty-seven  of  his  men  were  killed  and 
wounded.  A  small  loss  was  also  sus 
tained  in  the  militia.  The  parties  first 
attacked  were  driven  in ;  but  the  en 
emy  reinforcing  in  numbers,  and  Wash 
ington,  unwilling  to  move  from  the 

O  i  O 

heights,  and  engage  on  the  ground 
which  was  the  scene  of  the  skirmish, 
declining  to  reinforce  Gist  and  Morgan, 
they,  in  turn,  were  compelled  to  retreat. 
Howe  continued  to  manoeuvre  to 
wards  the  flank,  and  in  front  of  the  left 
wing  of  the  American  army.  Expect 
ing  to  be  attacked  in  that  quarter 
in  full  force,  Washington  made  such 
changes  in  the  disposition  of  his  troops 
as  the  occasion  required  ;  and  the  day 
was  consumed  in  these  movements. 
In  the  course  of  it,  Washington  rode 
through  every  brigade  of  his  army,  de 
livering,  in  person,  his  orders  respect 
ing  the  manner  of  receiving  the  enemy, 
exhorting  his  troops  to  rely  principally 
on  the  bayonet,  and  encouraging  them, 
by  the  steady  firmness  of  his  counte- 


G08 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


nance  as  well  as  by  his  words,  to  a  vig 
orous  performance  of  their  duty.  The 
dispositions  of  the  evening  indicated  an 
intention  to  attack  him  the  ensuing 
moraincr ;  but  in  the  afternoon  of  the 

O    / 

8th,  the  British  suddenly  filed  off  from 
their  right,  which  extended  beyond  the 
American  left,  and  retreated  to  Phila 
delphia.  The  parties  detached  to  harass 
their  rear  could  not  overtake  it.* 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  this  expedi 
tion,  as  stated  in  the  official  letter  of 
General  Howe,  rather  exceeded  one 
hundred  in  killed,  wounded,  and  miss 
ing  ;  and  was  sustained  principally  in 
the  skirmish  of  the  Yth,  in  which  Major 
Morris  fell. 

On  no  former  occasion  had  the  two 
armies  met,  uncovered  by  works,  with 
superior  numbers  on  the  side  of  the 
Americans.  The  effective  force  of  the 
British  was  then  stated  at  twelve  thou 
sand  men.  Stedman,  the  historian,  who 
then  belonged  to  Howe's  army,  states 
its  number  to  have  been  fourteen  thou 
sand.  The  American  army  consisted  of 
precisely  twelve  thousand  one  hundred 
and  sixty-one  continental  troops,  and 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty- 
one  militia.  This  equality  in  point  of 
numbers,  rendered  it  a  prudent  precau- 


°  Judge  Marshall,  the  biographer  of  Washington,  on 
whose  account  of  this  affair  ours  is  founded,  was  present 
on  the  occasion.  He  served  in  the  army  from  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war;  was  appointed  first-lieutenant  in  1776, 
and  captain  in  1777.  He  resigned  his  commission  in 
1778,  and,  devoting  himself  to  the  practice  of  the  law, 
subsequently  rose  to  the  eminent  office  of  chief-justice  of 
the  United  States.  He  died  at  Philadelphia,  July  6th, 
1836,  aged  seventy-nine. 


tion  to  maintain  a  superiority  of  po 
sition.  As  the  two  armies  occupied 
heights  fronting  each  other,  neither 
could  attack  without  giving  to  its  ad 
versary  some  advantage  in  the  ground  ; 
and  this  was  an  advantage  which  neither 
seemed  willing  to  relinquish. 

The  return  of  Howe  to  Philadelphia 
without  bringing  on  an  action,  after 
marching  out  with  the  avowed  inten 
tion  of  fighting,  is  the  best  testimony 
of  the  respect  which  he  felt  for  the 
talents  of  his  adversary,  and  the  cour 
age  of  the  troops  he  was  to  encounter. 

The  cold  was  now  becoming  so  in 
tense  that  it  was  impossible  for  an  army 
neither  well-clothed,  nor  sufficiently  sup 
plied  with  blankets,  longer  to  keep  the 
field  in  tents.  It  had  become  necessary 
to  place  the  troops  in  winter-quarters ; 
but  in  the  existing  state  of  things  the 
choice  of  winter-quarters  was  a  subject 
for  serious  reflection.  It  was  impossi 
ble  to  place  them  in  villages  without 
uncovering  the  country,  or  exposing 
them  to  the  hazard  of  being  beaten  in 
detachment. 

To  avoid  these  calamities,  it  was  de 
termined  to  take  a  strong  position  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  equally 
distant  from  the  Delaware  above  and 
below  that  city  ;  and  there  to  construct 
huts,  in  the  form  of  a  regular  encamp 
ment,  which  might  cover  the  army 
during  the  winter.  A  strong  piece  of 
ground  at  Valley  Forge,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Schuylkill,  between  twenty 
and  thirty  miles  from  Philadelphia,  was 
selected  for  that  purpose ;  and  some 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


609 


1T17. 


time  before  day  on  the  morning  of  the 
llth  of  December,  the  army  marched 
to  take  possession  of  it.  By  an  acci 
dental  concurrence  of  circum 
stances,  Lord  Cornwallis  had 
been  detached  the  same  morning  at 
the  head  of  a  strong  corps,  on  a  for 
aging  party  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Schuylkill.  He  had  fallen  in  with  a 
brigade  of  Pennsylvania  militia  com 
manded  by  General  Potter,  which  he 
soon  dispersed  ;  and,  pursuing  the  fugi 
tives,  had  gained  the  heights  opposite 
Matron's  Ford,  over  which  the  Ameri 
cans  had  thrown  a  bridge  for  the  pur 
pose  of  crossing  the  river,  and  had 
posted  troops  to  command  the  defile 
called  the  Gulph,  just  as  the  front  di 
vision  of  the  American  army  reached 
the  bank  of  the  river.  This  movement 
had  been  made  without  any  knowledge 
of  the  intention  of  General  Washington 
to  change  his  position,  or  any  design  of 
contesting  the  passage  of  the  Schuyl 
kill  ;  but  the  troops  had  been  posted 
in  the  manner  already  mentioned  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  covering  the  for 
aging  party. 

Washington  apprehended,  from  his 
first  intelligence,  that  General  Howe 
had  taken  the  field  in  full  force.  He 
therefore  recalled  the  troops  already 
on  the  west  side,  and  moved  rather 
higher  up  the  river,  for  the  purpose  of 
understanding  the  real  situation,  force, 
and  designs  of  the  enemy.  The  next 
day  Lord  Cornwallis  returned  to  Phila 
delphia  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  the  night, 
the  American  army  crossed  the  river. 

VOL.  I.— 77 


Here  the  commander-iii-chief  com 
municated  to  his  army,  in  general  or 
ders,  the  manner  in  which  he  intend 
ed  to  dispose  of  them  during  the  win 
ter.  He  expressed,  in  strong  terms,  his 
approbation  of  their  conduct,  presented 
them  with  an  encouraging  state  of  the 
future  prospects  of  their  country,  ex 
horted  them  to  bear  with  continuing 
fortitude  the  hardships  inseparable  from 
the  position  they  were  about  to  take, 
and  endeavored  to  convince  their  judg 
ments  that  those  hardships  were  not 
imposed  on  them  by  unfeeling  caprice, 
but  were  necessary  for  the  good  of  their 
country. 

The  winter  had  set  in  with  great  se 
verity,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  army 
were  extreme.  In  a  few  days,  how 
ever,  these  sufferings  were  considerably 
diminished  by  the  erection  of  logged 
huts,  filled  up  with  mortar,  which,  after 
being  dried,  formed  comfortable  habi 
tations,  and  gave  content  to  men  long 
unused  to  the  conveniences  of  life. 
The  order  of  a  regular  encampment 
was  observed ;  and  the  only  appear 
ance  of  winter-quarters,  was  the  substi 
tution  of  huts  for  tents. 

Stedrnan,  who,  as  we  have  already 
remarked,  was  in  Howe's  army,  has  not 
only  given  a  vivid  description  of  the 
condition  of  Washington's  army,  which 
agrees  in  the  main  with  those  of  our 
own  writers,  but  he  has  also  exhibited 
in  contrast  the  condition  and  conduct  of 
the  British  army  in  Philadelphia.  We 
transcribe  this  instructive  passage  : 

"  The  American  general  determined 


610 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


to  remain  during  the  winter  in  the  po 
sition  which  he  then  occupied  at  Valley 
Forge,  recommending  to  his  troops  to 
build  huts  in  the  woods  for  sheltering 
themselves  from  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather.  And  it  is  perhaps  one  of  the 
most  striking  traits  in  General  Wash 
ington's  character,  that  he  possessed  the 
faculty  of  gaining  such  an  ascendency 
over  his  raw  and  undisciplined  follow 
ers,  most  of  whom  were  destitute  of 
proper  winter  clothing,  and  otherwise 
unprovided  with  necessaries,  as  to  be 
able  to  prevail  upon  so  many  of  them 
to  remain  with  him  during  the  winter, 
in  so  distressing  a  situation.  With  im 
mense  labor  he  raised  wooden  huts,  cov 
ered  with  straw  and  earth,  which  formed 
very  uncomfortable  quarters.  On  the 
east  and  south,  an  intrenchment  was 
made — the  ditch  six  feet  wide  and 
three  in  depth  ;  the  mound  not  four 
feet  high,  very  narrow,  and  such  as 
might  easily  have  been  beat  down  by 
cannon.  Two  redoubts  were  also  be 
gun,  but  never  completed.  The  Schuyl- 
kill  was  on  his  left,  with  a  bridge  across. 
His  rear  was  mostly  covered  by  an  im 
passable  precipice  formed  by  Valley 
Creek,  having  only  a  narrow  passage 
near  the  Schuylkill.  On  the  right  his 
camp  was  accessible  with  some  diffi 
culty,  but  the  approach  on  his  front 
was  on  ground  nearly  on  a  level  with 
his  camp.  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  give 
an  adequate  description  of  his  misery  in 
this  situation.  His  army  was  destitute 
of  almost  every  necessary  of  clothing, 
nay,  almost  naked  ;  and  very  often  on 


short  allowance  of  provisions ;  an  ex 
treme  mortality  raged  in  his  hospitals, 
nor  had  he  any  of  the  most  proper  med 
icines  to  relieve  the  sick.  There  were 
perpetual  desertions  of  parties  from  him 
of  ten  to  fifty  at  a  time.  In  three 
months  he  had  not  four  thousand  men, 
and  these  could  by  no  means  be  termed 
effective.  Not  less  than  five  hundred 
horses  perished  from  want  and  the  se 
verity  of  the  season.  He  had  often  not 
three  days'  provisions  in  his  camp,  and 
at  times  not  enough  for  one  day.  In 
this  infirm  and  dangerous  state  he  con 
tinued  from  December  to  May,  during 
all  which  time  every  person  expected 
that  General  Howe  would  have  stormed 
or  besieged  his  camp,  the  situation  of 
which  equally  invited  either  attempt. 
To  have  posted  two  thousand  men  on 
a  commanding  ground  near  the  bridge, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Schuylkill, 
would  have  rendered  his  escape  on 
the  left  impossible  ;  two  thousand  men 
placed  on  a  like  ground  opposite  the 
narrow  pass,  would  have  as  effectually 
prevented  a  retreat  by  his  rear ;  and 
five  or  six  thousand  men,  stationed  on 
the  front  and  right  of  his  camp,  would 
have  deprived  him  of  flight  on  those 
sides.  The  positions  were  such,  that, 
if  any  of  the  corps  were  attacked,  they 
could  have  been  instantly  supported 
Under  such  propitious  circumstances, 
what  mortal  could  doubt  of  success  ? 
But  the  British  army,  neglecting  all 
these  opportunities,  was  suffered  to  con 
tinue  at  Philadelphia,  where  the  whole 
winter  was  spent  in  dissipation.  A  want 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IX  CHECK. 


611 


of  discipline  and  proper  subordination 
pervaded  the  whole  army ;  and  if  dis 
ease  and  sickness  thinned  the  American 
army  encamped  at  Valley  Forge,  indo 
lence  and  luxury  perhaps  did  no  less 
injury  to  the  British  troops  at  Philadel 
phia.     During  the  winter  a  very  unfor 
tunate   inattention  was   shown  to   the 
feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  Philadel 
phia,    whose   satisfaction   should    have 
been    vigilantly  consulted,    both   from 
gratitude  and  from  interest.     They  ex 
perienced  many  of  the  horrors  of  civil 
war.     The  soldiers  insulted  and  plun 
dered  them  ;  and  their  houses  were  oc 
cupied  as  barracks,  without  any  com 
pensation  being  made  to  them.     Some 
of  the  first  families  were  compelled  to 
receive  into  their  habitations  individual 
officers,  who  were  even  indecent  enough 
to  introduce  their  mistresses  into  the 
mansions  of  their  hospitable  entertain 
ers.     This  soured  the  minds  of  the  in 
habitants,  many  of  whom  were  Quakers. 
But   the   residence   of  the  army  at 
Philadelphia  occasioned  distresses  which 
will  probably  be  considered  by  the  gen 
erality  of  mankind  as  of  a  more  griev 
ous  nature.     It  was  with  difficulty  that 
fuel  could  be  got  on  any  terms.     Pro 
visions   were   most   exorbitantly   high. 
Gaming  of  every  species  was  permitted, 
and   even   sanctioned.      This    vice  not 
only  debauched  the  mind,  but,  by  sed 
entary   confinement   and   the   want   of 
seasonable  repose,  enervated  the  body. 
A  foreign  officer  held  the  bank  at  the 
game  of  faro,  by  which  he  made  a  very 
considerable  fortune  ;  and  but  too  many 


respectable  families  in  Britain  had  to 
lament  its  baleful  effects.  Officers  who 
might  have  rendered  honorable  service 
to  their  country  were  compelled,  by 
what  was  termed  a  bad  run  of  luck,  to 
dispose  of  their  commissions,  and  return 
penniless  to  their  friends  in  Europe. 
The  father  who  thought  he  had  made 
a  provision  for  his  son  by  purchasing 
him  a  commission  in  the  army,  ulti 
mately  found  that  he  had  put  his  son 
to  school  to  learn  the  science  of  gam 
bling,  not  the  art  of  war.  Dissipation 
had  spread  through  the  army,  and  in 
dolence  and  want  of  subordination,  its 
natural  concomitants.  For,  if  the  offi 
cer  be  not  vigilant,  the  soldier  will 
never  be  alert. 

Sir  William  Howe,  from  the  manners 
and  religious  opinions  of  the  Philadel- 
phians,  should  have  been  particularly 
cautious.  For  this  public  dissoluteness 
of  the  troops  could  not  but  be  regarded 
by  such  people  as  a  contempt  of  them, 
as  well  as  an  offence  against  piety ; 
and  it  influenced  all  the  representations 
which  they  made  to  their  countrymen 
respecting  the  British.  They  inferred 
from  it,  also,  that  the  commander  could 
not  be  sufficiently  intent  on  the  plans 
of  either  conciliation  or  subjugation  ;  so 
that  the  opinions  of  the  Philadelphia^, 
whether  erroneous  or  not,  materially 
promoted  the  cause  of  Congress.  Dur 
ing  the  whole  of  this  long  winter  of 
riot  and  dissipation,  General  Washing 
ton  was  suffered  to  continue,  with  the 
remains  of  his  army,  not  exceeding  five 
thousand  effective  men  at  most,  undis- 


612 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booiv  IV. 


turbed  at  Valley  Forge :  considerable 
arreai-s  of  pay  due  to  them  ;  almost  in 
a  state  of  nature  for  want  of  clothing  ; 
the  Europeans  in  the  American  service 
disgusted,  and  deserting  in  great  num 
bers,  and  indeed  in  companies,  to  the 
British  army ;  and  the  natives  tired  of 
the  war.  Yet,  under  all  these  favora 
ble  circumstances  for  the  British  inter 
est,  no  one  step  was  taken  to  dislodge 
Washington,  whose  cannon  were  frozen 
up,  and  could  not  be  moved.  If  Sir 
William  Howe  had  marched  out  in  the 
night,  he  might  have  brought  Washing 
ton  to  action  ;  or,  if  he  had  retreated, 
he  must  have  left  his  sick,  cannon,  am 
munition,  and  heavy  baggage  behind. 
A  nocturnal  attack  on  the  Americans 
would  have  had  this  further  good  ef 
fect  :  it  would  have  depressed  the  spirit 
of  revolt,  confirmed  the  wavering,  and 
attached  them  to  the  British  interest. 
It  would  have  opened  a  passage  for 
supplies  to  the  city,  which  was  in  great 
want  of  provisions  for  the  inhabitants. 
It  would  have  shaken  off  that  lethargy 
in  which  the  British  soldiers  had  been 
immerged  during  the  winter.  It  would 
have  convinced  the  well-affected  that 
the  British  leader  was  in  earnest.  If 
Washington  had  retreated,  the  British 
could  have  followed.  With  one  of  the 
best  appointed,  in  every  respect,  and 
finest  armies  (consisting  of  at  least  four 
teen  thousand  effective  men)  ever  as 
sembled  in  any  country,  a  number  of 
officers  of  approved  service,  wishing 
only  to  be  led  to  action,  this  dilatory 
commander,  Sir  William  Howe,  drag 


ged  out  the  winter,  without  doing  any 
one  thing  to  obtain  the  end  for  which 
he  was  commissioned.  Proclamation 
was  issued  after  proclamation,  calling 
upon  the  people  of  America  to  repair 
to  the  British  standard,  promising  them 
remission  of  their  political  sins,  and  an 
assurance  of  protection  in  both  person 
and  property  ;  but  these  promises  were 
confined  merely  to  paper.  The  best  per 
sonal  security  to  the  inhabitants  was  an 
attack  by  the  army,  and  the  best  secu 
rity  of  property  was  peace  ;  and  this  to 
be  purchased  by  successful  war.  For, 
had  Sir  William  Howe  led  on  his  troops 
to  action,  victory  was  in  his  power,  and 
conquest  in  his  train.  During  Sir  Wil 
liam  Howe's  stay  at  Philadelphia  a  num 
ber  of  disaffected  citizens  were  suffered 
to  remain  in  the  garrison  ;  these  people 
were  ever  upon  the  watch,  and  com 
municated  to  Washington  every  intel 
ligence  he  could  wish  for." 

We  have  copied  this  passage  from 
Stedman,  with  a  view  to  show  the  con 
trast  between  the  situation  of  Washing 
ton  and  Howe,  and  their  respective  ar 
mies,  as  exhibited  by  an  enemy  to  our 
cause.  It  is  literally  the  contrast  be 
tween  virtue  and  vice.  The  final  result 
shows  that  Providence,  in  permitting 
the  occupation  of  Philadelphia  by  the 
British  army,  was  really  promoting  the 
cause  of  human  liberty. 

Stedman's  statement  of  the  numbers 
of  Washington's  army  is  erroneous,  even 
if  it  refers  only  to  effective  men  ;  and 
his  schemes  for  annihilating  Washing 
ton's  army  would  probably  not  have 


CHAP.  XL] 


WASHINGTON  HOLDS  HOWE  IN  CHECK. 


613 


been  so  easily  executed  as  lie  imag 
ined.  Still  the  army  was  very  weak. 
Marshall  says,  that  although  the  total 
of  the  army  exceeded  seventeen  thou 
sand  men  (February,  1778),  the  pres 
ent  effective  rank  and  file  amounted 
to  only  five  thousand  and  twelve.  This 
statement  alone,  suggests  volumes  of 


misery,  sickness,  destitution,  and  suffer 
ing. 

We  must  now  call  the  reader's  atten 
tion  to  the  northern  campaign  of  1777, 
which,  remote  as  it  was  from  Wash 
ington's  immediate  scene  of  action,  was 
not  conducted  without  his  aid  and  di 
rection. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  XI. 


[A.] 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  SAMUEL  SMITH. 

GEXERAL  SMITH  was  a  native  of  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  born  July  27th,  1752. 
Soon  after  his  birth  his  father  removed  to  Mary 
land,  where  he  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  politi 
cal  affairs.  The  son  received  a  liberal  educa 
tion,  and  afterwards  engaged  in  mercantile  pur 
suits.  The  aggressions  of  Great  Britain  towards 
her  colonies  early  engaged  his  attention,  and  in 
January,  1776,  he  obtained  a  captaincy  in  Colo 
nel  Smallwood's  regiment.  He  was  with  the 
army  in  its  disastrous  campaign  in  the  Middle 
States,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1777,  had 
risen  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine. 
When  Lord  Howe,  having  obtained  possession 
of  Philadelphia,  was  using  every  exertion  to 
open  a  communication  with  his  fleet,  Smith  was 
intrusted  with  the  defence  of  Fort  Mifflin  on 
the  Delaware,  and  during  seven  weeks  held  it 
against  the  efforts  of  the  entire  British  fleet. 
His  gallantry  on  this  occasion  elicited  warm  ap 
probation  from  Washington,  and  admiration 
even  from  the  enemy.  Congress  rewarded  him 
with  a  sword  and  their  thanks.  He  fought  at 
the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  took  part  in  the 
subsequent  operations  of  that  campaign.  After 
the  war  he  remained  in  the  army,  was  given 
command  of  the  Maryland  militia  in  the  Whis 
key  Riots,  and  afterwards  used  his  utmost  ef 
forts  in  support  of  the  new  constitution.  In  the 
War  of  1812,  he  was  appointed  major-general  of 
the  militia ;  and  when  the  British  attacked  Bal 
timore,  he  received  the  chief  command  of  the 
troops  destined  to  oppose  them.  He  remained 
with  the  army  some  time  after  this  event,  but 


eventually  retired  to  domestic  enjoyment.  Once 
only  was  his  retirement  interrupted  by  a  mili 
tary  duty.  This  was  in  1836,  when  a  popular 
outbreak,  consequent  upon  the  derangement  of 
the  currency,  took  place  in  Baltimore.  It  was 
quelled  without  bloodshed.  General  Smith 
filled  several  important  civil  offices.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  popular  branch  of  Congress  for 
sixteen  years,  and  of  the  Senate  for  twenty- 
three.  In  1837,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Balti 
more,  which  office  he  held  until  the  infirmities 
of  age  warned  him  to  resign.  He  died  April 
22d,  1839,  aged  eighty-seven. 


[B.] 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  GEORGE  CLINTON. 

Among  the  many  distinguished  patriots  : 
the  Revolution  who  have  become  tenants  of  the 
tomb,  the  services  of  none  will  be  more  readily 
acknowledged  than  those  of  the  late  venerable 
George  Clinton.  He  was  descended  from  a  re 
spectable  and  worthy  family,  and  was  born  on 
the  26th  of  July,  1739,  in  the  county  of  Ulster, 
New  York.  His  father,  Colonel  Charles  Clin 
ton,  was  an  emigrant  from  Ireland. 

In  early  youth  he  was  put  to  the  study  of 
law ;  but  long  before  he  became  a  man,  he  ral 
lied  under  the  standard  of  his  country,  and 
assisted  Amherst  in  the  reduction  of  Montreal. 
In  this  campaign  he  nobly  distinguished  himself 
in  a  conflict  on  the  northern  waters,  when,  with 
four  gun-boats,  after  a  severe  engagement,  he 
captured  a  French  brig  of  eighteen  guns. 

This  war  being  ended,  he  returned  again  to 
his  favorite  pursuit,  the  science  of  the  law,  and 
placed  himself  under  the  tuition  of  Chief-justice 


CHAP.  XL] 


DOCUMENTS. 


615 


Smith,  where  he  became  a  student  with  Gover- 
neur  Morris,  between  whom  and  himself  a  dif 
ference  of  political  opinion,  in  after  life,  wrought 
a  separation. 

He  had  scarcely  commenced  as  a  practitioner, 
when,  in  1705,  the  storm  appeared  to  gather 
round  his  native  land,  and  the  tyrannic  dispo 
sition  of  the  mother  country  was  manifested. 
Foreseeing  the  evil  at  hand,  with  a  mind  glow 
ing  with  patriotism,  correct  and  quick  in  its  per 
ceptions  ;  and,  like  time,  steady  and  fixed  to  the 
achievement  of  its  objects,  he  abandoned  the 
advantages  of  the  profession  to  which  he  had 
been  educated,  and  became  a  member  of  the 
colonial  legislature  ;  where  he  ever  displayed  a 
love  of  liberty,  an  inflexible  attachment  to  the 
rights  of  his  country,  and  that  undaunted  firm 
ness  and  integrity,  without  which  this  nation 
never  would  have  been  free  ;  and  which  has 
ever  formed  the  most  brilliant,  though  by  no 
means  the  most  useful  trait  of  his  character. 
He  was  chief  of  the  whig  party. 

In  this  situation  he  remained,  contending 
against  the  doctrine  of  British  supremacy,  and, 
with  great  strength  of  argument  and  force  of 
popularity,  supporting  the  rights  of  America, 
till  the  crisis  arrived,  when,  in  1775,  he  was  re 
turned  a  member  of  that  patriotic  Congress 
who  laid  the  foundation  of  our  independence. 
While  in  this  venerable  body,  it  may  be  said  of 
him  with  truth,  that  "  he  strengthened  the  fee 
ble  knees,  and  the  hands  that  hang  down."  On 
the  4th  of  July,  1776,  he  was  present  at  the  glo 
rious  declaration  of  independence,  and  assented, 
with  his  usual  energy  and  decision,  to  that  meas 
ure  ;  but  having  been  appointed  a  brigadier-gen 
eral  in  the  militia,  and  also  in  the  continental 
army,  the  exigencies  of  his  country  at  that  try 
ing  hour  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  take 
the  field  in  person,  and  he  therefore  retired  from 
Congress  immediately  after  his  vote  was  given, 
and  before  the  instrument  was  transcribed  for 
the  signature  of  the  members  ;  for  which  reason 
his  name  does  not  appear  among  the  signers. 

A  constitution  having  been  adopted  for  the 
State  of  New  York,  in  April,  1777,  he  was 
chosen,  at  the  first  election  under  it,  both  gov 
ernor  and  lieutenant-governor,  and  was  con 
tinued  in  the  former  office  for  eighteen  years. 


In  this  year  he  was  also  appointed  by  Congress 
to  command  the  post  of  the  Highlands,  a  most 
important  and  arduous  duty.  The  design  of 
the  enemy  was  to  separate  New  England  from 
the  rest  of  the  nation,  and  by  preventing  succor 
from  the  East,  to  lay  waste  the  middle  and 
southern  country.  Had  this  plan  been  carried 
into  effect,  American  liberty  would  probably 
have  expired  in  its  cradle.  It  was  then  that  his 
vast  and  comprehensive  genius  viewed  in  its 
true  light  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  contem 
plated  ;  and  he  roused  to  a  degree  of  energy 
unknown  and  unexpected.  It  was  then  that 
Burgoyne  was,  with  the  best-appointed  army 
ever  seen  in  America,  attempting  to  force  his 
way  to  Albany,  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  attempt 
ing  to  effect  a  junction  with  him  at  that  important 
place.  The  crisis  was  all-important,  and  Clinton 
did  not  hesitate, — he  determined  at  all  hazards 
to  save  his  country.  "With  this  view,  when  the 
British  general  attempted  to  ascend  the  river, 
Clinton  from  every  height  and  angle  assailed  him. 
His  gallant  defence  of  Fort  Montgomery,  with  a 
handful  of  men,  against  a  powerful  force  com 
manded  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  was  equally  hon 
orable  to  his  intrepidity  and  his  skill.  The  fol 
lowing  are  the  particulars  of  his  gallant  conduct 
at  the  storming  of  forts  Montgomery  and  Clin 
ton,  in  October,  1777  : 

"  When  the  British  reinforcements,  under 
General  Robertson,  amounting  to  nearly  two 
thousand  men,  arrived  from  Europe,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  used  the  greatest  exertion,  and  availed 
himself  of  every  favorable  circumstance,  to  put 
these  troops  into  immediate  operation.  Many 
were  sent  to  suitable  vessels,  and  united  in  the 
expedition,  which  consisted  of  about  four  thou 
sand  men,  against  the  forts  in  the  Highlands. 
Having  made  the  necessary  arrangements,  he 
moved  up  the  North  River,  and  landed  on  the 
4th  of  October  at  Tarrytown,  purposely  to  im 
press  General  Putnam,  under  whose  command 
a  thousand  continental  troops  had  been  left, 
with  a  belief  that  his  post  at  Peekskill  was  the 
object  of  attack.  At  eight  o'clock  at  night,  the 
general  communicated  the  intelligence  to  Gov 
ernor  Clinton  of  the  arrival  of  the  British,  and 
at  the  same  time  expressed  his  opinion  respect 
ing  their  destination.  The  designs  of  Sir  Henry 


616 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


were  immediately  perceived  by  the  governor, 
who  prorogued  the  Assembly  on  the  follow 
ing  day,  and  arrived  that  night  at  Fort  Mont 
gomery.  The  British  troops,  in  the  mean  time, 
were  secretly  conveyed  across  the  river,  and 
assaults  upon  our  forts  were  meditated  to  be 
made  on  the  Gth,  which  were  accordingly  put  in 
execution  by  attacking  the  American  advanced 
party  at  Doodletown,  about  two  miles  and  a 
half  from  Fort  Montgomery.  The  Americans 
received  the  fire  of  the  British,  and  retreated  to 
Fort  Clinton.  The  enemy  then  advanced  to 
the  west  side  of  the  mountain,  in  order  to  at 
tack  our  troops  in  the  rear.  Governor  Clinton 
immediately  ordered  out  a  detachment  of  one 
hundred  men  towards  Doodletown,  and  another 
of  sixty,  with  a  brass  field-piece,  to  an  eligible 
spot  on  another  road.  They  were  both  soon 
attacked  by  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy,  and 
compelled  to  fall  back.  It  has  been  remarked, 
that  the  talents  as  well  as  the  temper  of  a  com 
mander  are  put  to  as  severe  a  test  in  conduct 
ing  a  retreat  as  in  achieving  a  victory.  The 
truth  of  this  Governor  Clinton  experienced, 
when,  with  great  bravery,  and  the  most  perfect 
order,  he  retired  till  he  reached  the  fort.  He 
lost  no  time  in  placing  his  men  in  the  best  man 
ner  that  circumstances  would  admit.  His  post, 
however,  as  well  as  Fort  Clinton,  in  a  few  min 
utes  was  invaded  on  every  side.  In  the  midst 
of  this  disheartening  and  appalling  disaster,  he 
was  summoned,  when  the  sun  was  only  an  hour 
high,  to  surrender  in  five  minutes  ;  but  his  gal 
lant  spirit  sternly  refused  to  obey  the  call.  In 
a  short  time  after,  the  British  made  a  general 
and  most  desperate  attack  on  both  posts,  which 
was  received  by  the  Americans  with  undis 
mayed  courage  and  resistance.  Officers  and 
men,  militia  and  continentals,  all  behaved  nobly. 
An  incessant  fire  was  kept  up  till  dusk,  when 
our  troops  were  overpowered  by  numbers,  who 
forced  the  lines  and  redoubts  at  both  posts. 
Many  of  the  Americans  fought  their  way  out ; 
others  accidentally  mixed  with  the  enemy,  and 
thus  made  their  escape  effectually ;  for,  besides 
being  favored  by  the  night,  they  knew  the  va 
rious  avenues  in  the  mountains.  The  governor, 
as  well  as  his  brother,  General  James  Clinton, 
who  was  wounded,  escaped." 


Howe,  driven  to  madness  by  the  manly  re 
sistance  of  his  foes,  inconsiderately  landed  and 
marched  into  the  country,  and  immortalized  his 
name  by  burning  Kingston  and  other  villages. 
But  the  great  object  of  the  expedition,  the  form 
ing  a  junction  with  Burgoyne,  was  happily  de 
feated  by  the  capture  of  that  general,  and  Amer 
ica  was  free. 

From  this  moment,  for  eighteen  years  in  suc 
cession,  he  remained  the  governor  of  New  York, 
re-elected  to  that  important  station  by  a  gen 
erous  and  wise  people,  who  knew  how  to  appre 
ciate  his  wisdom  and  virtue  and  their  own  bless 
ings.  During  this  period,  he  was  president  of 
the  convention  of  that  State,  which  ratified  the 
national  constitution  :  when,  as  in  all  other  situ 
ations,  lie  undeviatingly  manifested  an  ardent 
attachment  to  civil  liberty. 

After  the  life  of  labor  and  usefulness  here 
faintly  portrayed — worn  with  the  fatigues  of 
duty,  and  with  a  disease  which  then  afflicted 
him,  but  which  had  been  removed  for  the  last 
eight  years  of  his  life — having  led  his  native 
State  to  eminent,  if  not  unrivalled  importance 
and  prosperity,  he  retired  from  public  life,  with 
a  mind  resolved  not  to  mingle  again  with  gov 
ernmental  concerns,  and  to  taste  those  sweets 
which  result  from  reflecting  on  a  life  well  spent. 

In  1805  he  was  chosen  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  same  number  of  votes 
that  elevated  Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  Presidency  ; 
in  which  station  he  discharged  his  duties  with 
unremitted  attention  ;  presiding  with  great  dig 
nity  in  the  Senate,  and  evincing,  by  his  votes 
and  his  opinions,  his  decided  hostility  to  con 
structive  authority,  and  to  innovations  on  the 
established  principles  of  republican  government. 

He  died  at  Washington,  when  attending  to 
his  duties  as  Vice-President,  and  was  interred 
in  that  city,  where  a  monument  was  erected  by 
the  filial  piety  of  his  children,  with  this  inscrip 
tion,  written  by  his  nephew : 

"  To  the  memory  of  George  Clinton.  He  was  born  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  on  the  26th  July,  1739,  and  died 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  20th  April,  1812,  in 
the  73d  year  of  his  age. 

"  He  was  a  soldier  and  statesman  of  the  Revolution. 
Eminent  in  council  and  distinguished  in  war,  he  filled, 
with  unexampled  usefulness,  purity,  and  ability,  among 
many  other  offices,  those  of  Governor  of  his  native  State, 


CHAP.  XL] 


DOCUMENTS. 


617 


and  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  While  he 
lived,  his  virtue,  wisdom,  and  valor  were  the  pride,  the 
ornament,  and  security  of  his  country  ;  and  when  he  died, 
he  left  an  illustrious  example  of  a  well-spent  life,  worthy 
of  all  imitation." 


MAJOR-GENERAL  JAMES  CLINTON. 

General  Clinton  was  the  fourth  son  of  Colonel 
Charles  Clinton,  and  was  born  in  Ulster  county, 
New  York,  August  19th,  1736.  In  common 
with  his  brothers,  he  received  an  excellent  edu 
cation. 

In  the  critical  and  eventful  affairs  of  nations, 
when  their  rights  and  interests  are  invaded, 
Providence,  in  the  plenitude  of  its  beneficence, 
has  generally  provided  men  qualified  to  raise 
the  standard  of  resistance,  and  has  infused  a  re 
deeming  spirit  into  the  community  which  ena 
bled  it  to  rise  superior  to  the  calamities  that 
menaced  its  liberty  and  its  prosperity.  History 
does  not  record  a  more  brilliant  illustration  of 
this  truth  than  the  American  Revolution.  In 
defiance  of  the  most  appalling  considerations, 
constellations  of  the  most  illustrious  men  pierced 
the  dark  and  gloomy  clouds  which  enveloped 
this  oppressed  people,  and  shone  forth  in  the 
councils  and  the  armies  of  the  nation.  Their 
wisdom  drew  forth  the  resources,  and  their  en 
ergy  vindicated  the  rights  of  America.  They 
took  their  lives  in  their  hands,  and  liberty  or 
death  was  inscribed  on  their  hearts.  Amidst 
this  gallant  band,  General  Clinton  stood  deserv 
edly  conspicuous.  To  an  iron  constitution  and 
an  invincible  courage,  he  added  great  coolness 
in  action  and  perseverance  in  effort.  The  pre 
dominant  inclination  of  his  mind  was  to  a  mili 
tary  life,  and  by  a  close  attention  to  the  studies 
connected  with  it,  he  prepared  himself  to  per 
form  those  duties  which  afterwards  devolved 
upon  him,  and  thereby  established  his  character 
as  an  intrepid  and  skilful  officer. 

In  the  Avar  of  1756,  usually  denominated  the 
old  French  War,  Clinton  first  encountered  the 
fatigues  and  dangers  of  a  military  life.  He  was 
a  captain  under  Colonel  Bradstreet  at  the  cap 
ture  of  Fort  Frontenac,  and  rendered  essential 
service  in  that  expedition  by  the  capture  of  a 
sloop-of-war  on  Lake  Ontario. 

His  company  was  placed  in  row-galleys,  and, 

VOL.  I.  —78 


favored  by  a  calm,  compelled  the  French  ves 
sels  to  strike,  after  an  obstinate  resistance.  His 
designation  as  captain-commandant  of  the  four 
companies  raised  for  the  protection  of  the  west 
ern  frontiers  of  the  counties  of  Orange  and 

~ 

Ulster,  was  a  post  of  great  responsibility  and 
hazard,  and  demonstrated  the  confidence  of  the 
government.  The  safety  of  a  line  of  settlements 
extending  at  least  fifty  miles,  was  intrusted  to 
his  vigilance  and  intrepidity.  The  ascendency 
of  the  French  over  the  ruthless  savages  was 
always  predominant,  and  the  inhabitant  of  the 
frontiers  was  compelled  to  hold  the  plough  with 
one  hand  for  his  sustenance,  and  to  grasp  his 
gun  with  the  other  for  his  defence  ;  and  he  was 
constantly  in  danger  of  being  awakened  in  the 
hour  of  darkness  by  the  warwhoop  of  the  sav 
ages,  to  witness  the  conflagration  of  his  dwell 
ing  and  the  murder  of  his  family. 

After  the  termination  of  the  French  War, 
Mr.  Clinton  married  Mary  De  Witt,  and  he  re 
tired  from  the  camp  to  enjoy  the  repose  of  do 
mestic  life. 

When  the  American  Revolution  was  on  the 
eve  of  its  commencement,  he  was  appointed,  on 
the  30th  of  June,  1775,  by  the  Continental  Con 
gress,  colonel  of  the  third  regiment  of  New 
York  forces.  On  the  25th  of  October  follow 
ing,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Con 
gress  of  New  York,  colonel  of  the  regiment  of 
foot  in  Ulster  county ;  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1776,  by  the  Continental  Congress,  colonel  of 
the  second  battalion  of  New  York  troops  ;  and 
on  the  9th  of  August,  1776,  a  brigadier-general 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  in  which  sta 
tion  he  continued  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  war,  having  the  command  of  the  New  York 
line,  or  the  troops  of  that  State  ;  and  at  its  close 
he  was  constituted  a  major-general. 

In  1775,  his  regiment  composed  part  of  the 
army,  under  General  Montgomery,  which  in 
vaded  Canada;  and  he  participated  in  all  the 
fatigues,  dangers,  and  privations  of  that  cele 
brated,  but  unfortunate  expedition. 

In  October,  1777,  he  commanded  at  Fort 
Clinton,  which,  together  with  its  neighbor,  Fort 
Montgomery,  constituted  the  defence  of  the 
Hudson  RivC'r  against  the  ascent  of  an  enemy. 
His  brother,  the  governor,  commanded  in  chief 


618 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


at  both  forts.  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  with  a  view 
to  create  a  diversion  in  favor  of  General  Bur- 
goyne,  moved  up  the  Hudson  with  an  army  of 
four  thousand  men,  and  attacked  those  works, 
which  were  very  imperfectly  fortified,  and  only 
defended  by  live  hundred  men,  composed  prin 
cipally  of  militia.  After  a  most  gallant  resist 
ance,  the  forts  were  carried  by  storm.  General 
Clinton  was  the  last  man  who  left  the  works — 
and  not  until  he  was  severely  wounded  by  the 
thrust  of  a  bayonet — pursued  and  fired  at  by 
the  enemy,  and  his  attending  servant  killed. 
He  bled  profusely,  and  when  he  dismounted 
from  his  war-horse,  in  order  to  effect  his  escape 
from  the  enemy,  who  were  close  on  him,  it  oc 
curred  to  him  that  he  must  either  perish  on 
the  mountains  or  be  captured,  unless  he  could 
supply  himself  with  another  horse, — an  animal 
which  sometimes  roamed  at  large  in  that  wild 
region.  In  this  emergency,  he  took  the  bridle 
from  his  horse,  and  slid  down  a  precipice  of  one 
hundred  feet  to  the  ravine  of  the  creek  which 
separated  the  forts,  and  feeling  cautiously  his 
way  along  its  precipitous  banks,  he  reached  the 
mountain  at  a  distance  from  the  enemy,  after 
having  fallen  into  the  stream,  the  cold  water  of 
which  arrested  a  copious  effusion  of  blood.  The 
return  of  light  furnished  him  with  the  sight  of  a 
horse,  which  conveyed  him  to  his  house,  about 
sixteen  miles  from  the  fort,  where  he  arrived 
about  noon,  covered  with  blood  and  laboring 
under  a  severe  fever.  While  he  was  in  this  help 
less  condition  the  British  passed  up  the  Hudson, 
within  a  few  miles  of  his  house,  and  destroyed 
the  town  of  Kingston. 

The  cruel  ravages  and  horrible  irruptions  of 
the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations  of  Indians,  on  our 
frontier  settlements,  rendered  it  necessary  to  in 
flict  a  terrible  chastisement,  which  would  pre 
vent  a  repetition  of  their  atrocities.  An  expe 
dition  was  accordingly  planned,  and  the  princi 
pal  command  was  committed  to  General  Sulli 
van,  who  was  to  proceed  up  the  Susquehanna, 
with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  while  General 
Clinton  was  to  join  him  by  the  way  of  the  Mo 
hawk. 

The  Iroquois  inhabited,  or  occasionally  occu 
pied  that  immense  and  fertile  region  which  com 
poses  the  western  parts  of  New  York  and  Penn 


sylvania,  and  besides  their  own  ravages,  from 
the  vicinity  of  their  settlements  to  the  inhabited 
parts  of  the  United  States,  they  facilitated  the 
inroads  cf  the  more  remote  Indians.  When 
General  Sullivan  was  on  his  way  to  the  Indian 
country,  he  was  joined  by  General  Clinton  with 
ivpwards  of  sixteen  hundred  men.  The  latter 
had  gone  up  the  Mohawk  in  batteaux,  from 
Schenectady,  and  after  ascending  that  river 
about  fifty-four  miles,  he  conveyed  his  batteaux 
from  Canajoharie  to  the  head  of  Otsego  Lake, 
one  of  the  sources  of  the  Susquehanna.  Find 
ing  the  stream  of  water  in  that  river  too  low  to 
float  his  boats,  he  erected  a  dam  across  the 
mouth  of  the  lake,  which  soon  rose  to  the  alti 
tude  of  the  dam.  Having  got  his  batteaux 
ready,  he  opened  a  passage  through  the  dam 
for  the  water  to  flow.  This  raised  the  river  so 
high  that  he  was  enabled  to  embark  all  his 
troops,  to  float  them  down  to  Tioga,  and  to 
join  General  Sullivan  in  good  season.  The  In 
dians  collected  their  strength  at  Newtown,  took 
possession  of  proper  ground,  and  fortified  it 
with  judgment.  On  the  29th  of  August,  T779, 
an  attack  was  made  on  them :  their  works 
were  forced,  and  their  consternation  was  so 
great,  that  they  abandoned  all  further  resist 
ance  ;  for,  as  the  Americans  advanced  into  their 
settlements,  they  retreated  before  them  without 
throwing  any  obstructions  in  their  way.  The 
army  passed  between  the  Cayuga  and  Seneca 
lakes,  by  Geneva  and  Canandaigua,  and  as  far 
west  as  the  Genessee  River,  destroying  large 
settlements  and  villages,  fields  of  corn,  or 
chards  of  fruit-trees,  and  gardens  abounding 
with  esculent  vegetables.  The  progress  of  the 
Indians  in  agriculture  struck  the  Americans 
with  astonishment.  Many  of  their  ears  of  corn 
measured  twenty-two  inches  in  length.  They 
had  horses,  cows,  and  hogs  in  abundance.  They 
manufactured  salt  and  sugar,  and  raised  the  best 
of  apples  and  peaches,  and  their  dwellings  were 
large  and  commodious.  The  desolation  of  their 
settlements,  the  destruction  of  their  provisions, 
and  the  conflagration  of  their  houses,  drove 
them  to  the  British  fortresses  of  Niagara  for 
subsistence,  where,  living  on  salt  provisions,  to 
which  they  were  unaccustomed,  they  died  in 
great  numbers.  The  effect  of  this  expedition 


CHAP.  XI.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


619 


was — to  diminish  their  population  ;  to  damp 
their  ardor ;  to  check  their  arrogance  ;  to  re 
strain  their  cruelty,  and  to  inflict  an  irrecovera 
ble  blow  on  their  resources  of  extensive  aggres 
sion.  General  Williamson  and  Colonel  Pickens 
also  attacked  the  Indians  in  the  South,  and  drove 
them  into  the  settled  towns  of  the  Creeks,  about 
the  same  time. 

For  a  considerable  portion  of  the  war,  Gen 
eral  Clinton  was  stationed  at  Albany,  where  he 
commanded,  in  the  northern  department  of  the 
Union,  a  place  of  high  responsibility,  and  re 
quiring  uncommon  vigilance  and  continual  ex 
ertion.  An  incident  occurred,  when  on  this 
command,  which  strongly  illustrates  his  charac 
ter.  A  regiment  which  had  been  ordered  to 
march,  mutinied  under  arms,  and  peremptorily 
refused  obedience.  The  general,  on  being  ap 
prized  of  this,  immediately  repaired  with  his 
pistols  to  the  ground :  he  went  up  to  the  head 
of  the  regiment  and  ordered  it  to  march  ;  a  si 
lence  ensued,  and  the  order  was  not  complied 
with.  He  then  presented  a  pistol  to  the  breast 
of  a  sergeant,  who  was  the  ringleader,  and  com 
manded  him  to  proceed  on  pain  of  death  ;  and 
so  on  in  succession  along  the  line,  and  his  com 
mand  was,  in  every  instance,  obeyed,  and  the 
regiment  restored  to  entire  and  complete  subor 
dination  and  submission. 

General  Clinton  was  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown 
and  the  capture  of  Cornwallis,  where  he  distin 
guished  himself  by  his  usual  intrepidity. 

His  last  appearance  in  arms  was  on  the  evac 
uation  of  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  British. 
He  then  bade  the  commander-in-chief  a  final  and 
affectionate  adieu,  and  retired  to  his  ample  es 
tates,  where  he  enjoyed  that  repose  which  was 
required  by  a  long  period  of  fatigue  and  priva 
tion. 

He  was,  however,  frequently  called  from  his 
retirement  by  the  unsolicited  voice  of  his  fellow- 


citizens,  to  perform  civic  duties.  He  was  ap 
pointed  a  commissioner  to  adjust  the  boundary 
line  between  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
which  important  measure  was  amicably  and 
successfully  accomplished.  He  was  also  select 
ed  by  the  legislature  for  an  interesting  mission, 
to  settle  controversies  about  lands  in  the  West, 
which  also  terminated  favorably.  He  repre 
sented  his  native  county  in  the  Assembly,  and 
in  the  convention  that  adopted  the  present 
constitution  of  the  United  States ;  and  he  was 
elected,  without  opposition,  a  senator  from  the 
middle  district :  all  which  trusts  he  executed 
with  perfect  integrity,  with  solid  intelligence, 
and  with  the  full  approbation  of  his  constitu 
ents. 

The  temper  of  General  Clinton  was  mild  and 
affectionate,  but  when  raised  by  unprovoked  or 
unmerited  injury,  he  exhibited  extraordinary 
and  appalling  energy.  In  battle,  he  was  as 
cool  and  as  collected  as  if  sitting  by  his  fireside. 
Nature  intended  him  for  a  gallant  and  efficient 
soldier,  when  she  endowed  him  with  the  faculty 
of  entire  self-possession  in  the  midst  of  the 
greatest  dangers. 

He  died  on  the  22d  of  December,  1812,  and 
was  interred  in  the  family  burial-place  in  Orange 
county ;  and  his  monumental  stone  bears  the 
following  inscription  : 

"  Underneath  are  interred  the  remains  of  James  Clin 
ton,  Esquire. 

"He  was  born  the  9th  of  August,  1736  ;  and  died  the 
22d  of  December,  1812. 

' '  His  life  was  principally  devoted  to  the  military  ser 
vice  of  his  country,  and  he  had  filled  with  fidelity  and 
honor  several  distinguished  civil  offices. 

"  He  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the 
war  preceding  ;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  former,  was  a 
major-general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  He 
was  a  good  man  and  a  sincere  patriot,  performing,  in 
the  most  exemplary  manner,  all  the  duties  of  life  ;  and 
he  died,  as  he  lived,  without  fear,  and  without  re 
proach." 


CHAPTER    XII. 


1777. 

BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK  PUNISHED  BY  SCHUYLER  AND  GATES. 

General  Schtiyler  in  command  at  the  North. — State  of  the  army. — St.  Clair  at  Ticonderoga. — Burgoyne  in  England. 
— Supersedes  Carleton  as  general-in-chief. — His  army. — St.  Leger  sent  to  the  Mohawk  River. — Burgoyne  ad 
vances  to  Crown  Point. — Has  a  talk  with  the  Indians. — Issues  a  proclamation. — Ticonderoga. — Its  position  and 
defences. — St.  Clair  resolves  to  defend  it. — Burgoyne  takes  Mount  Hope  and  Sugar  Hill. — St.  Clair  retreats. — Is 
pursued. — He  escapes  to  Fort  Edward. — Second  proclamation  of  Burgoyne. — Effects  of  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga. — 
Washington's  astonishment  and  distress. — He  reinforces  Schuyler. — Schuyler  retards  Burgoyne's  march. — Battle 
of  Bennington. — Siege  of  Fort  Stanwix. — Battle  of  Oriskany. — Death  of  Herkimer. — Siege  raised. — Bad  conduct 
of  the  Indians. — Affair  of  Miss  M'Crea. — Schuyler  superseded. — His  noble  magnanimity. — Gates  in  command. 
— Burgoyne  already  in  great  difficulties. — He  crosses  the  Hudson.  —  Battle  of  Stillwater. — Its  effect. — Colonel 
Brown's  expedition. — Position  of  the  two  armies. — Another  pitched  hattle. — Burgoyne  defeated. — He  retires  to 
Saratoga. — His  desperate  condition. — His  letter  to  Lord  Germain. — Convention  of  Saratoga.- — Loss  of  forts  Clin 
ton  and  Montgomery. — Effects  of  the  fall  of  Burgoyne. — Rewards  to  Gates. — Gates  unwilling  to  send  reinforce 
ments  to  Washington. — Effect  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne's  army  on  the  British  parliament  and  people. 


WE  have  already  had  occasion  to  re 
fer  to  what  was  passing  in  the  North, 
during  the  time  when  Washington  was 
conducting  the  arduous  campaign  in  Jer 
sey,  Delaware,  and  Pennsylvania.  Gen 
eral  Schuyler  had  held  the  chief  com 
mand  of  the  army  operating  against 
Canada,  since  the  opening  of  the  war 
n  1775.  Under  his  direction,  the  force 
of  Montgomery  was  sent  to  Quebec  in 
the  disastrous  expedition  of  which  we 
have  already  related  the  history ;  and 
Arnold  was  acting  in  a  subordinate  ca 
pacity  to  Schuyler,  when  he  so  bravely 
resisted  the  descent  of  Carleton  on  the 
lakes.  Schuyler  also  performed  the 
best  part  of  the  service  of  resisting  the 
invasion  of  New  York  from  Canada, 


and  nearly  completed  the  campaign 
which  terminated  in  the  surrender  of 
Burgoyne  to  Gates.  To  the  events  of 
this  campaign  we  now  call  the  reader's 
attention. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  cam 
paign  of  1777,  the  American  army  on 
the  frontier  of  Canada  having  been  com 
posed  chiefly  of  soldiers  enlisted  for  a 
short  period  only,  had  been  greatly  re 
duced  in  numbers  by  the  expiration  of 
their  term  of  service. 

The  cantonments  of  the  British  north 
ern  army,  extending  from  Isle  aux  Noix 
and  Montreal  to  Quebec,  were  so  dis 
tant  from  each  other  that  they  could 
not  readily  have  afforded  mutual  sup 
port  in  case  of  an  attack ;  but  the  Amer- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


621 


icans  were  in  no  condition  to  avail  them 
selves  of  this  circumstance.  They  could 
scarcely  keep  up  even  the  appearance 
of  garrisons  in  their  forts,  and  were  ap 
prehensive  of  an  attack  on  Ticonderoga, 
as  soon  as  the  ice  was  strong  enough  to 
afford  an  easy  passage  to  troops  over 
the  lakes. 

At  the  close  of  the  preceding  cam 
paign,  General  Gates  had  joined  the 
army  under  Washington,  and  the  com 
mand  of  the  army  in  the  northern  de 
partment,  comprehending  Albany,  Ti 
conderoga,  Fort  Stanwix,  and  their  de 
pendencies,  remained  in  the  hands  of 
General  Schuyler.  The  services  of  that 
meritorious  officer  were  more  solid  than 
brilliant,  and  had  not  been  duly  valued 
by  Congress,  which,  like  other  popular 
assemblies,  was  slow  in  discerning  real 
and  unostentatious  merit.  Disgusted 
at  the  injustice  which  he  had  experi 
enced,  he  was  restrained  from  leaving 
the  army  merely  by  the  deep  interest 
which  he  took  in  the  arduous  struggle 
in  which  his  country  was  engaged  ;  but 
after  a  full  investigation  of  his  conduct 
during  the  whole  of  his  command,  Con 
gress  was  at  length  convinced  of  the 
value  of  his  services,  and  requested  him 
to  continue  at  the  head  of  the  army  of 
the  northern  department.  That  army 
he  found  too  weak  for  the  services  which 
it  was  expected  to  perform,  and  ill-sup 
plied  with  arms,  clothes,  and  provisions. 
He  made  every  exertion  to  organize  and 
place  it  on  a  respectable  footing  for  the 
ensuing  campaign  ;  but  his  means  were 
scanty,  and  the  new  levies  arrived  slow 


ly.  General  St.  Clair,  who  had  served 
under  Gates,  commanded  at  Ticonde 
roga,  and,  including  militia,  had  nearly 
two  thousand  men  under  him  ;  but  the 
works  were  extensive,  and  would  have 
required  ten  thousand  men  to  man  them 
fully* 

The  British  ministry  had  resolved  to 
prosecute  the  war  vigorously  on  the 
northern  frontier  of  the  United  States, 
and  appointed  Burgoyne,  who  had 
served  under  Carletonf  in  the  preced 
ing  campaign,  to  command  the  royal 
army  in  that  quarter.  The  appoint 
ment  gave  offence  to  Carleton,  then 
governor  of  Canada,  who  naturally  ex 
pected  to  be  continued  in  the  command 
of  the  northern  army,  and  that  officer 
testified  his  dissatisfaction  by  tendering 
the  resignation  of  his  government.  But 
although  displeased  with  the  nomina 
tion,  he  gave  Burgoyne  every  assistance 
in  his  power  in  preparing  for  the  cam 
paign. 

Burgoyne  had  visited  England  dur 
ing  the  winter,  concerted  with  the  min 
istry  a  plan  of  the  campaign,  and  given 
an  estimate  of  the  force  necessary  for 
its  successful  execution.  Besides  a  fine 
train  of  artillery  and  a  suitable  body 
of  artillerymen,  an  army,  consisting 
of  more  than  seven  thousand  veteran 
troops,  excellently  equipped,  and  in  a 
high  state  of  discipline,  was  put  under 
his  command.  Besides  this  regular 


0  The  weakness  of  St.  Glair's  garrison  was  partly  ow 
ing  to  its  having  contributed  detachments  to  the  support 
of  Washington's  army  in  New  Jersey. 

f  See  Document  [H]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


622 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


force,  he  had  a  great  number  of  Cana 
dians  and  savages. 

The  employment  of  the  savages  had 
been  determined  on  at  the  very  com 
mencement  of  hostilities  ;  their  alliance 
had  been  courted  and  their  services  ac 
cepted,  and  on  the  present  occasion  the 
British  ministry  placed  no  small  de 
pendence  on  their  aid.  Carleton  was 
directed  to  use  all  his  influence  to  bring 
a  large  body  of  theui  into  the  field,  and 
his  exertions  were  very  successful.  Gen 
eral  Burgoyne  was  assisted  by  a  num 
ber  of  distinguished  officers,  among 
whom  were  generals  Philips,  Fraser, 
Powel,  Hamilton,  Riedesel,  and  Specht. 
A  suitable  naval  armament,  under  the 
orders  of  Commodore  Lutwych,  attend 
ed  the  expedition. 

After  detaching  Colonel  St.  Leger, 
with  a  body  of  light  troops  and  Indians, 
amounting  to  about  eight  hundred  men, 
by  the  way  of  Lake  Oswego  and  the 
Mohawk  River,  to  make  a  diversion  in 
that  quarter,  and  to  join  him  when  he 
advanced  to  the  Hudson,  Burgoyne  left 
St.  John's  on  the  16th  of  June,  and,  pre 
ceded  by  his  naval  armament,  sailed  up 
Lake  Champlain,  and  in  a  few  days 
landed  and  encamped  at  Crown  Point, 
earlier  in  the  season  than  the  Americans 
had  thought  it  possible  for  him  to  reach 
that  place. 

He  met  his  Indian  allies,  and,  in  imi 
tation  of  a  savage  partisan,  gave  them  a 
war-feast,  at  which  he  made  them  a 
speech,  in  order  to  inflame  their  cour 
age  and  repress  their  barbarous  cruelty. 
He  next  issued  a  lofty  proclamation,  ad 


dressed  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  coun 
try,  in  which,  as  if  certain  of  victory, 
he  threatened  to  punish  with  the  ut 
most  severity  those  who  refused  to  at 
tach  themselves  to  the  royal  cause.  He 
talked  of  the  ferocity  of  the  Indian's, 
and  their  eagerness  to  butcher  the 
friends  of  independence,  and  he  gra 
ciously  promised  protection  to  those 
who  should  return  to  their  duty.  The 
proclamation  was  so  far  from  answering 
the  general's  intention,  that  it  was  de 
rided  by  the  people  as  a  model  of  pom 
posity. 

Having  made  the  necessary  arrange 
ments,  on  the  30th  of  June  Burgoyne 
advanced  cautiously  on  both  sides  of 
the  narrow  channel  which  connects 
lakes  Champlain  and  George,  the  Brit 
ish  on  the  west,  and  the  German  mer 
cenaries  on  the  east,  with  the  naval 
force  in  the  centre,  forming  a  communi 
cation  between  the  two  divisions  of  the 
army  ;  and  on  the  1st  of  July  his  van 
appeared  in  sight  of  Ticonderoga. 

The  river  Sorel  issues  from  the  north 
end  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  throws  its 
superfluous  waters  into  the  St.  Law 
rence.  Lake  Champlain  is  about  eighty 
miles  long  from  north  to  south,  and 
about  fourteen  miles  broad  where  it  is 
widest.  Crown  Point  stands  at  what 
may  properly  be  considered  the  south 
end  of  the  lake,  although  a  narrow 
channel,  which  retains  the  name  of  the 
lake,  proceeds  southward,  and  forms  a 
communication  with  South  River  and 
the  waters  of  Lake  George. 

Ticonderoga  is  on  the  west  side  of 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


623 


the  narrow  channel,  twelve  miles  south 
from  Crown  Point.  It  is  a  rocky  angle 
of  land,  washed  on  three  sides  by  the 
water,  and  partly  covered  on  the  fourth 
side  by  a  deep  morass.  On  the  space 
on  the  northwest  quarter,  between  the 
morass  and  the  channel,  the  French  had 
formerly  constructed  lines  of  fortifica 
tion,  which  still  remained,  and  those 
lines  the  Americans  had  strengthened 
by  additional  works. 

Opposite  Ticonderoga,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  channel,  which  is  here  be 
tween  three  and  four  hundred  yards 
wide,  stands  a  high  circular  hill,  called 
Mount  Independence,  which  had  been 
occupied  by  the  Americans  when  they 
abandoned  Crown  Point,  and  carefully 
fortified.  On  the  top  of  it,  which  is 
flat,  they  had  erected  a  fort,  and  pro 
vided  it  sufficiently  with  artillery.  Near 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  which  extends 
to  the  water's  edge,  they  had  raised  in- 
trenchments,  and  mounted  them  with 
heavy  guns,  and  had  covered  those 
lower  works  by  a  battery  about  half 
way  up  the  hill. 

With  prodigious  labor  they  had  con 
structed  a  communication  between  those 
two  posts,  by  means  of  a  wooden  bridge 
which  was  supported  by  twenty-two 
strong  wooden  pillars,  placed  at  nearly 
equal  distances  from  each  other.  The 
spaces  between  the  pillars  were  filled 
up  by  separate  floats,  strongly  fastened 
to  each  other  and  to  the  pillars  by 
chains  and  rivets.  The  bridge  was 
twelve  feet  wide,  and  the  side  of  it 
next  Lake  Champlain  was  defended  by 


a  boom  formed  of  large  pieces  of  tim 
ber,  bolted  and  bound  together  by 
double  iron  chains  an  inch  and  a  half 
thick.  Thus  an  easy  communication 
was  established  between  Ticonderoga 
and  Mount  Independence,  and  the  pas 
sage  of  vessels  up  the  strait  prevented. 
Immediately  after  passing  Ticonde 
roga,  the  channel  becomes  wider,  and, 
on  the  southeast  side,  receives  a  large 
body  of  water  from  a  stream  at  that 
point  called  South  River,  but  higher 
up  named  Wood  Creek.  From  the 
southwest  come  the  waters  flowing  from 
Lake  George  ;  and  in  the  angle  formed 
by  the  confluence  of  those  two  streams 
rises  a  steep  and  rugged  eminence  called 
Sugar  Hill,  which  overlooks  and  com 
mands  both  Ticonderoga  and  Mount 
Independence.  That  hill  had  been  ex 
amined  by  the  Americans  ;  but  General 
St.  Clair,  considering  the  force  under 
his  command  insufficient  to  occupy  the 
extensive  works  of  Ticonderoga  and 
Mount  Independence,  and  flattering 
himself  that  the  extreme  difficulty  of 
the  ascent  would  prevent  the  British 
from  availing  themselves  of  it,  neglect 
ed  to  take  possession  of  Sugar  Hill.  It 
may  be  remarked  that  the  north  end  of 
Lake  George  is  between  two  and  three 
miles  above  Ticonderoga ;  but  the  chan 
nel  leading  to  it  is  interrupted  by  rapids 
and  shallows,  and  is  unfit  for  navigation. 
Lake  George  is  narrow,  but  is  thirty-five 
miles  long,  extending  from  northeast  to 
southwest.  At  the  head  of  it  stood  a 
fort  of  the  same  name,  strong  enough  to 
resist  an  attack  of  Indians,  but  incapa- 


624 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ble  of  making  any  effectual  opposition 
to  regular  troops.  Nine  miles  beyond 
it  was  Fort  Edward,  on  the  Hudson. 

On  the  appearance  of  Burgoyne's  van, 
St.  Clair  had  no  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  strength  of  the  British  army,  hav 
ing  heard  nothing  of  the  reinforcement 
from  Europe.  He  imagined  that  they 
would  attempt  to  take  the  fort  by  as 
sault,  and  flattered  himself  that  he  would 
easily  be  able  to  repulse  them.  But,  on 
the  2d  of  July,  the  British  appeared  in 
great  force  on  both  sides  of  the  channel, 
and  encamped  four  miles  from  the  forts, 
while  the  fleet  anchored  just  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  guns.  After  a  slight  resist 
ance,  Burgoyne  took  possession  of  Mount 
Hope,  an  important  post  on  the  south 
of  Ticonderoga,  which  commanded  part 
of  the  lines  of  that  fort,  as  well  as  the 
channel  leading  to  Lake  George ;  and 
extended  his  lines  so  as  completely  to 
invest  the  fort  on  the  west  side.  The 
German  division  under  General  Riedesel 
occupied  the  eastern  bank  of  the  chan 
nel,  and  sent  forward  a  detachment  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  rivulet  which  flows 
from  Mount  Independence.  Burgoyne 
now  labored  assiduously  in  bringing  for 
ward  his  artillery  and  completing  his 
communications.  On  the  5th  of  the 
month  he  caused  Sugar  Hill  to  be  ex 
amined  ;  and  being  informed  that  the 
ascent,  though  difficult,  was  not  imprac 
ticable,  he  immediately  resolved  to  take 
possession  of  it,  and  proceeded  with  such 
activity  in  raising  works  and  mounting 
guns  upon  it,  that  his  battery  might  have 
been  opened  on  the  garrison  next  day. 


These  operations  received  no  check 
from  the  besieged,  because,  as  it  has 
been  alleged,  they  were  not  in  a  condi 
tion  to  give  any.  St.  Clair  was  now 
nearly  surrounded.  Only  the  space  be 
tween  the  stream  which  flows  from 
Mount  Independence  and  South  River 
remained  open,  and  that  was  to  be  occu 
pied  next  day. 

In  these  circumstances  it  was  requi 
site  for  the  garrison  to  come  to  a  prompt 
and  decisive  resolution,  either  at  every 
hazard  to  defend  the  place  to  the  last 
extremity,  or  immediately  to  abandon 
it.  St.  Clair  called  a  council  of  war, 
the  members  of  which  unanimously  ad 
vised  the  immediate  evacuation  of  the 
forts ;  and  preparations  were  instantly 
made  for  carrying  this  resolution  into 
execution.  The  British  had  the  com 
mand  of  the  communication  with  Lake 
George,  and  consequently  the  garrison 
could  not  escape  in  that  direction.  The 
retreat  could  be  effected  by  the  South 
River  only.  Accordingly,  the  invalids, 
the  hospital,  and  such  stores  as  could 
be  most  easily  removed,  were  put  on 
board  two  hundred  boats,  and,  escort 
ed  by  Colonel  Long's  regiment,  pro 
ceeded,  on  the  night  between  the  5th 
and  6th  of  July,  up  the  South  River  to 
wards  Skeenesborough.  The  garrisons 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Mount  Independ 
ence  marched  by  land,  through  Castle- 
ton,  towards  the  same  place.  The 
troops  were  ordered  to  march  out  in 
profound  silence,  and  particularly  to  set 
nothing  on  fire.  But  these  prudent  or 
ders  were  disobeyed  ;  and,  before  the 


BURGOTNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


625 


17TT. 


rear-guard  was  in  motion,  the  house  on 
Mount  Independence,  which  General 
Fermoy  had  occupied,  was  seen  in  flames. 
That  served  as  a  signal  to  the  enemy, 
who  immediately  entered  the  works,  and 
fired,  but  without  effect,  on  the  rear  of 
the  retreating  army. 

The  Americans  marched  in  some  con 
fusion  to  Hubbardton,  whence  the  main 
body,  under  St.  Clair,  pushed  forward 
to  Castleton.  But  the  English  were  not 
idle.  General  Fraser,  at  the 
head  of  a  strong  detachment  of 
grenadiers  and  light  troops,  commenced 
an  eager  pursuit  by  land,  upon  the  right 
bank  of  Wood  Creek.  General  Riede- 
sel,  behind  him,  rapidly  advanced  with 
his  Brunswickers,  either  to  support  the 
English,  or  to  act  separately,  as  occasion 
might  require.  Burgoyne  determined 
to  pursue  the  Americans  by  water.  But 
it  was  first  necessary  to  destroy  the 
boom  and  bridge  which  had  been  con 
structed  in  front  of  Ticonderoga.  The 
British  seamen  and  artificers  immedi 
ately  engaged  in  the  operation,  and  in 
less  time  than  it  would  have  taken  to 
describe  their  structure,  those  works, 
which  had  cost  so  much  labor  and  so 
vast  an  expense,  were  cut  through  and 
demolished.  The  passage  thus  cleared, 
the  ships  of  Burgoyne  immediately  en 
tered  Wood  Creek,  and  proceeded  with 
extreme  rapidity  in  search  of  the  Amer 
icans.  All  was  in  movement  at  once 
upon  land  and  water.  By  three  in  the 
afternoon,  the  van  of  the  British  squad 
ron,  composed  of  gun-boats,  came  up 
with  and  attacked  the  American  gal- 

VOL.   I. -79 


leys  near  Skeenesborough  Falls.  In  the 
mean  time,  three  regiments  which  had 
been  landed  at  South  Bay,  ascended  and 
passed  a  mountain  with  great  expedi 
tion,  in  order  to  turn  the  retreating 
army  above  Wood  Creek,  to  destroy 
the  works  at  the  Falls  of  Skeenesbor 
ough,  and  thus  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of 
the  army  to  Fort  Anne.  But  the  Amer 
icans  eluded  this  stroke  by  the  rapidity 
of  their  march.  The  British  frigates 
having  joined  the  van,  the  galleys,  al 
ready  hard  pressed  by  the  gun-boats, 
were  completely  overpowered.  Two  of 
them  surrendered ;  three  of  them  were 
blown  up.  The  Americans,  having  set 
fire  to  their  boats,  mills,  and  other  works, 
fell  back  upon  Fort  Anne,  higher  up 
Wood  Creek.  All  their  baggage,  how 
ever,  was  lost,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
provisions  and  military  stores  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  British. 

The  pursuit  by  land  was  not  less  ac 
tive.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  7th 
of  July,  the  British  overtook  the  Amer 
ican  rear-guard,  who,  in  opposition  to 
St.  Clair's  orders,  had  lingered  behind, 
and  posted  themselves  on  strong  ground 
in  the  vicinity  of  Hubbardton.  Fraser's 
troops  were  little  more  than  half  the 
number  opposed  to  him,  but 

1777. 

aware  that  Riedesel  was  close 
behind,  and  fearful  lest  his  chase  should 
give  him  the  slip,  he  ordered  an  imme 
diate  attack.  Warner  opposed  a  vigor 
ous  resistance,  but  a  large  body  of  his 
militia  retreated,  and  left  him  to  sustain 
the  combat  alone,  when  the  firing  of 
Riedesel's  advanced  guai'd  was  heard, 


620 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


and  shortly  after  his  whole  force,  drums 
beating  and  colors  flying,  emerged  from 
the  shades  of  the  forest,  and  part  of  his 
troops  immediately  effected  a  junction 
with  the  British  line.  Fraser  now  gave 
orders  for  a  simultaneous  advance  with 
the  bayonet,  which  was  effected  with  such 
resistless  impetuosity  that  the  Americans 
broke  and  fled,  sustaining  a  very  serious 
loss.  St.  Clair,  upon  hearing  the  firing, 
endeavored  to  send  back  some  assist 
ance  ;  but  the  discouraged  militia  re 
fused  to  return,  and  there  was  no  alter 
native  but  to  collect  the  wrecks  of  his 
army,  and  proceed  to  Fort  Edward  to 
effect  a  junction  with  Schuyler. 

Burgoyne  lost  not  a  moment  in  fol 
lowing  up  his  success  at  Skeenesborough, 
but  dispatched  a  regiment  to  effect  the 
capture  of  Fort  Anne,  defended  by  a 
small  party  under  the  command  of  Col 
onel  Long.  This  officer  judiciously  post 
ed  his  troops  in  a  narrow  ravine  through 
which  his  assailants  were  compelled  to 
pass,  and  opened  upon  them  so  severe  a 
fire  in  front,  flank,  and  rear,  that  the 
British  regiments,  nearly  surrounded, 
with  difficulty  escaped  to  a  neighboring 
hill,  where  the  Americans  attacked  them 
anew  with  such  vigor  that  they  must 
have  been  utterly  defeated,  had  not  the 
ammunition  of  the  assailants  given  out 
at  this  critical  moment.  No  longer  be 
ing  able  to  fight,  Long's  troops  fell  back, 
and,  setting  the  fort  on  fire,  also  directed 
their  retreat  to  the  head-quarters  at  Fort 
Edward. 

While  at  Skeenesborough,  General 
Burgoyne  issued  a  second  proclamation 


summoning  the  people  of  the  adjacent 
country  to  send  ten  deputies  from  each 
township  to  meet  Colonel  Skeene  at 
Castleton,  in  order  to  deliberate  on 
such  measures  as  might  still  be  adopted 
to  save  those  who  had  not  yet  conformed 
to  his  first,  and  submitted  to  the  royal 
authority.  General  Schuyler,  appre 
hending  some  effect  from  this  paper, 
issued  a  counter-proclamation,  stating 
the  insidious  designs  of  the  enemy,— 
warning  the  inhabitants,  by  the  exam 
ple  of  Jersey,  of  the  danger  to  which 
their  yielding  to  this  seductive  proposi 
tion  would  expose  them,  and  giving  them 
the  most  solemn  assurances  that  all  who 
should  send  deputies  to  this  meeting,  or 
in  any  manner  aid  the  enemy,  would  be 
considered  as  traitors,  and  should  suffer 
the  utmost  rigor  of  the  law. 

Nothing,  as  Botta  remarks,*  could  ex 
ceed  the  consternation  and  terror  which 
the  victory  of  Ticonderoga,  and  the  sub 
sequent  successes  of  Burgoyne, 
spread   through   the  American 
provinces,  nor  the  joy  and   exultation 
they  excited  in  England.     The  arrival 
of  these  glad  tidings  was  celebrated  by 
the  most  brilliant  rejoicings  at  court, 
and  welcomed  with  the  same  enthusi 
asm  by  all  those  who  desired  the  un 
conditional  reduction  of  America.   They 
already  announced  the  approaching  ter 
mination   of  this   glorious   war  ;    they 
openly  declared  it  a  thing  impossible, 
that  the  rebels  should  ever  recover  from 
the  shock  of  their  recent  losses,  as  well 

°  "  History  of  the  War  of  Independence,"  vol.  ii.  p.  280. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


027 


of  men  as  of  arms,  and  of  military  stores, 
and  especially  that  they  should  ever 
regain  their  courage  and  reputation, 
which,  in  war,  always  contribute  to  suc 
cess  as  much,  at  least,  as  arms  them 
selves.  Even  the  ancient  reproaches  of 
cowardice  were  renewed  against  the 
Americans,  and  their  own  partisans 
abated  much  of  the  esteem  they  had 
borne  them.  They  were  more  than  half 
disposed  to  pronounce  the  colonists  un 
worthy  to  defend  that  liberty  which 
they  gloried  in  with  so  much  compla 
cency.  But  it  deserves  to  be  noted 
here  especially,  that  there  was  no  sign 
of  faltering  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
no  disposition  to  submit  to  the  invading 
force.  The  success  of  the  enemy  did 
but  nerve  our  fathers  to  more  vigorous 
resolves  to  maintain  the  cause  of  liberty 
even  unto  death. 

Certainly,  the  campaign  had  been 
opened  and  prosecuted  thus  far  in  a 
very  dashing  style  by  Burgoyne,  and 
had  he  been  able  to  press  forward,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  success  might  have 
crowned  his  efforts.  But  there  were 
some  sixteen  miles  of  forest  yet  to  be 
traversed :  Burgoyne  waited  for  his  bag 
gage  and  stores  ;  and,  meanwhile  Gen 
eral  Schuyler,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  American  forces,  took  such  steps 
as  would  necessarily  put  a  stop  to  the 
rapid  approach  of  the  enemy.  Trenches 
were  opened ;  the  roads  and  paths  were 
obstructed ;  the  bridges  were  broken 
up  ;  and  in  the  only  practicable  denies, 
large  trees  were  cut  in  such  a  manner, 
on  both  sides  of  the  road,  as  to  fall 


across  and  lengthwise,  which,  with  their 
branches  interwoven,  presented  an  in 
surmountable  barrier :  in  a  word,  this 
wilderness,  of  itself  by  no  means  easy  of 
passage,  was  thus  rendered  almost  abso 
lutely  impenetrable.  Nor  did  Schuyler 
rest  satisfied  with  these  precautions ;  he 
directed  the  cattle  to  be  removed  to  the 
most  distant  places,  and  the  stores  and 
baggage  from.  Fort  George  to  Fort  Ed 
ward,  that  articles  of  such  necessity  for 
the  troops  might  not  fall  into  the  power 
of  the  British.  He  urgently  demanded 
that  all  the  regiments  of  regular  troops 
found  in  the  adjacent  States  should  be 
sent,  without  delay,  to  join  him ;  he  also 
made  earnest  and  frequent  calls  upon 
the  militia  of  New  England  and  of  New 
York.  He  likewise  exerted  his  utmost 
endeavors  to  procure  himself  recruits  in 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Edward  and  the 
city  of  Albany ;  the  great  influence  he 
enjoyed  with  the  inhabitants  gave  him, 
in  this  quarter,  all  the  success  he  could 
desire.  Finally,  to  retard  the  progress 
of  the  enemy,  he  resolved  to  threaten 
his  left  flank.  Accordingly,  he  detached 
Colonel  Warner,  with  his  regiment,  into 
the  State  of  Vermont,  with  orders  to 
assemble  the  militia  of  the  country,  and 
to  make  incursions  towards  Ticonderoga. 
In  fact,  Schuyler  did  every  thing  which 
was  possible  to  be  done  under  the  cir 
cumstances  ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to 
assert,  in  justice  to  the  good  name  of  Gen 
eral  Schuyler,  that  the  measures  which 
he  adopted  paved  the  way  to  the  vic 
tory  which  finally  crowned  the  Ameri 
can  arms  at  Saratoga. 


02  8 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Washington,  equally  with  Congress, 
supposing  that  Schuyler's  force  was 
stronger,  and  that  of  the  British  weaker, 
than  was  really  the  case,  was  very  great 
ly  distressed  and  astonished  at  the  dis 
asters  which  befell  the  American  cause 
in  the  North.  He  waited,  therefore, 
with  no  little  anxiety,  later  and  more 
correct  information  before  he  was  will 
ing  to  pronounce  positively  upon  the 
course  pursued  by  St.  Clair.  When 
that  officer  joined  Schuyler,  the  whole 
force  did  not  exceed  four  thousand  four 
hundred  men ;  about  half  of  these  were 
militia,  and  the  whole  were  ill  clothed, 
badly  armed,  and  greatly  dispirited  by 
the  recent  reverses.  Very  ungenerously 
and  unjustly,  it  was  proposed  to  remove 
the  northern  officers  from  the  command, 
and  send  successors  in  their  places.  An 
inquiry  was  instituted  by  order  of  Con 
gress,  which  resulted  honorably  for 
Schuyler  and  his  officers ;  and  Schuyler, 
the  able  commander  and  zealous-hearted 
patriot,  remained  for  the  present  at  the 
head  of  the  northern  department.* 


0  Washington,  writing  to  General  Schuyler,  clearly 
presaged  the  great  and  auspicious  change  in  affairs  which 
was  soon  to  take  place:  "Though  our  affairs  have  for 
some  days  past  worn  a  gloomy  aspect,  yet  I  look  forward 
to  a  happy  change.  I  trust  General  Burgoyne's  army 
will  meet  sooner  or  later  an  effectual  check  ;  and,  as  I 
suggested  before,  that  the  success  he  has  had  will  precip 
itate  his  ruin.  From  your  accounts,  he  appears  to  be 
pursuing  that  line  of  conduct  which,  of  all  others,  is  most 
favorable  to  us, — I  mean  acting  in  detachment.  This 
conduct  will  certainly  give  room  for  enterprise  on  our 
part,  and  expose  his  parties  to  great  hazard.  Could  we 
be  so  happy  as  to  cut  one  of  them  off,  though  it  should 
not  exceed  four,  five,  or  six  hundred  men,  it  would  in 
spirit  the  people,  and  do  away  much  of  their  present 
anxiety.  In  such  an  event,  they  would  lose  sight  of  past 


Washington  exerted  himself  with  all 
diligence  to  send  reinforcements  and 
supplies  to  the  army  of  Schuyler.  The 
artillery  and  warlike  stores  were  expe 
dited  from  Massachusetts.  General  Lin 
coln,  a  man  of  great  influence  in  New 
England,  was  sent  there  to  encourage 
the  militia  to  enlist.  Arnold,  in  like 
manner,  repaired  thither :  it  was  thought 
his  ardor  might  serve  to  inspire  the  de 
jected  troops.  Colonel  Morgan,  an  offi 
cer  whose  brilliant  valor  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  remark,  was  ordered  to 
take  the  same  direction  with  his  troop 
of  light-horse.  All  these  measures,  con 
ceived  with  prudence  and  executed  with 
promptitude,  produced  the  natural  ef 
fect.  The  Americans  recovered  by  de 
grees  their  former  spirit,  and  the  army 
increased  from  day  to  day. 

During  this  interval,  Burgoyne  act 
ively  exerted  himself  in  opening  a  pas 
sage  from  Fort  Anne  to  Fort  Edward. 
But  notwithstanding  the  diligence  with 

O  O 

which  the  whole  army  engaged  in  the 
work,  their  progress  was  exceedingly 
slow,  so  formidable  were  the  obstacles 
which  nature  as  well  as  art  had  thrown 
in  their  way.  Besides  having  to  remove 
the  fallen  trees  with  which  the  Ameri 
cans  had  obstructed  the  roads,  they  had 
no  less  than  forty  bridges  to  construct, 
and  many  others  to  repair :  one  of  these 
was  entirely  of  log-work,  over  a  morass 
two  miles  wide.  In  short,  the  British 
encountered  so  many  impediments  in 

misfortunes,  and  urged  on  at  the  same  time  by  a  regard 
for  their  own  security,  they  would  fly  to  arms,  and  afford 
every  aid  in  their  power." 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


629 


measuring  this  inconsiderable  space,  that 
it  was  found  impossible  to  reach  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson,  near  Fort  Edward, 
until  the  30th  of  July.  The  Americans, 
either  because  they  were  too  feeble  to 
oppose  the  enemy,  or  that  Fort  Edward 
was  no  better  than  a  ruin,  not  susceptible 
of  defence,  or,  finally,  because  they  were 
apprehensive  that  Colonel  St.  Leger, 
after  the  reduction  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
might  descend  by  the  left  bank  of  the 
Mohawk  to  the  Hudson,  and  thus  cut 
off  their  retreat,  retired  lower  down  to 
Stillwater,  where  they  threw  up  in- 
trenchments.  At  the  same  time  they 
evacuated  Fort  George,  having  previ 
ously  burned  their  boats  upon  the  lake, 
and  in  various  ways  obstructed  the  road 
to  Fort  Edward.  Burgoyne  might  have 
reached  Fort  Edward  much  more  read 
ily  by  way  of  Lake  George ;  but 
he  had  judged  it  best  to  pursue 
the  panic-stricken  Americans,  and,  de 
spite  the  difficulties  of  the  route,  not  to 
throw  any  discouragements  in  the  way 
of  his  troops  by  a  retrograde  movement. 
At  Fort  Edward,  General  Burgoyne 
again  found  it  necessary  to  pause  in  his 
career ;  for  his  carriages,  which,  in  the 
hurry,  had  been  made  of  unseasoned 
wood,  were  much  broken  down,  and 
needed  to  be  repaired.  From  the  un 
avoidable  difficulties  of  the  case,  not 
more  than  one-third  of  the  draught- 
horses  contracted  for  in  Canada  had  ar 
rived  ;  and  General  Schuyler  had  been 
careful  to  remove  almost  all  the  horses 
and  draught-cattle  of  the  country  out  of 
his  way.  Boats  for  the  navigation  of 


I1T7. 


the  Hudson,  provisions,  stores,  artillery, 
and  other  necessaries  for  the  army,  were 
all  to  be  brought  from  Fort  George ; 
and  although  that  place  was  only  nine 
or  ten  miles  from  Fort  Edward,  yet  such 
was  the  condition  of  the  roads,  rendered 
nearly  impassable  by  the  great  quanti 
ties  of  rain  that  had  fallen,  that  the 
labor  of  transporting  necessaries  was  in 
credible.  Burgoyne  had  collected  about 
one  hundred  oxen,  but  it  was  often  ne 
cessary  to  employ  ten  or  twelve  of  them 
in  transporting  a  single  boat.  With  his 
utmost  exertions  he  had,  on  the  15th  of 
August,  conveyed  only  twelve  boats  into 
the  Hudson,  and  provisions  for  the  army 
for  four  days  in  advance.  Matters  be 
gan  to  assume  a  very  serious  aspect  in 
deed  ;  and  as  the  further  he  removed 
from  the  lakes  the  more  difficult  it  be 
came  to  get  supplies  from  that  quarter, 
Burgoyne  saw  clearly  that  he  must  look 
elsewhere  for  sustenance  for  his  army. 

The  British  commander  was  not  igno 
rant  that  the  Americans  had  accumu 
lated  considerable  stores,  including  live 
cattle,  and  vehicles  of  various  kinds,  at 
Bennington,  about  twenty-four  miles 
east  of  the  Hudson.  Burgoyne,  easily 
persuaded  that  the  tories  in  that  region 
would  aid  his  efforts,  and  thinking  that 
he  could  alarm  the  country  as  well  as 
secure  the  supplies  of  which  he  began 
to  stand  in  great  need,  determined  to 
detach  Colonel  Bauni,  with  a  force  of 
some  six  or  ei<?ht  hundred  of  Bledesel's 

O 

dragoons,  for  the  attack  upon  Benning 
ton.  His  instructions  to  Baum  were, 
"  to  try  the  affections  of  the  country,  to 


630 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


disconcert  the  counsels  of  the  enemy,  to 
mount  Riedesel's  dragoons,  to  complete 
Peters'  corps  (of  loyalists),  and  to  ob 
tain  large  supplies  of  cattle,  horses,  and 
carriages."  Baurn  set  off,  on  the  13th 
of  August,  on  this  expedition,  which 
was  to  result  so  unfortunately  to  him 
self,  and  which  proved  in  fact  the  ruin 
of  Burgoyne's  entire  plans  and  purposes. 
We  have  spoken  of  the  consternation 
which  filled  the  minds  of  men  a  short 
time  before  this,  when  Burgoyne  seemed 
to  be  marching  in  triumph  through  the 
country.  The  alarm,  however,  subsided, 
and  the  New  England  States  resolved  to 
make  most  vigorous  efforts  to  repel  the 
attack  of  the  enemy.  John  Langdon,  a 
merchant  of  Portsmouth  and  speaker  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Assembly,  roused 
the  desponding  minds  of  his  fellow- 
members  to  the  need  of  providing  de 
fence  for  the  frontiers,  and  with  whole 
hearted  patriotism  thus  addressed  them : 
"  I  have  three  thousand  dollars  in  hard 
money ;  I  will  pledge  my  plate  for  three 
thousand  more.  I  have  seventy  hogs 
heads  of  Tobago  rum,  which  shall  be 
sold  for  the  most  it  will  bring.  These 
are  at  the  service  of  the  State.  If  we 
succeed  in  defending  our  firesides  and 
homes,  I  may  be  remunerated ;  if  we  do 
not,  the  property  will  be  of  no  value  to 
me.  Our  old  friend  Stark,  who  so  no 
bly  sustained  the  honor  of  our  State  at 
Bunker  Hill,  may  be  safely  intrusted 
with  the  conduct  of  the  enterprise,  and 
we  will  check  the  progress  of  Bur 
goyne."  That  brave  son  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  General  Stark,  conceiving  himself 


aggrieved  by  certain  acts  of  Congress  in 
appointing  junior  officers  over  his  head, 
had  resigned  his  commission.  He  was 
now  prevailed  upon  to  take  service  un 
der  authority  from  his  native  State,  it 
being  understood  that  he  was  to  act 
independently  as  to  his  movements 
against  the  enemy.  His  popularity 
speedily  called  in  the  militia,  who  were 
ready  to  take  the  field  under  him  with 
out  hesitation. 

Soon  after,  Stark  proceeded  to  Man 
chester,  twenty  miles  north  of  Benning- 
ton,  where  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  the 
former  associate  of  Ethan  Allen,  had 
taken  post  with  the  troops  un- 

1  TT7. 

der  his  command.  Here  he  met 
General  Lincoln,  who  had  been  sent  by 
Schuyler  to  lead  the  militia  to  the  west 
bank  of  the  Hudson.  Stark  refused 
to  obey  Schuyler's  orders,  and  Con 
gress,  on  the  19th  of  August,  passed  a 
vote  of  censure  upon  his  conduct.  But 
Stark  did  not  know  of  this  ;  and  as  his 
course  was  clearly  that  of  sound  policy, 
and  his  victory  two  days  before  the 
censure  cast  upon  him  showed  it  to  be 
so,  he  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  the  Commander-in-chief 
approved  of  his  plan  of  harassing  the 
rear  of  the  British,  and  that  the  victory 
of  Bennington  paralyzed  the  entire  op 
erations  of  Burgoyne. 

On  the  day  that  Bauni  set  out,  Stark 
arrived  at  Bennington.  The  progress 
of  the  German  troops,  at  first  tolerably 
prosperous,  was  soon  impeded  by  the 
state  of  the  roads  and  the  weather,  and 
as  soon  as  Stark  heard  of  their  ap- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYXE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


631 


proach,  lie  linn  led  off  expresses  to  War 
ner  to  join  him,  who  began  his  march 
in  the  niHit.  After  sending  forward 

o  o 

Colonel  Gresrff  to  reconnoitre  the  ene- 

~O 

my,  he  advanced  to  the  rencontre  with 
Banm,  wrho  finding  the  country  thus 
rising  ai'ound  him,  halted  and  intrench- 

O  / 

ed  himself  in  a  strong  position  above 
the  Wollamsac  River,  and  sent  off  an 
express  to  Burgoyne,  who  instantly 
dispatched  Lieutenant-colonel  Breyman 
with  a  strong  reinforcement. 

During  the  15th  of  August,  the  rain 
prevented  any  serious  movement.  The 
Germans  and  English  continued  to  la 
bor  at  their  intrenchments,  upon  which 
they  had  mounted  two  pieces  of  artil 
lery.  The  following  day  was  bright  and 
sunny,  and  early  in  the  morning  Stark 
sent  forward  two  columns  to  storm  the 
intrenchments  at  different  points,  and 
when  the  firing  had  commenced,  threw 
himself  on  horseback  and  advanced 
with  the  rest  of  his  troops.  As  soon  as 
the  enemy's  columns  were  seen  forming 
on  the  hill-side,  he  exclaimed,  "See, 
men  !  there  are  the  red-coats  ;  we  must 
beat  to-day,  or  Molly  Stark's  a  widow." 
The  military  replied  to  this  appeal  by  a 
tremendous  shout,  and  the  battle  which 
ensued,  as  Stark  states  in  his  official  re 
port,  "  lasted  two  hours,  and  was  the 
hottest  I  ever  saw.  It  was  like  one  con 
tinual  clap  of  thunder."  The  Indians 
ran  off  at  the  beginning  of  the  battle  ; 
the  tories  were  driven  across  the  riv 
er  ;  and  although  the  Germans  fought 
bravely,  they  were  compelled  to  aban 
don  the  intreuchments,  and  fled,  leav 


ing  their  artillery  and  baggage  on  the 
field. 

As  Breyman  and  his  corps  approach 
ed,  they  heard  the  firing,  and  hurried 
forward  to  the  aid  of  their  countrymen. 
An  hour  or  two  earlier,  they  might 
have  given  a  different  turn  to  the  affair, 
but  the  heavy  rain  had  delayed  their 
progress.  They  met  and  rallied  the 
fugitives,  and  returned  to  the  field  of 
battle.  Stark's  troops,  who  were  en 
gaged  in  plunder,  were  taken  in  great 
measure  by  surprise,  and  the  victory 
might  after  all  have  been  wrested  from 
their  grasp,  but  for  the  opportune  arri 
val  of  Warner's  regiment  at  the  critical 
moment.  The  battle  continued  until 
sunset,  when  the  Germans,  overwhelmed 
by  numbers,  at  length  abandoned  their 
baggage  and  fled.  Colonel  Baum,  their 
brave  commander,  was  killed,  and  the 
British  loss  amounted  to  some  eight  or 
nine  hundred  effective  troops,  in  killed 
and  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  Ameri 
cans  was  thirty  killed  and  forty  wound 
ed.  Stark's  horse  was  killed  in  the 
action. 

Too  much  praise,  as  Mr.  Everett  well 
remarks,*  cannot  be  bestowed  on  the 
conduct  of  those  who  gained  the  battle 
of  Bennington,  officers  and  men.  It  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  conspicuous  example 
of  the  performance  by  militia  of  all  that 
is  expected  of  regular,  veteran  troops. 
The  fortitude  and  resolution  with  which 
the  lines  at  Bunker  Hill  were  maintained, 
by  recent  recruits,  against  the  assault  of 


"  Life  of  John  Si  irk,"  p.  58. 


632 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


iv. 


a  powerful  army  of  experienced  soldiers, 
have  always  been  regarded  with  admi 
ration.  But  at  Bennington,  the  hardy 
yeomen  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
and  Massachusetts,  many  of  them  fresh 
from  the  plough  and  unused  to  the  camp, 
"  advanced,"  as  General  Stark  expresses 
it  in  his  official  letter,  "  through  fire  and 
smoke,  and  mounted  breastworks  that 
were  well  fortified  and  defended  with 
cannon." 

Fortunately  for  the  success  of  the 
battle,  Stark  was  most  ably  seconded 
by  the  officers  under  him ;  every  pre 
vious  disposition  of  his  little  force  was 
most  faithfully  executed.  He  expresses 
his  particular  obligations  to  colonels 
Warner  and  Herrick,  "  whose  superior 
skill  was  of  great  service  to  him."  In 
deed  the  battle  was  planned  and  fought 
with  a  degree  of  military  talent  and  sci 
ence,  which  would  have  done  no  dis 
credit  to  any  service  in  Europe.  A 
higher  degree  of  discipline  might  have 
enabled  the  general  to  check  the  eager 
ness  of  his  men  to  possess  themselves  of 
the  spoils  of  victory;  but  his  ability, 
even  in  that  moment  of  dispersion  and 
under  the  flush  of  success,  to  meet  and 
conquer  a  hostile  reinforcement,  evinces 
a  judgment  and  resource,  not  often 
equalled  in  partisan  warfare. 

In  fact,  it  would  be  the  height  of  in 
justice  not  to  recognize,  in  this  battle, 
the  marks  of  the  master  mind  of  the 
leader,  which  makes  good  officers  and 
good  soldiers  out  of  any  materials,  and 
infuses  its  own  spirit  into  all  that  sur 
round  it.  This  brilliant  exploit  was  the 


work  of  Stark,*  from  its  inception  to  its 
achievement.  His  popular  name  called 
the  militia  together.  His  resolute  will 
obtained  him  a  separate  commission, — 
at  the  expense,  it  is  true,  of  a  wise 
political  principle,  but  on  the  present 
occasion  with  the  happiest  effect.  His 
firmness  prevented  him  from  being 
overruled  by  the  influence  of  General 
Lincoln,  which  would  have  led  him, 
with  his  troops,  across  the  Hudson. 
How  few  are  the  men  who  in  such  a 
crisis  would  not  merely  not  have  sought, 
but  actually  have  repudiated,  a  junction 
with  the  main  army  !  How  few,  who 
would  not  only  have  desired,  but  actu 
ally  insisted  on  taking  the  responsibility 
of  separate  action  !  Having  chosen  the 
burden  of  acting  alone,  he  acquitted 
himself  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty, 
with  the  spirit  and  vigor  of  a  man  con 
scious  of  ability  proportioned  to  the 
crisis.  He  advanced  against  the  en 
emy  with  promptitude ;  sent  forward 
a  small  force  to  reconnoitre  and  meas 
ure  his  strength ;  chose  his  ground  de 
liberately  and  with  skill ;  planned  and 
fought  the  battle  with  gallantry  and 
success. 

The  consequences  of  this  victory  were 
of  great  moment.  It  roused  the  peo 
ple,  and  nerved  them  to  the  contest 
with  the  enemy;  and  it  also  justified 
the  sagacity  of  Washington,  whose 
words  we  have  quoted  on  a  previous 
page.  Burgoyne's  plans  were  wholly 
deranged,  and  instead  of  relying  upon 

°  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BLTIGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


633 


lateral  excursions,  to  keep  the  popula 
tion  in  alarm,  and  obtain  supplies,  he 
was  compelled  to  procure  necessaries  as 
best  he  might.  His  rear  was  exposed, 
and  Stark,  acting  on  his  line  of  policy, 
prepared  to  place  himself  so  that  Bur- 
goyne  might  be  hemmed  in,  and  be,  as 
soon  after  he  was,  unable  to  advance  or 
retreat.  When  Washington  heard  of 
Stark's  victory,  he  was  in  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania  ;  whence  he  wrote  to  Put 
nam  :  "  As  there  is  now  not  the  least 
danger  of  General  Howe's  going  to  New 
England,  I  hope  the  whole  force  of  that 
country  will  turn  out,  and  by  follow 
ing  the  great  stroke  struck  by  General 
Stark,  near  Bennington,  entirely  crush 
General  Burgoyne,  who,  by  his  letter 
to  Colonel  Baum,  seems  to  be  in  want 
of  almost  every  thing." 

The  defeat  at  Bennington  was  not  the 
only  misfortune  which  now  fell  upon 
the  British  arms.  We  have  noted,  on 
a  previous  page,  that  Burgoyne  had  de 
tached  Colonel  St.  Leger,  with  a  body 
of  regular  troops,  Canadians,  loyalists, 
and  Indians,  by  the  way  of  Oswego,  to 
make  a  diversion  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  Mohawk  River,  and  afterwards  join 
him.  on  his  way  to  Albany.  On  the  2d 
of  August,  St.  Leger  approached  Fort 
Stanwix,  or  Schuyler,  a  log  fortification, 
situated  on  rising  ground,  near  the 
source  of  the  Mohawk  River,  and  gar 
risoned  by  about  six  hundred 
continentals,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Colonel  Gansevoort.  Next 
day,  he  invested  the  place  with  an  army 
of  sixteen  or  seventeen  hundred  men, 

VOL.   I.- -80 


IT7T. 


nearly  one  half  of  whom  were  Indians, 
and  the  rest  British,  Germans,  Cana 
dians,  and  tories.  On  being  summoned 
to  surrender,  Gansevoort  answered  that 
he  would  defend  the  place  to  the  last. 

On  the  approach  of  St.  Leger  to  Fort 
Schuyler,  General  Herkimer,  who  com 
manded  the  militia  of  Tryon  county, 
assembled  about  seven  hundred  of 
them,  and  marched  to  the  assistance 
of  the  garrison.  On  the  forenoon  of 
the  6th  of  August,  a  messenger  from 
Herkimer  found  means  to  enter  the 
fort,  and  gave  notice  that  he  was  only 
eight  miles  distant,  and  intended  that 
day  to  force  a  passage  into  the  fort, 
and  join  the  garrison.  Gansevoort  re 
solved  to  aid  the  attempt  by  a  vigor 
ous  sally,  and  appointed  Colonel  Wil- 
let,  with  upwards  of  two  hundred  men, 
to  that  service. 

St.  Leger  received  information  of  the 
approach  of  Herkimer,  and  placed  a 
large  body,  consisting  of  the  "Johnson 
Greens,"  and  Brant's  Indians,  in  am 
bush,  near  Oriskany,  on  the  road  by 
which  he  was  to  advance.  Herkimer 
fell  into  the  snare.  The  first  notice 
which  he  received  of  the  presence  of 
an  enemy,  was  from  a  heavy  discharge 
of  musketry  on  his  troops,  which  was 
instantly  followed  by  the  war-whoop  of 
the  Indians,  who  attacked  the  militia 
with  their  tomahawks.  Though  dis 
concerted  by  the  suddenness  of  the  at 
tack,  many  of  the  militia  behaved  with 
spirit,  and  a  scene  of  unutterable  con 
fusion  and  carnage  ensued.  The  royal 
troops  and  the  militia  became  so  closely 


634 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


crowded  together,  that  they  had  not 
room  to  use  firearms,  but  pushed  and 
pulled  each  other,  and,  using  their  dag- 
gel's,  fell  pierced  by  mutual  wounds. 
Some  of  the  militia  fled  at  the  first  on 
set  ;  others  made  their  escape  after 
wards  ;  about  a  hundred  of  them  re 
treated  to  a  rising  ground,  where  they 
bravely  defended  themselves,  till  a  suc 
cessful  sortie  from  the  fort  compelled 
the  British  to  look  to  the  defence  of 
their  own  camp.  Colonel  Willet,  in 
this  sally,  killed  a  number  of  the  en 
emy,  destroyed  their  provisions,  carried 
off  some  spoil,  and  returned  to  the  fort 
without  the  loss  of  a  man.  Besides  the 
loss  of  the  brave  General  Herkimer, 
who  was  slain,  the  number  of  the 
killed  was  computed  at  four  hundred. 
St.  Leger,  imitating  the  grandiloquent 
style  of  Burgoyne,  again  summoned 
the  fort  to  surrender,  but  Colonel  Gan- 
sevoort  peremptorily  refused. 

Colonel  Willet,  accompanied  by 
Lieutenant  Stockwell,  having  passed 
through  the  British  camp,  eluded  the 
patrols  and  the  savages,  and  made  his 
way  for  fifty  miles  through  pathless 
woods  and  dangerous  morasses,  and  in 
formed  General  Schuyler  of  the  position 
of  the  fort,  and  the  need  of  help  in  the 
emergency.  He  determined  to  afford 
it  to  the  extent  of  his  power,  and  Ar 
nold,  who  was  always  ready  for  such 
expeditions,  agreed  to  take  command 
of  the  troops  for  the  purpose  of  reliev 
ing  the  fort.  Arnold  put  in  practice 
an  acute  stratagem,  which  materially 
facilitated  his  success.  It  was  this. 


Among  the  tory  prisoners  was  one 
Yost  Cuyler,  who  had  been  condemned 
to  death,  but  whom  Arnold  agreed  to 
spare,  on  consideration  of  his  implicitly 
carrying  out  his  plan.  Accordingly, 
Cuyler,  having  made  several  holes  in 
his  coat,  to  imitate  bullet-shots,  rushed 
breathless  among  the  Indian  allies  of 
St.  Leger,  and  informed  them  that  he 
had  just  escaped  in  a  battle  with  the 
Americans,  who  were  advancing  on 
them  with  the  utmost  celerity.  While 
pointing  to  his  coat  for  proof  of  his 
statement,  a  sachem,  also  in  the  plot, 
came  in  and  confirmed  the  intelligence. 
Other  scouts  arrived  speedily  with  a 
report,  which  probably  grew  out  of  the 
affair  at  Benningtou,  that  Burgoyne's 
army  was  entirely  routed.  All  this 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  fickle- 
minded  red-men. 

Fort  Schuyler  was  better  constructed, 
and  defended  with  more  courage  than 
St.  Leger  had  expected  ;  and  his  light 
artillery  made  little  impression  on  it, 
His  Indians,  who  liked  better  to  take 
scalps  and  plunder  than  to  besiege 
fortresses,  became  very  unmanageable. 
The  loss  which  they  had  sustained  in 
the  encounters  with  Herkimer  and 
Willet  deeply  affected  them  :  they  had 
expected  to  be  witnesses  of  the  tri 
umphs  of  the  British,  and  to  share 
with  them  the  plunder.  Hard  ser 
vice  and  little  reward  caused  bitter 
disappointment ;  and  when  they  knew 
that  a  strong  detachment  of  Ameri 
cans  was  marching  against  them,  they 
resolved  to  take  safety  in  flight.  St. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


635 


Leger  employed  every  argument  and 
artifice  to  detain  them,  but  in  vain ; 
part  of  them  went  off,  and  all  the  rest 
threatened  to  follow  if  the  sie^e  were 

O 

persevered  in.  Therefore,  on  the  22d 
of  August,  St.  Leger  raised  the  siege, 
and  retreated  with  circumstances  indi 
cating  great  alarm  :  the  tents  were  left 
standing,  the  artillery  was  abandoned, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  baggage,  am 
munition,  and  provisions  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  garrison,  a  detachment 
from  which  harassed  the  retreating 
enemy.  But  the  British  troops  were 
exposed  to  greater  danger  from  the 
fury  of  their  savage  allies  than  from 
the  pursuit  of  the  Americans.  During 
the  retreat  they  robbed  the  officers  of 
their  baggage,  and  the  army  generally 
of  their  provisions  and  stores.  Not 
content  with  this,  they  first  stripped 
off  their  arms,  and  afterwards  murdered 
with  their  own  bayonets  all  those  who 
from  inability  to  keep  up,  from  fear, 
or  other  cause  were  separated  from  the 
main  body.  The  confusion,  terror,  and 
sufferings  of  this  retreat  found  no  res 
pite  till  the  royal  troops  reached  the 
lake  on  their  way  to  Montreal. 

Arnold  arrived  at  Fort  Schuyler  two 
days  after  the  retreat  of  the  besiegers  ; 
but  finding  no  occasion  for  his  services, 
he  soon  returned  to  camp.  The  suc 
cessful  defence  of  Fort  Stanwix  or 
Schuyler  powerfully  co-operated  with 
the  defeat  of  the  royal  troops  at  Ben- 
nington  in  raising  the  spirits  and  in 
vigorating  the  activity  of  the  Ameri 
cans.  The  loyalists  became  timid  ;  the 


wavering  began  to  doubt  the  success  of 
the  royal  arms ;  and  the  great  body  of 
the  people  became  convinced  that  noth 
ing  but  steady  exertion  on  their  part 
was  necessary,  to  ruin  that  army  which 
a  short  time  before  had  appeared  to  be 
sweeping  every  obstacle  from  its  path, 
on  the  high  road  to  victory. 

The  decisive  victory  at  Bennington, 
and  the  retreat  of  St.  Leger  from  Fort 
Schuyler,  however  important  in  them 
selves,  were  still  more  so  in  their  conse 
quences.  An  army,  which  had  spread 
terror  and  dismay  in  every  direction— 
which  had,  previously,  experienced  no 
reverse  of  fortune,  was  considered  as 
already  beaten  ;  and  the  opinion  became 
common,  that  the  appearance  of  the 
great  body  of  the  people  in  arms  would 
secure  the  emancipation  of  their  coun 
try.  It  was,  too,  an  advantage  of  no  in 
considerable  importance  resulting  from 
this  change  of  public  opinion,  that  the 
disaffected  became  timid  ;  and  the  wa 
vering,  who,  had  the  torrent  of  success 
continued,  would  have  made  a  merit  of 
contributing  their  aid  to  the  victor,  were 

O  ' 

no  longer  disposed  to  put  themselves 
and  their  fortunes  in  hazard,  to  support 
an  army  whose  fate  was  so  uncertain. 

The  barbarities  which  had  been  per 
petrated  by  the  Indians  belonging  to 
the  invading  armies,  excited  still  more 
resentment  than  terror.  As  the  pros 
pect  of  revenge  began  to  open,  their 
effect  became  the  more  apparent ;  and 
their  influence  on  the  royal  cause  was 
the  more  sensibly  felt  because  they  had 
been  indiscriminate. 


(536 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV. 


The  murder  of  Miss  M'Crea  passed 
through  all  the  papers  of  the  continent; 
and  the  story,  being  retouched  by  the 
hand  of  more  than  one  master,  excited 
a  peculiar  degree  of  sensibility.*  But 
there  were  other  causes  of  still  greater 
influence  in  producing  the  events  which 
afterwards  took  place.  The  last  rein 
forcements  of  continental  troops  arrived 
in  camp  about  this  time,  and  added  both 
courage  and  strength  to  the  army.  The 
harvest,  which  had  detained  the  north 
ern  militia  upon  their  farms,  was  over  ; 
and  General  Schuyler,  whose  continued 
and  eminent  services  had  not  exempted 
him  from  the  imputation  of  being  a 
traitor,  was  succeeded  by  General  Gates, 
who  possessed  a  large  share  of  the  pub 
ic  confidence. 
When  Schuyler  was  directed  by  Con- 

0  Mr.  Jones,  an  officer  of  the  British  army,  had  gained 
the  affections  of  Miss  M'Crea,  a  lovely  young  lady  of  ami 
able  character  and  spotless  reputation,  daughter  of  a  gen 
tleman  attached  to  the  royal  cause,  residing  near  Fort 
Edward  ;  and  they  had  agreed  to  be  married.  In  the 
course  of  service,  the  officer  was  removed  to  some  dis 
tance  from  his  bride,  and  became  anxious  for  her  safety 
and  desirous  of  her  company.  He  engaged  some  Indians, 
of  two  different  tribes,  to  bring  her  to  camp,  and  prom 
ised  a  keg  of  rum  to  the  person  who  should  deliver  her 
safe  to  him.  She  dressed  to  meet  her  bridegroom,  and 
accompanied  her  Indian  conductors  ;  but  by  the  way,  the 
two  chiefs,  each  being  desirous  of  receiving  the  promised 
reward,  disputed  which  of  them  should  deliver  her  to  her 
lover.  The  dispute  rose  to  a  quarrel  ;  and,  according  to 
their  usual  method  of  disposing  of  a  disputed  prisoner, 
one  of  them  instantly  cleft  the  head  of  the  lady  with  his 
tomahawk. 

This  is  the  common  version  of  the  story  found  in  the 
nistories.  Mr.  Lossing,  in  his  Field-Book  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  relying  on  the  traditions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
scene,  comes  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  lady  was  acci 
dentally  killed  by  a  party  of  Americans  in  pursuit  of  the 
Indians  who  had  carried  her  off.  Irving  says  she  was 
killed  by  one  of  the  Indians. 


gress  to  resume  the  command  of  the 
northern  department,  Gates  withdrew 
himself  from  it.  When  the  resolut  on 
passed  recalling  the  general  officers  who 
had  served  in  that  department,  General 
Washington  was  requested  to  name  a 
successor  to  Schuyler.  On  his  express 
ing  a  wish  to  decline  this  nomination, 
and  representing  the  inconvenience  of 
removing  all  the  general  officers,  Gates 
was  again  directed  to  repair  thither  and 
take  the  command,  and  their  resolution 
to  recall  the  brigadiers  was  suspended 
until  the  commander-in-chief  should  be 
of  opinion  that  it  might  be  carried  into 
effect  with  safety. 

Schuyler  retained  the  command  until 
the  arrival  of  Gates,  which  was  on  the 
19th  of  August,  and  continued  his  exer 
tions  to  restore  the  affairs  of  the  depart 
ment,  though  he  felt  acutely  the  dis 
grace  of  being  recalled  in  this  critical 
and  interesting  state  of  the  campaign. 
"  It  is,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  the  com 
mander-in-chief,  "matter  of  extreme  cha 
grin  to  me  to  be  deprived  of  the  com 
mand  at  a  time  when,  soon  if  ever,  we 
shall  probably  be  enabled  to  face  the 
enemy ;  when  we  are  on  the  point  of 
taking  ground  where  they  must  attack 
to  a  disadvantage,  should  our  force  be 
inadequate  to  facing  them  in  the  field  ; 
when  an  opportunity  will,  in  all  proba 
bility,  occur,  in  which  I  might  evince 
that  I  am  not  what  Congress  have  too 
plainly  insinuated  by  taking  the  com 
mand  from  me." 

If  error  be  attributable  to  the  evacu- 
uation  of  Ticonderoga,  no  portion  of  it 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


637 


was  committed  by  Scliuyler.  His  re 
moval  from  the  command  was  probably 
severe  and  unjust  as  respected  himself, 
but  perhaps  wise  as  respected  America. 
The  frontier  towards  the  lakes  was  to 
be  defended  by  the  troops  of  New  En 
gland  ;  and,  however  unfounded  their 
prejudices  against  him  might  be,  it  was 
prudent  to  consult  them. 

Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  which 
multiplied  around  him,  Burgoyne  re 
mained  steady  to  his  purpose.  The  dis 
asters  at  Bennington  and  on  the  Mohawk 
produced  no  disposition  to  abandon  the 
enterprise  and  save  his  army. 

It  had  now  become  necessary  for  Bur 
goyne  to  recur  to  the  slow  and  toilsome 
mode  of  obtaining  supplies  from  Fort 
George.  Having,  with  persevering  la 
bor,  collected  provision  for  thirty  days 
in  advance,  he  crossed  the  Hudson  on 
the  13th  and  14th  of  September,  and 
encamped  on  the  heights  and 
plains  of  Saratoga,  with  a  de 
termination  to  decide  the  fate  of  the 
expedition  in  a  general  engagement. 

Gates,  having  been  joined  by  all  the 
continental  troops  destined  for  the 
northern  department,  and  reinforced  by 
large  bodies  of  militia,  had  moved  from 
his  camp  in  the  islands,  and  advanced 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Stillwater. 

The  bridges  between  the  two  armies 

O 

having  been  broken  down  by  General 
Schuyler,  the  roads  being  excessively 
bad,  and  the  country  covered  with  wood, 
the  progress  of  the  British  army  down 
the  river  was  slow.  On  the  night  of 
the  17th  of  September,  Burgoyne  en- 


1TTT. 


camped  within  four  miles  of  the  Ameri 
can  army,  and  the  next  day  was  em 
ployed  in  repairing  the  bridges  between 
the  two  camps.  In  the  morning  of  the 
19th  he  advanced  in  full  force  towards 
the  American  left.  Morgan  was  imme 
diately  detached  with  his  rifle  corps  to 
observe  the  enemy,  and  to  harass  his 
front  and  flanks.  He  fell  in  with  a 
picket  in  front  of  the  right  wing,  which 
he  attacked  with  vivacity,  and  drove  in 
upon  the  main  body.  Pursuing  with 
too  much  ardor,  he  was  met  in  consider 
able  force,  and,  after  a  severe  encounter, 
was  compelled  in  turn  to  retire  in  some 
disorder.  Two  regiments,  led  by  Ar 
nold,  being  advanced  to  his  assistance, 
his  corps  was  rallied,  and  the  action  be 
came  more  general.  The  Americans 
were  formed  in  a  wood,  with  an  open 
field  in  front,  and  invariably  repulsed 
the  British  corps  which  attacked  them ; 
but  when  they  pursued  those  corps  to 
the  main  body,  they  were  in  turn  driven 
back  to  their  first  ground.  Reinforce 
ments  were  continually  brought  up,  and 
about  four  in  the  afternoon,  upwards  of 
three  thousand  American  troops  were 
closely  engaged  with  the  whole  right 
wing  of  the  British  army,  commanded 
by  General  Burgoyne  in  person.  The 
conflict  was  extremely  severe,  and  only 
terminated  with  the  day.  At  dark  the 
Americans  retired  to  their  camp,  and 
the  British,  who  had  found  great  diffi 
culty  in  maintaining  their  ground,  lay 
all  night  on  their  arms  near  the  field  of 
battle. 

In  this  action,  the  killed  and  wounded 


038 


LIFE  AN7D  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booiv  IV. 


on  the  part  of  the  Americans  were  be 
tween  three  and  four  hundred.  Among 
the  former  were  colonels  Colburn  and 
Adams,  and  several  other  valuable  offi 
cers.  The  British  loss  has  been  esti 
mated  at  rather  more  than  five  hundred 
men. 

Each  army  claimed  the  victory,  and 
each  believed  itself  to  have  beaten  near 
the  whole  of  the  hostile  army  with  only 
a  part  of  its  own  force.  The  advantage, 
however,  taking  all  circumstances  into 
consideration,  was  decidedly  with  the 
Americans.  In  a  conflict  which  nearly 
consumed  the  day,  they  found  them 
selves  at  least  equal  to  their  antagonists. 
In  every  quarter  they  had  acted  on  the 
offensive,  and,  after  an  encounter  for 
several  hours,  had  not  lost  an  inch  of 
ground.  They  had  not  been  driven  from 
the  field,  but  had  retired  from  it  at  the 
close  of  day,  to  the  camp  from  which 
they  had  marched  to  battle.  Their  ob 
ject,  which  was  to  check  the  advancing 
enemy,  had  been  obtained ;  while  that 
of  the  British  general  had  failed.  In 
the  actual  state  of  things,  to  fight  with 
out  being  beaten  was,  on  their  part, 
victory ;  while,  on  the  part  of  the  Brit 
ish,  to  fight  without  a  decisive  victory, 
was  defeat.  The  Indians,  who  found 
themselves  beaten  in  the  woods  by  Mor 
gan,*  and  restrained  from  scalping  and 

°  Colonel  Morgan,  with  his  regiment  of  riflemen,  had 
been  recently  sent  by  Washington  to  join  the  northern 
army.  Gates,  writing  to  Washington,  May  22<1,  1777, 
Rays:  "I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  your  Excellency  for 
sending  Colonel  Morgan's  corps  to  this  army  ;  they  will 
be  of  the  greatest  service  to  it ;  for,  until  the  late  success 
this  way,  I  am  told  the  army  were  quite  panic-struck  by 


plundering  the  unarmed  by  Burgoyne, 
who  saw  before  them  the  prospect  of 
hard  fighting  without  profit,  grew  tired 
of  the  service,  and  deserted  in  great 
numbers.  The  Canadians  and  Provin 
cials  were  not  much  more  faithful ;  and 
Burgoyne  soon  perceived  that  his  hopes 
must  rest  almost  entirely  on  his  Euro 
pean  troops. 

With  reason,  therefore,  this  action 
was  celebrated  throughout  the  United 
States  as  a  victory,  and  considered  as 
the  precursor  of  the  total  ruin  of  the 
invading  army.  The  utmost  exultation 
was  displayed,  and  the  militia  were 
stimulated  to  fly  to  arms,  and  complete 
the  work  so  happily  begun. 

General  Lincoln,  in  conformity  with 
directions  which  have  been  stated,  had 
assembled  a  considerable  body  of  New 
England  militia  in  the  rear  of  Burgoyne, 
from  which  he  drew  three  parties  of 
about  five  hundred  men  each.  One  of 
these  was  detached,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Brown,  to  the  north  end  of 
Lake  George,  principally  to  relieve  a 
number  of  prisoners  who  were  confined 
there,  but  with  orders  to  push  his  suc 
cess,  should  he  be  fortunate,  as  far  as 
prudence  would  admit.  Colonel  John 
son,  at  the  head  of  another  party ; 
marched  towards  Mount  Independence ; 
and  Colonel  "Woodbury,  with  a  third, 
was  detached  to  Skeenesborough  to  cov- 

the  Indians,  and  their  tory  and  Canadian  assassins  in 
Indian  dress.  Horrible,  indeed,  have  been  the  cruelties 
they  have  wantonly  committed  upon  the  miserable  in 
habitants,  insomuch  that  all  is  now  fair  with  General 
Burgoyne,  even  if  the  bloody  hatchet  he  has  so  barba 
rously  used  should  find  its  way  into  his  own  head." 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


630 


er  the  retreat  of  both  the  others.  With 
the  residue,  Lincoln  proceeded  to  the 
camp  of  Gates. 

Colonel  Brown,  after  marching  all 
nigh*,  arrived,  at  the  break  of  day,  on 
the  north  end  of  the  lake,  where  he 
found  a  small  post,  which  he  carried 
without  opposition.  The  surprise  was 
complete ;  and  he  took  possession  of 
Mount  Defiance,  Mount  Hope,  the  land 
ing-place,  and  about  two  hundred  bat- 
teaux.  "With  the  loss  of  only  three 
killed  and  five  wounded,  he  liberated 
one  hundred  American  prisoners,  and 
captured  two  hundred  and  ninety-three 
of  the  enemy.  This  success  was  joy 
fully  proclaimed  through  the  northern 
States.  It  was  believed  confidently 
that  Ticonderoga  and  Mount  Independ 
ence  were  recovered ;  and  the  militia 
were  exhorted,  by  joining  their  breth 
ren  in  the  army,  to  insure  that  event  if 
it  had  not  already  happened. 

The  attempt  on  those  places  however 
failed.  The  garrison  repulsed  the  assail 
ants  ;  who,  after  a  few  days,  abandoned 
the  siege.  On  their  return  through 
Lake  George  in  the  vessels  they  had 
captured,  the  militia  made  an  attack  on 
Diamond  Island,  the  depot  of  all  the 
stores  collected  at  the  north  end  of  the 
lake.  Being  again  repulsed,  they  de 
stroyed  the  vessels  they  had  taken,  and 
returned  to  their  former  station. 

The  day  after  the  battle  of  Still  wa 
ter,  General  Burgoyne  took  a  position 
almost  within  cannon-shot  of  the  Amer 
ican  camp,  fortified  his  right,  and  ex 
tended  his  left  to  the  river.  Directly 


1T7T. 


after  taking  this  ground  he  received  a 
letter  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  inform 
ing  him  that  he  should  attack  Fort 
Montgomery  about  the  20th  of  Septem 
ber.  The  messenger  returned  with  in 
formation  that  Burgoyne  was  in  extreme 
difficulty,  and  would  endeavor  to  wait 
for  aid  until  the  12th  of  October.* 

Both  armies  retained  their  position 
until  the  7th  of  October.  Burgoyue, 
in  the  hope  of  being  relieved  by 
Sir  Henry  Clinton;  and  Gates, 
in  the  confidence  of  growing  stronger 
every  day. 

Having  received  no  further  intelli 
gence  from  Sir  Henry,  and  being  re 
duced  to  the  necessity  of  diminishing 
the  ration  issued  to  his  soldiers,  Bur 
goyne  determined  to  make  one  more 
trial  of  strength  with  his  adversary. 
In  execution  of  this  determination,  he 
drew  out  on  his  right  fifteen  hundred 
choice  troops,  whom  he  commanded  in 
pei-son,  assisted  by  generals  Philips, 
Eiedesel,  and  Fraser. 

The  right  wing  was  formed  within 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  left  of 
the  American  camp  ;  and  a  corps  of 
rangers,  Indians,  and  provincials  was 
pushed  on  through  secret  paths,  to 
show  themselves  in  its  rear,  and  excite 
alarm  in  that  quarter. 

These  movements  were  perceived  by 
General  Gates,  who  determined  to  at 
tack  their  left,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  fall  on  their  right  flank.  Poor's  bri 
gade,  and  some  regiments  from  New 

o  Letter  of  Burgoyne. 


640 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[HOOK  IV. 


Hampshire,  were  ordered  to  meet  them 
in  front ;  while  Morgan,  with  his  rifle 
corps,  made  a  circuit  unperceived,  and 
seized  a  very  advantageous  height  cov 
ered  with  wood  on  their  right.  As 
soon  as  it  was  supposed  that  Morgan 
had  gained  the  ground  he  intended  to 
occupy,  the  attack  was  made  in  front 
and  on  the  left,  in  great  force.  At  this 
critical  moment,  Morgan  poured  in  a 
deadly  and  incessant  fire  on  the  front 
and  right  flank. 

While  the  British  right  wing  was 
thus  closely  pressed  in  front  and  on  its 
flank,  a  distinct  division  of  the  Ameri 
can  troops  was  ordered  to  intercept  its 
retreat  to  camp,  and  to  separate  it  from 
the  residue  of  the  army.  Burgoyne 
perceived  the  danger  of  his  situation, 
and  ordered  the  light-infantry  under 
General  Fraser,  with  part  of  the  24th 
regiment,  to  form  a  second  line,  in  or 
der  to  cover  the  light-infantry  of  the 
right,  and  secure  a  retreat.  While  this 
movement  was  in  progress,  the  left  of 
the  British  right  was  forced  from  its 
ground,  and  the  light-infantry  was  or 
dered  to  its  aid.  In  the  attempt  to  ex 
ecute  this  order,  they  were  attacked  by 
the  rifle  corps  with  great  effect ;  and 
Fraser  was  mortally  wounded.  Over 
powered  by  numbers,  and  pressed  on 
all  sides  by  a  superior  weight  of  fire, 
Burgoyne,  with  great  difficulty,  and 
with  the  loss  of  his  field-pieces  and 
great  part  of  his  artillery  corps,  re 
gained  his  camp.  The  Americans  fol 
lowed  close  in  his  rear ;  and  assaulted 
his  works  throughout  their  whole  ex 


tent.  Towards  the  close  of  day,  the 
intrenchments  were  forced  on  their 
right ;  and  General  Arnold,  with  a 
few  men,  actually  entered  their  works ; 
but  his  horse  being  killed  under  him, 
and  himself  wounded,  the  troops  were 
forced  out  of  them  ;  and  it  being  nearly 
dark,  they  desisted  from  the  assault. 
The  left  of  Arnold's  division  was  still 
more  successful.  Jackson's  regiment  of 
Massachusetts,  then  led  by  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Brooks,*  turned  the  right  of  the 
encampment,  and  stormed  the  works 
occupied  by  the  German  reserve.  Lieu 
tenant-colonel  Breyman  who  command 
ed  in  them  was  killed,  and  the  works 
wrere  carried.  The  orders  given  by 
Burgoyne  to  recover  them,  were  not 
executed  ;  and  Brooks  maintained  the 
ground  he  had  gained. 

Darkness  put  an  end  to  the  action ; 
and  the  Americans  lay  all  night  with 
their  arms  in  their  hands,  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  British  lines,  ready  to  re 
new  the  assault  with  the  return  of  day. 
The  advantage  they  had  gained  was  de 
cisive.  They  had  taken  several  pieces 
of  artillery,  killed  a  great  number  of 
men,  made  upwards  of  two  hundred 
prisoners,  among  whom  were  several 
officers  of  distinction,  and  had  pene 
trated  the  lines  in  a  part  which  ex 
posed  the  whole  to  considerable  danger. 

Unwilling  to  risk  the  events  of  the 
next  day  on  the  same  ground,  Bur 
goyne  changed  his  position  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  and  drew  his  whole 

0  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  IXVASIOX  OF  NEW  YORK. 


041 


17T7. 


army  into  a  strong  camp  on  the  river 
heights,  extending  his  right  up  the  river. 
This  movement  extricated  him  from  the 
danger  of  being  attacked  the  ensuing 
morning  by  an  enemy  already  in  pos 
session  of  part  of  his  works.  The  8th 
of  October  was  spent  in  skirmishing 
and  cannonading.  About  sun 
set,  the  body  of  General  Fra- 
ser,*  who  had  been  mortally  wounded 
on  the  preceding  day,  was,  agreeably 
to  his  own  desire,  carried  up  the  hill  to 
be  interred  in  the  great  redoubt,  at 
tended  only  by  the  officers  who  had 
lived  in  his  family.  Generals  Burgoyne, 
Philips,  and  Biedesel,  in  testimony  of 
respect  and  affection  for  their  late  brave 
companion  in  arms,  joined  the  mournful 
procession,  which  necessarily  passed  in 
view  of  both  armies.  The  incessant 
cannonade,  the  steady  attitude  and  un 
faltering  voice  of  the  chaplain,  and 
the  firm  demeanor  of  the  company, 
though  occasionally  covered  with  the 
earth  thrown  up  by  the  shot  from  the 
hostile  batteries  ploughing  the  ground 
around  them,  the  mute  expression  of 
feeling  pictured  on  every  countenance, 
and  the  increasing  gloom  of  the  even 
ing,  all  contributed  to  give  an  affecting 
solemnity  to  the  obsequies.  General 
Gates  afterwards  declared,  that  if  he 
had  been  apprised  of  what  was  going 
on,  he  would  at  least  have  silenced  his 
batteries,  and  allowed  the  last  offices  of 
humanity  to  be  performed  without  dis 
turbance,  or  even  have  ordered  minute- 

0  Sec  Documents  [F]  and  [G]  at  the  end  of  this  chap 
ter. 

VOL.  I.— 81 


guns  to  be  fired  in  honor  of  the  de 
ceased  general. 

Gates  perceived  the  strength  of  Bur- 
goyne's  new  position,  and  was  not  dis 
posed  to  hazard  an  assault.  Aware  of 
the  critical  situation  of  his  adversary, 
he  detached  a  party  higher  up  the  Hud 
son  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  the 
British  army  on  its  retreat,  while  strong 
corps  were  posted  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river  to  guard  its  passage. 

This  movement  compelled  Burgoyne 
again  to  change  his  position,  and  to  re 
tire  to  Saratoga.  About  nine  at  night, 
the  retreat  was  commenced,  and  was 
effected  with  the  loss  of  his  hospital, 
containing  about  three  hundred  sick, 
and  of  several  batteaux  laden  with  pro 
vision  and  baggage.  On  reaching  the 
ground  to  be  occupied,  he  found  a 
strong  corps  already  intrenched  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  prepared  to 
dispute  its  passage. 

From.  Saratoga,  Burgoyne  detached 
a  company  of  artificers,  under  a  strong 
escort,  to  repair  the  roads  and  bridges 
towards  Fort  Edward.  Scarcely  had 
this  detachment  moved,  when  the  Amer 
icans  appeared  in  force  on  the  heights 
south  of  Saratoga  Creek,  and  made  dis- 

o  / 

positions  which  excited  the  apprehen 
sion  of  a  design  to  cross  it  and  attack 

O 

his  camp.  The  Europeans  escorting 
the  artificers  were  recalled,  and  a  pro 
vincial  corps,  employed  in  the  same 
service,  being  attacked  by  a  small  par 
ty,  ran  away  and  left  the  workmen  to 
shift  for  themselves.  No  hope  of  re 
pairing  the  roads  remaining,  it  became 


•342 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


impossible  to  move  the  baggage  and 
artillery. 

The  British  army  was  now  almost 
completely  environed  by  a  superior 
force.  No  means  remained  of  extri 
cating  itself  from  difficulties  and  dan- 

o 

gers  which  were  continually  increasing, 
but  fording  a  river,  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  which  a  formidable  body  of 
troops  was  already  posted  ;  and  then 
escaping  to  Fort  George,  through  roads 
impassable  by  artillery  or  wagons,  while 
its  rear  was  closely  pressed  by  a  victo 
rious  enemy.* 

A  council  of  general  officers,  called  to 
deliberate  on  their  situation,  took  the 

°  Gordon,  in  his  history  of  the  war,  states  himself  to 
have  received  from  General  Glover  an  anecdote,  showing 
that  all  these  advantages  were  on  the  point  of  being  ex 
posed  to  imminent  hazard:  "On  the  morning  of  the 
eleventh,  Gates  called  the  general  officers  together,  and 
informed  them  of  his  having  received  certain  intelligence, 
which  might  he  depended  upon,  that  the  main  body  of 
Burgoyne's  army  was  marched  off  for  Fort  Edward  with 
what  they  could  take  ;  and  that  the  rear-guard  only  was 
left  in  the  camp,  who,  after  a  while,  were  to  push  off  as 
fast  as  possible,  leaving  the  heavy  baggage  behind.  On 
this  it  was  concluded  to  advance  and  .attack  the  camp  in 
half  an  hour.  The  officers  repaired  immediately  to  their 
respective  commands.  General  Nixon's  being  the  eldest 
brigade,  crossed  the  Saratoga  Creek  first.  Unknown  to 
the  Americans,  Burgoyne  had  a  line  formed  behind  a 
parcel  of  brushwood,  to  support  the  park  of  artillery 
where  the  attack  was  to  be  made.  General  Glover  was 
upon  the  point  of  following  Nixon.  Just  as  he  entered 
the  water,  he  saw  a  British  soldier  making  across,  whom 
he  called  and  examined."  This  soldier  was  a  deserter, 
and  communicated  the  very  important  fact  that  the 
whole  British  army  were  in  their  encampment.  Nixon 
was  immediately  stopped,  and  the  intelligence  conveyed 
to  Gates,  who  countermanded  his  orders  for  the  assault, 
and  called  back  his  troops,  not  without  sustaining  some 
loss  from  the  British  artillery. 

Gordon  is  confirmed  by  General  Wilkinson,  who  was 
.adjutant-general  in  the  American  army.  The  narrative 
of  the  general  varies  from  that  of  Gordon  only  in  minor 
circumstances. 


bold  resolution  to  abandon  every  thing 
but  their  arms  and  such  provisions  as 
the  soldiers  could  carry ;  and,  by  a 
forced  march  in  the  night  up  the  river, 
to  extricate  themselves  from  the  Amer 
ican  army  ;  and,  crossing  at  Fort  Ed- 
ward,  or  at  a  ford  above  it,  to  press  on 
to  Fort  George. 

Gates  had  foreseen  this  movement, 
and  had  prepared  for  it.  In  addition 
to  placing  strong  guards  at  the  fords 
of  the  Hudson,  he  had  formed  an  in 
trenched  camp  on  the  high  grounds  be 
tween  Fort  Edward  and  Fort  George. 
The  scouts  sent  to  examine  the  route 
returned  with  this  information,  and  the 
plan  was  abandoned  as  impracticable. 

Nothing  could  be  more  hopeless  than 
the  condition  of  the  British  army,  or 
more  desperate  than  that  of  their  gen 
eral,  as  described  by  himself.  In  his 
letter  to  Lord  George  Germain,  secre 
tary  of  state  for  American  affairs,  he 
says:  "A.  series  of  hard  toil,  incessant 
effort,  stubborn  action,  until  disabled  in 
the  collateral  branches  of  the  army  by 
the  total  defection  of  the  Indians  ;  the 
desertion  or  timidity  of  the  Canadians 
and  provincials,  some  individuals  ex- 
cepted ;  disappointed  in  the  last  hope 
of  any  co-operation  from  other  armies  ; 
the  regular  troops  reduced  by  losses 
from  the  best  parts  to  three  thousand 
five  hundred  fighting-men,  not  two  thou- 

O  O 

sand  of  which  were  British  ;  only  three 
days'  provisions,  upon  short  allowance, 
in  store ;  invested  by  an  army  of  sixteen 
thousand  men,  and  no  appearance  of  re 
treat  remaining  ; — I  called  into  council 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BUUGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


643 


all  the  generals,  field-officers,  and  cap 
tains  commanding  corps,  and  by  their 
unanimous  concurrence  and  advice,  I 
was  induced  to  open  a  treaty  with  Ma 
jor-general  Gates." 

A  treaty  was  opened  with  a  general 
proposition,  stating  the  willingness  of 
the  British  general  to  spare  the  further 
effusion  of  blood,  provided  a  negotiation 
could  be  effected  on  honorable  terms. 

This  proposition  was  answered  by  a 
demand  that  the  whole  army  should 
ground  their  arms  in  their  encampment, 
and  surrender  themselves  prisoners  of 
war.  This  demand  was  instantly  re 
jected,  with  a  declaration  that  if  Gen 
eral  Gates  designed  to  insist  on  it,  the 
negotiation  must  immediately  break  off, 
and  hostilities  recommence.  On  receiv 
ing  this  decided  answer,  Gates  receded 
from  the  rigorous  terms  at  first  pro 
posed  ;  and  a  convention  was  signed 
(October  17th),  in  which  it  was 
agreed  that  the  British  army, 
after  marching  out  of  their  encampment 
with  all  the  honors  of  war,  should  lay 
down  their  arms,  and  not  serve  against 

i  o 

the  United  States  till  exchanged.  They 
were  not  to  be  detained  in  captivity, 
but  to  be  permitted  to  embark  for 
England. 

The  situation  of  the  armies  consider 
ed,*  these  terms  were  highly  honorable 
to  the  British  general,  and  favorable  to 


17TT. 


°  The  American  array  consisted  of  Tiine  thousand  and 
ninety-three  continental  troops.  The  number  of  the  mi 
litia  fluctuated  ;  but  amounted,  at  the  signature  of  the 
convention,  to  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine.  The  sick  exceeded  two  thousand  five  hundred  men. 


his  nation.  They  were  probably  more 
advantageous  than  would  have  been 
granted  by  Gates,  had  he  entertained 
no  apprehension  from  Sir  Henry  Clin 
ton,  who  was  at  length  making  the  prom 
ised  diversion  on  the  North  River,  up 
which  he  had  penetrated  as  far  as  ^Eso- 
ptis. 

The  drafts  made  from  Peekskill  for 
both  armies  had  left  that  post  in  a  sit 
uation  to  require  the  aid  of  militia 
for  its  security.  The  requisitions  of 
General  Putnam  were  complied  with  ; 
but  the  attack  upon  them  being  de 
layed,  the  militia,  who  were  anxious  to 
attend  to  their  farms,  became  impa 
tient  ;  many  deserted ;  and  Putnam  was 
induced  to  discharge  the  residue. 

Governor  Clinton  immediately  order 
ed  out  half  the  militia  of  New  York, 
with  assurances  that  they  should  be  re 
lieved  in  one  month  by  the  other  half. 
This  order  was  executed  so  slowly  that 
the  forts  were  carried  before  the  militia 
were  in  the  field. 

Great  pains  had  been  taken,  and  much 
labor  employed,  to  render  the  position  ot 
the  American  army  for  guarding  the  pas 
sage  up  the  Hudson  secure.  The  princi 
pal  defences  were  forts  Montgomery  and 
Clinton.  They  had  been  constructed  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson,  on  very 
high  ground,  extremely  difficult  of  access, 
and  were  separated  from  each  other  by  a 
small  creek  which  runs  from  the  mount 
ains  into  the  river.  These  forts  were 
too  much  elevated  to  be  battered  from 
the  water,  and  the  hills  on  which  they 
stood  were  too  steep  to  be  ascended  by 


644 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


troops  landing  at  the  foot  of  them.  The 
mountains,  which  commence  five  or  six 
miles  below  them,  are  so  high  and  rug 
ged,  the  defiles,  through  which  the 
roads  leading  to  them  pass,  so  narrow, 
and  so  commanded  by  the  heights  on 
both  sides,  that  the  approaches  to  them 
are  extremely  difficult  and  dangerous. 

To  prevent  ships  from  passing  the 
forts,  cJievaux-de-frise  had  been  sunk  in 
the  river,  and  a  boom  extended  from 
bank  to  bank,  which  was  covered  with 
immense  chains  stretched  at  some  dis 
tance  in  its  front.  These  works  were 
defended  by  the  guns  of  the  forts,  and 
by  a  frigate  and  galleys  stationed  above 
them,  capable  of  opposing  with  an  equal 
fire  in  front  any  force  which  might  at 
tack  them  by  water  from  below. 

Fort  Independence  is  four  or  five 
miles  below  forts  Montgomery  and  Clin 
ton,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  on  a  high  point  of  land ;  and  Fort 
Constitution  is  rather  more  than  six 
miles  above  them,  on  an  island  near  the 
eastern  shore.  Peekskill,  the  general 
head-quarters  of  the  officer  commanding 
at  the  station,  is  just  below  Fort  Inde 
pendence,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river.  The  garrisons  had  been  reduced 
to  about  six  hundred  men,  and  the  whole 
force  under  Putnam  did  not  much  ex 
ceed  two  thousand.  Yet  this  force, 
though  far  inferior  to  that  which  Wash 
ington  had  ordered  to  be  retained  at 

O 

the  station,  was,  if  properly  applied, 
.more  than  competent  to  the  defence  of 
the  forts  against  any  numbers  which 
could  be  spared  from  New  York.  To 


insure  success  to  the  enterprise,  it  was 
necessary  to  draw  the  attention  of  Put 
nam  from  the  real  object,  and  to  storm 
the  works  before  the  garrisons  could  be 
aided  by  his  army.  This  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  accomplished. 

Between  three  and  four  thousand  men 
embarked  at  New  York,  and  landed  on 
the  5th  of  October  at  Verplanck's  Point, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson,  a  short 
distance  below  Peekskill,  upon  which 
Putnam  retired  to  the  heights  in  his 
rear.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
a  part  of  these  troops  re-embarked,  and 
the  fleet  moved  up  the  river  to  Peeks- 
kill  Neck,  in  order  to  mask  King's  Fer 
ry,  which  was  below  them.  The  next 
morning,  at  break  of  day,  the  troops 
destined  for  the  enterprise  landed  on 
the  west  side  of  Stony  Point,  and  com 
menced  their  march  through  the  mount 
ains,  into  the  rear  of  forts  Clinton  and 
Montgomery.  This  disembarkation  was 
observed,  but  the  morning  was  so  foggy 
that  the  numbers  could  not  be  distin 
guished  ;  and  a  large  fire,  which  was 
afterwards  perceived  at  the  landing- 
place,  suggested  the  idea  that  the  sole 
object  of  the  party  on  shore  was  the 
burning  of  some  storehouses.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  manoeuvres  of  the  ves 
sels,  and  the  appearance  of  a  small 
detachment  left  at  Verplanck's  Point, 
persuaded  Putnam  that  the  meditated 
attack  was  on  Fort  Independence. 

His  whole  attention  was  directed  to 
this  object ;  and  the  real  designs  of  the 
enemy  were  not  suspected,  until  a  heavy 
firing  from  the  other  side  of  the  river 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


645 


announced  the  assault  on  forts  Clinton 
and  Montgomery.  Five  hundred  men 
were  instantly  detached  to  reinforce  the 
garrisons  of  those  places;  but,  before 
this  detachment  could  cross  the  river, 
the  forts  were  in  possession  of  the 
British. 

Having  left  a  battalion  at  the  pass  of 
Thunderhill  to  keep  up  a  communica 
tion,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  formed  his 
army  into  two  divisions — one  of  which, 
consisting  of  nine  hundred  men,  com 
manded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Camp 
bell,  made  a  circuit  by  the  forest  of 
Dearie,  in  order  to  fall  on  the  back  of 
Fort  Montgomery ;  while  the  other,  con 
sisting  of  twelve  hundred  men,  com 
manded  by  General  Vaughan,  and  ac 
companied  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in 
person,  advanced  slowly  against  Fort 
Clinton. 

Both  posts  were  assaulted  about  five 
in  the  afternoon.  The  works  were  de 
fended  with  resolution,  and  were  main 
tained  until  dark,  when,  the  lines  being 
too  extensive  to  be  completely  manned, 
the  assailants  entered  them  in  different 
places.  The  defence  being  no  longer 
possible,  some  of  the  garrison  were  made 
prisoners,  while  their  better  knowledge 
of  the  country  enabled  others  to  escape. 
Governor  Clinton  passed  the  river  in  a 
I  boat,  and  General  James  Clinton,  though 
wounded  in  the  thigh  by  a  bayonet,  also 
made  his  escape.  Lieutenant-colonels 
Livingston  and  Bruyn,  and  majors  Ham 
ilton  and  Logan,  were  among  the  pris 
oners.  The  loss  sustained  by  the  gar 
risons  was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 


men :  that  of  the  assailants  was  stated 
by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  at  less  than  two 
hundred.  Among  the  killed  were  Lieu 
tenant-colonel  Campbell  and  two  other 
field-officers. 

As  the  boom  and  chains  drawn  across 
the  river  could  no  longer  be  defended, 
the  continental  frigates  and  galleys  ly 
ing  above  them  were  burnt,  to  prevent 
their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  ene 
my.  Fort  Independence  and  Fort  Con 
stitution  Avere  evacuated  the  next  day, 
and  Putnam  retreated  to  Fishkill.  Gen 
eral  Vaughan,  after  burning  Continental 
Village,  where  stores  to  a  considerable 
amount  had  been  deposited,  proceeded, 
at  the  head  of  a  strong  detachment,  up 
the  river  to  ^Esopus,  which  he  also  de 
stroyed.* 

Putnam,  whose  army  had  been  aug 
mented  by  reinforcements  of  militia  to 
six  thousand  men,  detached  General 
Parsons,  with  two  thousand,  to  repos 
sess  himself  of  Peekskill,  and  of  the 
passes  in  the  Highlands,  while  with  the 
residue  he  watched  the  progress  of  the 
enemy  up  the  river.  The  want  of  heavy 
artillery  prevented  his  annoying  their 
ships  in  the  Hudson. 

On  the  capitulation  of  Burgoyne,  near 
five  thousand  men  had  been  detached 
by  Gates  to  aid  Putnam.  Before  their 
arrival,  General  Vaughan  had  returned 
to  New  York,  whence  a  reinforcement 

o  Intelligence  of  the  success  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  on 
the  North  River  was  received  by  General  Burgoyne  in  th? 
night  after  the  convention  at  Saratoga  had  been  agreed 
upon,  but  before  the  articles  had  been  signed  and  execu 
ted  The  British  general  had  serious  thoughts  of  break 
ing  off  the  treaty. 


040 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


to  General  Howe  was  then  about  to 
sail. 

Great  as  was  the  injury  sustained  by 
the  United  States  from  this  enterprise, 
Great  Britain  derived  from  it  no  solid 
advantage.  It  was  undertaken  at  too 

O 

late  a  period  to  save  Burgoyne ;  and 
though  the  passes  in  the  Highlands 
were  acquired,  they  could  not  he  re 
tained.  The  British  had  reduced  to 
ashes  every  village,  and  almost  every 
house,  within  their  power ;  but  this 
wanton  and  useless  destruction  served 
to  irritate,  without  tending  to  subdue. 
A  keenness  was  given  to  the  resentment 
of  the  injured,  which  outlived  the  con 
test  between  the  two  nations. 

The  army  which  surrendered  at  Sara 
toga  exceeded  five  thousand  men.  On 

O 

marching  from  Ticonderoga,  it  was  esti 
mated  at  nine  thousand.  In  addition 
to  this  great  military  force,  the  British 
lost,  and  the  Americans  acquired,  a  fine 
train  of  artillery,  seven  thousand  stand 
of  excellent  arms,  clothing  for  seven 
thousand  recruits,  with  tents  and  other 
military  stores  to  a  considerable  amount. 
The  thanks  of  Congress  were  voted 
to  General  Gates  and  his  army ;  and 
a  medal  of  gold,  in  commemoration  of 
this  great  event,  was  ordered  to  be 
struck,  and  presented  to  him  by  the 
president,  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States.  Colonel  Wilkinson,*  his  adju 
tant-general,  whom  he  strongly  recom 
mended,  was  appointed  brigadier-gen 
eral  by  brevet. 

°  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


In  the  opinion  that  the  British  would 
not  immediately  abandon  the  passes  in 
the  Highlands,  Congress  ordered  Put 
nam  to  join  Washington  with  a  rein 
forcement  not  exceeding  two  thousand 

<^j 

five  hundred  men,  and  directed  Gates 
to  take  command  of  the  army  on  the 
Hudson,  with  unlimited  powers  to  call 
for  aids  of  militia  from  the  New  England 
States,  as  well  as  from  New  York  and 
New  Jersey. 

A  proposition  to  authorize  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  after  consulting  with 
General  Gates  and  Governor  George 
Clinton,  to  increase  the  detachment  de 
signed  to  strengthen  his  army,  if  he 

O  o  v   ? 

should  then  be  of  opinion  that  it  might 
be  done  without  endangering  the  ob- 

o  O 

jects  to  be  accomplished  by  Gates,  was 
seriously  opposed.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  amend  this  proposition,  so  as 
to  make  the  increase  of  the  reinforce 
ment  to  depend  on  the  assent  of  Gates 
and  Clinton ;  but  this  amendment  was 
lost  by  a  considerable  majority,  and  the 
original  resolution  was  carried.  These 

O 

proceedings  were  attended  with  no  oth 
er  consequences,  than  to  excite  some 
degree  of  attention  to  the  state  of 
parties. 

Soon  after  the  capitulation  of  Bur 
goyne,  Ticonderoga  and  Mount  Inde 
pendence  were  evacuated,  and  the  gar 
rison  retired  to  Isle  aux  Noix  and  St. 
John's. 

The  effect  produced  by  this  event  on 
the  British  cabinet  and  nation,  was  great 
and  immediate.  It  seemed  to  remove 
the  delusive  hopes  of  conquest  with 


CHAP.  XII.] 


BURGOYNE'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  YORK. 


647 


which  they  had  been  flattered,  and  sud 
denly  to  display  the  mass  of  resistance 
which  must  yet  be  encountered.  Pre 
vious  to  the  reception  of  this  disastrous 
intelligence,  the  employment  of  savages 
in  the  war  had  been  the  subject  of  se 
vere  animadversion.  Parliament  was 
assembled  on  the  20th  of  November ; 
and,  as  usual,  addresses  were  proposed 
in  answer  to  the  speech  from  the  throne, 
entirely  approving  the  conduct  of  the 
administration.  In  the  House  of  Lords, 
the  Earl  of  Chatham"'1'  moved  to  amend 
the  address,  by  introducing  a  clause  rec 
ommending  to  his  majesty  an  immediate 
cessation  of  hostilities,  and  the  com 
mencement  of  a  treaty  of  conciliation, 
"  to  restore  peace  and  liberty  to  Amer 
ica,  strength  and  happiness  to  England, 
security  and  permanent  prosperity  to 
both  countries."  In  the  course  of  the 
very  animated  observations  made  by 
this  extraordinary  man  in  support  of 
his  motion,  he  said :  "  But,  my  lords,  who 
is  the  man  that,  in  addition  to  the  dis 
graces  and  mischiefs  of  wrar,  has  dared 
to  authorize  and  associate  to  our  arms 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  of  the 
savage?  to  call  into  civilized  alliance 
the  wild  and  inhuman  inhabitant  of  the 
woods  ?  to  delegate  to  the  merciless  In 
dian  the  defence  of  disputed  rights,  and 
to  wao;e  the  horrors  of  his  barbarous 

O 

war  against  our  brethren  ?  My  lord?, 
these  enormities  cry  aloud  for  redress 
and  punishment.  Unless  thoroughly 
done  away,  they  will  be  a  stain  on 

0  See  Document  [D]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


the  national  character.  It  is  not  the 
least  of  our  national  misfortunes,  that 
the  strength  and  character  of  our  army 
are  thus  impaired.  Familiarized  to  the 
horrid  scenes  of  savage  cruelty,  it  can 
no  longer  boast  of  the  noble  and  gener 
ous  principles  which  dignify  a  soldier  ; 
no  longer  sympathize  with  the  dignity 
of  the  royal  banner,  nor  feel  the  pride, 
pomp,  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war 
that  makes  ambition  virtue.  What 
makes  ambition  virtue  ?  the  sense  of 
honor.  But  is  this  sense  of  honor  con 
sistent  with  the  spirit  of  plunder,  or  the 
practice  of  murder  ?  Can  it  flow  from 
mercenary  motives?  or  can  it  prompt 
to  cruel  deeds  ?" 

The  conduct  of  the  administration, 
however,  received  the  full  approbation 
of  large  majorities ;  but  the  triumph 
these  victories  in  parliament  afforded 
them  was  of  short  duration.  The  disas 
trous  issue  of  an  expedition  from  which 
the  most  sanguine  expectations  had  been 
formed  was  soon  known,  and  the  morti 
fication  it  produced  was  extreme.  A 
reluctant  confession  of  the  calamity  was 
made  by  the  minister,  and  a  desire  to 
restore  peace  on  any  terms  consistent 
with  the  integrity  of  the  empire  found 
its  way  into  the  cabinet. 

The  surrender  of  Burgoynef  was  an 
event  of  very  great  importance  in  a  po 
litical  point  of  view,  as  it  undoubtedly 
decided  the  French  government  to  form 
an  alliance  with  the  United  States ;  but 
it  was  only  one  of  the  many  disasters 

•j-  See  Document  [E]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


G4S 


LIFE  AXD  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Booic  IV. 


to  the  British  arms  which  compelled 
them  to  acknowledge  our  independ 
ence.  There  remained  much  to  "be 
done.  "Washington  was  still  to  endure 
greater  hardships  and  mortifications — 


to  have  his  patriotism  and  disinterest 
edness  more  severely  tried  than  ever, 
during  the  coming  campaigns.  We 
must  now  return  to  his  dreary  camp  at 
Valley  Forge. 


DOCUMENTS    ILLUSTRATING  CHAPTER  XII. 


[A.] 

GENERAL  STARK. 

Tins  excellent  officer  was  surpassed  by  none 
of  that  illustrious  "band  that  surrounded  Wash 
ington  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  in  patriotism, 
courage,  or  efficiency.  The  following  sketch 
affords  a  brief  outline  of  his  services. 

John  Stark  was  born  in  Londonderry,  New 
Hampshire,  28th  of  August  (Old  Style),  1728. 
John  removed  with  his  father  to  Derryfield 
(now  Manchester),  about  the  year  1730,  and 
settled  a  mile  north  of  Amoskeag  Falls,  where 
he  was  employed  occasionally  in  hunting  and 
husbandry,  until  the  28th  day  of  April,  1752, 
when  he  and  three  others,  while  hunting  beaver 
on  Baker's  River,  were  surprised  by  ten  St. 
Francois  Indians.  He  had  separated  from  his 
companions,  in  order  to  collect  the  traps.  In 
the  act  of  taking  the  last  trap,  lie  was  seized  by 
the  Indians,  who  interrogated  him  about  his 
companions ;  when  he  pointed  out  a  contrary 
route,  and  led  them  nearly  two  miles  from  the 
right  place,  and  was  proceeding,  when  they 
heard  guns  fired,  which  his  comrades  had  com 
menced,  on  presumption  that  he  had  lost  his 
way.  The  Indians  then  changed  their  course, 
got  ahead  of  the  boat,  and  lay  in  ambush.  His 
comrades  having  fallen  into  the  ambush,  the  In 
dians  directed  Stark  to  call  for  them ;  he  did 
so,  but  advised  them  to  escape  to  the  opposite 
shore,  on  which  four  of  the  Indians  fired.  At  the 
moment  of  the  discharge,  Stark  knocked  up  the 
guns  of  two  of  the  Indians;  and  he  did  the  same 
when  the  rest  of  the  party  fired  a  second  volley, 
calling  to  his  brother  to  make  his  escape,  as  all 
the  guns  were  discharged.  One  of  his  com 
rades,  however,  was  killed.  The  savages  beat 
Stark  most  severely.  He  and  Eastman,  one  of 

VOL.  I.— 82 


his  comrades,  remained  prisoners  with  the  Indi 
ans  six  weeks,  when  Captain  Stevens  and  Mr. 
Wheelwright  were  sent  by  Massachusetts  to  re 
deem  prisoners  who  had  been  captured  from  that 
province.  Not  finding  any,  they  liberally  paid 
the  ransom  of  Stark  and  Eastman, — the  former 
being  redeemed  for  one  hundred  and  three  dol 
lars,  the  latter  for  sixty.  Stark  returned  to  Der 
ryfield  in  August.  In  the  following  winter,  the 
General  Court  of  New  Hampshire  concluded  to 
send  a  party  to  explore  the  Coos  country.  A 
company  was  enlisted  to  perform  this  duty.  On 
their  arrival  at  Concord,  they  applied  to  Mr. 
Stark  to  act  as  their  pilot,  who  agreed  to  ac 
company  them.  They  finished  the  exploration 
in  thirteen  days.  In  the  year  1754,  it  was  un 
derstood  that  the  French  were  making  a  fort 
at  the  Upper  Coos.  Captain  Powers  was  sent 
by  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  with  thirty 
men,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce,  to  demand  the 
reason  of  making  a  fort  there.  On  his  arrival 
at  Concord  he  had  no  pilot,  and  applied  to 
Mr.  Stark,  who,  ever  ready  to  embark  in  the 
most  hazardous  enterprises,  readily  accompanied 
them.  He  conducted  the  party  to  the  Upper 
Coos,  and  on  the  same  route  that  the  Indians 
had  led  him  captive  two  years  before.  They 
found  no  garrison,  and  the  party  returned  after 
exploring  for  the  first  time  (by  any  English  ad 
venturer)  the  Coos  meadows,  the  now  healthful 
and  flourishing  towns  of  Haverhill  and  New- 
bury,  New  Hampshire. 

On  the  commencement  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  in  1755,  Stark  had  acquired  so  much  ce 
lebrity  by  these  several  expeditions,  that  the 
governor  appointed  him  a  lieutenant  in  Captain 
Rogers'  company,  in  Colonel  Blanchard's  regi 
ment.  Rogers  possessing  the  same  bold  and 
enterprising  spirit,  the  rugged  sons  of  the  forest 


650 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


soon   ranged   themselves  under  their   banners, 

O 

ami  were  ordered  to  proceed  to  Coos,  and  burn 
the  meadows,  preparatory  to  building  a  fort 
and  forming  an  establishment  there ;  but  be 
fore  they  reached  Coos,  a  new  order  command 
ed  them  to  join  the  regiment  at  Fort  Edward, 
by  way  of  Charlestown  Number  Four,  and  IIoo- 
sack,  and  arrived  about  the  time  that  Sir  William 
Johnson  was  attacked  by  the  French  and  In 
dians  near  Bloody  Pond,  between  Fort  Edward 
and  Lake  George.  This  campaign  passed  over 
without  any  occurrence  worthy  of  remark.  In 
the  autumn,  the  regiment  was  discharged,  and 
Lieutenant  Stark  returned  home. 

In  the  winter  of  1756,  a  project  was  formed 
by  the  British  commander  at  Fort  Edward,  to 
establish  a  corps  of  rangers,  to  counteract  the 
French  scouts  of  Canadians  and  Indians  that 
constantly  harassed  the  frontiers,  and  hung  on 
the  wings  of  the  army.  Rogers  was  appointed 
captain,  and  he  immediately  repaired  to  New 
Hampshire,  to  engage  Stark  to  be  his  lieutenant 
and  raise  the  soldiers.  They  soon  completed 
i  heir  quota,  and  in  April  following  began  their 
inarch  for  Fort  Edward.  In  this  campaign  noth 
ing  of  importance  was  done,  except  that  this  com 
pany  was  almost  constantly  on  foot,  watching  the 
motions  of  the  enemy  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
Point,  and  preparing  themselves  for  more  im 
portant  services.  In  the  autumn  of  this  year 
the  corps  was  joined  by  two  companies  com 
manded  by  Hobbs  and  Spikeman,  from  Halifax. 
At  this  time  the  three  companies  contained 
nearly  three  hundred  men,  and  began  to  be  es 
teemed  of  considerable  consequence.  In  Jan 
uary,  1757,  a  plan  was  formed  for  this  corps  to 
march  to  the  lake,  and  intercept  the  supplies  from 
Crown  Point  to  Ticonderoga.  They  turned  Ti 
conderoga,  seized  a  few  sleighs,  and  were  return 
ing  to  Fort  George,  when  the  party  was  attack 
ed  about  three  miles  from  Ticonderoga,  by  the 
combined  force  of  French  and  Indians  from  the 
garrison,  when  a  most  bloody  and  desperate  ac 
tion  ensued.  Perhaps,  according  to  numbers 
engaged,  a  more  sanguinary  battle  was  not 
fought  during  the  war.  In  this  instance,  great 
prudence  and  coolness,  joined  with  the  most 
obstinate  bravery,  marked  the  conduct  of  the 
young  officer.  Captain  Spikeman  being  killed, 


and  Rogers  wounded,  the  command  of  the  re 
treat  devolved  on  Lieutenant  Stark,  who,  by  his 
intrepidity  and  firmness,  in  the  lace  of  the  gar 
rison,  secured  the  wounded,  and  drew  off  the 
detachment  with  such  order  and  address,  as  to 
keep  the  enemy  at  bay.  At  eight  in  the  morn 
ing,  they  arrived  at  Lake  George.  The  wound 
ed,  who,  during  the  night  march,  had  kept  up 
their  spirits,  now  stiff  with  cold,  fatigue,  and 
loss  of  blood,  could  march  no  further.  It  be 
came  necessary  to  send  notice  to  Fort  George, 
that  sleighs  might  be  sent  for  them  :  he  under 
took  the  task,  and  with  fatigue  more  easily  ima 
gined  than  described,  arrived  at  the  fort  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  ;  and  the  day  fol 
lowing  his  companions  returned  in  sleighs.  In 
the  new  organization  of  the  corps,  Lieutenant 
Stark  was  appointed  to  supply  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  Captain  Spikeman. 

The  garrison  at  Fort  William  Henry  had  been 
quiet  for  some  time,  when  on  the  evening  of  the 
16th  of  March,  Stark  made  his  rounds,  and  heard 
the  Rangers  planning  a  celebration  of  St.  Pat 
rick's  day.  By  one  of  those  eccentricities  for 
which  he  was  always  remarkable,  he  command 
ed  the  suttlcr  to  deliver  no  rum  to  the  Rangers 
without  a  written  order.  He  then  pretended  to 
be  unwell,  and  lame  in  his  right  hand,  and  could 
make  no  order.  By  this  circumstance,  the 
Rangers  were  kept  sober ;  but  the  Irish  troops 
of  the  regular  regiment  did  not  forget  their  an 
cient  practice,  and  took  large  libations  in  honor 
of  St.  Patrick.  The  French  at  Ticonderoga, 
knowing  the  laudable  custom  of  the  Hiberni 
ans  on  that  festival,  had  planned  an  attack  on 
the  garrison  that  night,  and  would  probably 
have  carried  the  fort  without  much  difficulty, 
if  the  sober  Rangers  had  not  repulsed  them, 
while  the  Irish  were  coming  to  their  senses. 
The  prudence  of  Stark  thus  saved  the  fort. 
The  British  commander-in-chief,  sensible  of  the 
services  of  Stark,  held  him  in  high  estimation 
ever  after.  From  this  time  to  the  autumn 
following,  no  military  movement  of  any  con 
sequence  took  place,  when  Lord  London,  the 
then  commander,  ordered  the  Rangers  to  march 
to  New  York,  to  be  employed  on  the  Hali 
fax  station.  When  the  order  came,  Captain 
Stark  was  on  a  scout,  and  did  not  join  them 


CHAP.  XII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


651 


till  their  arrival  at  New  York,  at  which  place 
lie  was  seized  with  the  small-pox  of  the  most 
malignant  kind,  and  of  course  did  not  embark. 
Indeed  he  hardly  recovered  his  strength  during 
the  season  ;  but  as  he  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing 
for  Halifax,  the  Rangers  returned,  and  he  again 
joined  them  at  Albany  in  the  month  of  October, 
and  passed  the  following  winter  at  Fort  Ed 
ward. 

In  the  year  1758,  General  Abercrombie  com 
manding  the  British  forces,  resolved  to  attempt 
the  reduction  of  Ticonderoga.  The  Rangers, 
as  usual,  were  ordered  to  scour  the  country,  and 
open  the  way  for  the  British  troops  to  march 
up  to  the  attack.  The  evening  before  this 
fatal  battle,  Stark  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Lord  Howe,  resting  on  a  large  bearskin  (his 
lordship's  camp-bed),  relative  to  the  mode  of 
attack,  and  the  position  of  the  fort.  Similarity 
of  character  had  created  a  strong  friendship  be 
tween  them  ;  they  supped  together,  and  the  last 
orders  were  given  to  the  Rangers  to  carry  the 
bridge  between  Lake  George  and  the  plains  of 
Ticonderoga,  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning. 
According  to  orders,  they  advanced,  and  on  ap 
proaching  the  bridge,  Major  Rogers  was  at 
their  head,  and  saw  the  Canadians  and  Indians 
prepared  to  dispute  the  passage  with  them :  he 
halted  a  few  minutes,  which  naturally  pushed 
the  rear  on  the  front ;  not  knowing  the  cause, 
Stark  rushed  forward  to  Rogers,  and  told  him 
it  was  no  time  to  delay,  but  to  run  boldly  on  to 
the  bridge,  and  the  danger  would  soon  be  over  ; 
the  advice  was  pursued,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  enemy  fled  and  left  the  course  clear  for  the 
army  to  pass.  The  result  of  the  action  is  well 
known.  Stark's  regrets  for  the  fate  of  the  brave 
Lord  Howe  lasted  with  his  life,  with  only  the 
exception  of  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  when 
he  often  remarked  that  he  became  more  recon 
ciled  to  his  fate ;  for  Howe,  if  he  had  lived,  might 
have  been  employed  against  the  United  States. 

The  repulse  from  Ticonderoga  closed  the 
campaign.  In  the  winter,  Stark  was  permitted 
to  return  home  on  furlough,  when  he  married 
Elizabeth  Page.  In  the  spring  following,  he 
joined  the  army  under  General  Aniherst,  and 
was  present  at  the  reduction  of  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point. 


After  the  conquest  of  Canada  in  1759  and  '60, 
little  more  active  military  service  was  expected 
in  America.  This  circumstance,  added  to  the 
death  of  Lord  Howe,  and  the  jealousies  of  the 
British  officers,  induced  Stark  to  quit  the  service. 
General  Aniherst,  however,  by  an  official  letter, 
assured  him  of  his  protection,  and  that  if  he 
should  be  inclined  to  re-enter  the  service,  he 
should  not  lose  his  rank  by  retiring. 

From  this  period  until  the  year  1774,  nothing 
of  moment  in  public  or  private  life  roused  him 
to  action.  In  all  instances  of  disputes  between 
the  king's  governors  and  the  people,  he  was  uni 
formly  attached  to  the  interests  of  the  latter, 
and  became  a  kind  of  rallying  point  for  the  peo 
ple  in  his  vicinity  to  exchange  ideas  and  discuss 
public  measures.  About  this  period,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and 
performed  that  critical  and  delicate  duty  with 
great  firmness  and  moderation ;  using  all  his 
endeavors  to  inspire  union  of  sentiment,  and  to 
be  prepared  for  action  in  case  it  became  neces 
sary. 

On  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Stark 
immediately  mounted  his  horse  and  proceeded 
to  the  theatre  of  action,  encouraging  the  volun 
teers  from  New  Hampshire  to  rendezvous  at 
Medford,  as  the  most  convenient  and  proper 
place  to  assemble.  His  military  services,  and 
his  uniform  integrity  and  patriotism,  left  him 
no  rival  in  the  minds  of  his  neighbors  who  had 
appeared  in  arms  ;  and  he  was  hailed  their  colo 
nel  and  commander,  by  a  unanimous  voice. 
Isaac  Wyman  was  chosen  lieutenant-colonel, 
awd  Andrew  M'Clary,  major.  They  soon  had 
ten  or  twelve  full  companies,  and  began  exer 
cising  their  men  with  all  possible  diligence  and 
activity.  As  Stark  had  left  a  considerable  farm 
and  numerous  family  of  young  children  at  a 
few  minutes'  notice,  he  returned  home  in  about 
twenty  days,  arranged  his  affairs  as  well  as  he 
could  (in  the  two  days  that  he  tarried),  and 
returned  to  the  army  for  the  campaign.  Soon 
after  joining  his  regiment,  he  was  instructed  by 
General  Ward  to  take  a  small  escort,  and  ex 
amine  Noddle's  Island,  preparatory  to  a  project 
to  raise  some  batteries  to  annoy  the  shipping  in 
Boston  harbor.  He  took  Major  M'Clary,  and 
one  or  two  other  officers,  and  crossed  on  to 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


the  island  from  Chelsea.  While  in  the  act  of 
examining  the  ground,  they  discovered  a  sim 
ilar  detachment  of  English,  who  had  formed  a 
project  to  cut  them  off,  by  seizing  their  boat. 
Timely  vigilance  frustrated  their  plan.  After 
exchanging  a  few  shots  they  reached  the  boat, 
and  safely  landed  on  terra  firma.  Soon  after 
this,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  called  his  regi 
ment  into  action,  and  it  is  an  acknowledged 
fact,  that  they  sustained  the  repeated  attacks  of 
the  enemy  with  a  resolution  and  success  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  chivalry  in  its  most 
daring  and  brilliant  periods.  When  the  fort 
was  carried,  and  retreat  became  unavoidable, 
Stark  drew  off  his  men  in  tolerable  order,  al 
though  his  soldiers  were  very  unwilling  to  quit 
their  position,  as  they  had  repulsed  the  enemy 
so  often,  that  they  considered  themselves  com 
pletely  victorious.  Immediately  on  the  retreat, 
the  lines  were  laid  out  on  Winter  Hill,  and  fin 
ished  with  uncommon  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  The 
remainder  of  the  campaign  passed  over  without 
any  more  fighting.  A  few  abortive  projects, 
and  settling  the  rank  of  the  general  and  field- 
officers,  occupied  the  remainder  of  the  season. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  year  it  was  deemed 
prudent  to  re-enlist  the  army.  His  exertions  in 
this  service  were  aided  by  his  popularity,  and 
were  attended  with  success.  The  regiment  was 
soon  completed. 

On  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  Stark's  regiment 
was  ordered  to  New  York,  where  he  assisted 
in  planning  and  executing  the  defences  of  that 
city,  until  May,  when  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  proceed  by  way  of  Albany  to  Canada.  Stark 
left  New  York,  and  passing  through  the  New 
England  States,  joined  the  army  at  St.  Johns 
early  in  June,  and  soon  proceeded  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Sorel.  He  opposed  the  fatal  expedition  to 
Three  Rivers  as  hazardous  and  imprudent.  On 
the  return  of  the  remains  of  that  expedition,  he 
accompanied  his  regiment  to  Chamblee,  and  was 
very  active  in  rendering  assistance  to  the  sol 
diers  afflicted  with  the  small-pox.  After  cross 
ing  Lake  Champlain,  his  regiment  encamped  on 
Chimney  Point,  until  they  were  ordered  to  pro 
ceed  to  Ticonderoga.  He  was  opposed  to  the 
removal,  and  got  up  a  memorial  in  form  of  a 
protest  against  ihe  measure:  our  limits  will  not 


allow  the  reasons  to  be  given.  General  Schuyler 
being  of  a  different  opinion,  the  army  was  re 
moved  on  the  Oth  or  7th  of  July.  It  was  always 
Stark's  maxim  to  give  his  opinion  firmly,  and 
then  obey  the  orders  of  the  commanding  oflicer. 
On  the  morning  alter  the  arrival  of  the  army  at 
Ticonderoga,  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  proclaimed  to  the  army  with  shouts  of  ap 
plause.  Stark's  post  was  Mount  Independence 
(named  on  the  occasion),  then  a  wilderness.  Gen 
eral  Gates  soon  joined  the  army,  and  in  the  or 
ganization  Stark  was  appointed  to  command  a 
brigade,  and  to  clear  and  fortify  the  Mount.  To 
wards  the  close  of  the  campaign,  Congress  ap 
pointed  several  of  the  younger  colonels,  briga 
diers  ;  against  which  Stark  protested,  on  the 
ground  of  insecurity  of  rank,  and  planting  the 
seeds  of  jealousy  among  the  officers. 

On  closing  the  campaign  in  the  North,  his 
regiment  was  ordered  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
joined  General  Washington  at  head-quarters  on 
the  20th  of  December,  just  before  the  buttle  of 
Trenton.  He  was  instructed  by  General  Sulli 
van  to  lead  the  vanguard,  and  by  his  promptness 
contributed  his  share  in  that  bold  and  fortunate 
coup  dc  main.  lie  was  with  Washington  when 
he  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  very  active  at  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  and  continued  with  the  gen 
eral  until  he  had  established  his  winter-quarters 
at  Morristown.  As  the  enlisted  term  of  his  re 
giment  had  expired,  and  only  a  small  number 
could  be  induced  to  tarry  a  few  weeks  longer, 
he  was  ordered  to  New  Hampshire,  to  raise 
another  regiment. 

Early  in  the  month  of  March,  1777,  Stark  sum 
moned  his  officers  to  hand  him  a  return  of  their 
success  in  recruiting,  which  fully  equalling  his 
expectations,  he  immediately  gave  notice  to  the 
Council  of  New  Hampshire  and  General  Wash 
ington.  Early  in  April,  he  went  to  Exeter,  to 
receive  instructions  for  the  campaign,  and  was, 
for  the  first  time,  informed  that  a  new  list  of  pro 
motions  had  been  made,  and  his  name  omitted. 
He  easily  traced  the  cause  to  some  officers  of  high 
rank,  and  members  of  Congress,  who  were  not 
pleased  with  his  unbending  character.  He  im 
mediately  called  on  the  Council,  waited  on  gen 
erals  Sullivan  and  Poor,  explained  his  motives, 
wished  them  all  possible  success,  surrendered 


CHAP.  XI ].] 


DOCUMENTS. 


653 


liis  commission,  and  returned  home  without  ex 
pectation  of  over  again  taking  the  field  ;  in  the 
mean  time  lie  fitted  out  all  his  o\vn  sons  old 
enough  for  service,  assisted  them  to  join  the 
army,  and  continued  his  zeal  for  the  national 
cause  as  heretofore.  From  this  period  to  the 
time  of  St.  Glair's  retreat  from  Ticonderoga,  he 
was  busily  engaged  in  husbandry. 

On  that  disastrous  event,  Xew  Hampshire 
was  called  on  to  recruit  and  forward  men  to 
check  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  Council 
immediately  fixed  their  eyes  on  Colonel  Stark, 
and  sent  an  express  to  notify  him  and  request  a 
conference.  Ever  prompt  when  his  country  was 
in  danger,  he  hastened  to  Exeter,  and  presented 
himself  to  the  Council.  They  soon  communi 
cated  their  views,  urged  him  to  forget  what 
had  passed,  and  assume  the  command.  He  de 
manded  a  few  hours  for  consideration,  and  re 
turning,  informed  them  that  he  had  very  little 
confidence  in  the  then  commanders  of  the  North, 
and  that  he  did  not  think  that  he  could  be  use 
ful  with  the  army  ;  but  if  they  would  raise;  as 
many  men  as  they  could,  to  hang  on  the  Ver 
mont  wing  and  rear  of  the  enemy,  with  condi 
tion  that  he  should  not  be  amenable  to  any 
other  officer,  and  only  accountable  to  their 
body,  he  would  accept  the  appointment,  and 
proceed  immediately  to  the  frontiers.  They 
closed  with  the  terms,  and  made  out  a  commis 
sion  and  instructions  accordingly.  lie  was  soon 
on  the  ground,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
drafts  and  volunteers  enabled  him  to  form  a 
small  army  of  observation. 

General  Gates,  who  had  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  northern  army,  having  learned 
that  this  body  was  encamped  at  Bennington, 
sent  Major-general  Lincoln  and  suite  to  assume 
the  command,  and  conduct  them  to  head-quar 
ters  on  the  Xorth  River.  Lincoln  presented  his 
letter  from  General  Gates,  and  his  instructions, 
and  proposed  an  immediate  march.  He  was 
candidly  informed  of  the  objections,  and  wrote 
a  statement  to  General  Gates,  who  informed  Gen 
eral  Washington  and  Congress,  urging  reinforce 
ments,  as  he  had  been  pressed  so  close  by  Bur- 
goyne  as  to  take  post  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Mohawk  River.  General  Lincoln,  after  tarrying 
a  few  days  i:i  a  private  capacity  at  Benuingtui), 


returned  to  the  main  army  to  consult  with  Gen 
eral  (iates  on  the  critical  state  of  affairs.  In 
the  mean  time  Burgoyne  (probably  apprised  of 
these  jarrings)  detached  Colonel  Baum  to  con 
ciliate  the  inhabitants,  and  obtain  provisions  in 
Vermont.  General  Stark  was  apprised  of  the 
advance  on  the  14th  of  August,  and  prepared 
for  battle  on  the  following  morning.  The  15th 
proved  very  rainy,  and  prevented  the  intended 
attack ;  at  the  same  time  it  enabled  Colonel 
Baum  to  surround  his  camp  with  a  log  breast 
work.  The  weather  proving  favorable  on  the 
10th,  Stark's  troops  were  in  motion  at  an  early 
hour,  and  advanced  to  search  for  the  enemy.  lie 
was  found  on  an  eminence  forming  a  kind  of 
sodded  bluff,  fronted  by  the  Wollamsack  on  the 
south,  and  a  gradual  slope  to  the  north  and  west. 
His  position  Avas  reconnoitered  at  about  a  mile 
distance,  and  the  plan  of  attack  arranged.  Two 
detachments,  one  to  the  right  and  the  other  to 
the  left,  were  commanded  to  turn  his  rear  and 
advance  directly  to  the  intrenchment  or  lines, 
and  to  reserve  their  fire  until  they  were  very 
near.  Fortunately  they  both  arrived  at  their 
stations  almost  at  the  same  moment,  and  by  a 
rapid  step  were  at  the  works  so  soon  that  the 
enemy  derived  no  advantage  from  their  labor, 
and  were  pushed  out  of  the  fort  with  only  firing 
a  few  shots,  and  driven  directly  on  the  reserve, 
which  soon  decided  the  battle.  The  prisoners 
were  collected  and  hurried  off  as  soon  as  possi 
ble.  At  this  critical  moment,  information  was 
brought  that  a  reinforcement  was  close  upon 
them.  The  large  portion  of  the  troops  taken  to 
guard  the  prisoners,  and  the  dispersion  for  re 
freshments,  plunder,  and  other  purposes,  left 
scarcely  any  men  to  resist  them.  Fortunately, 
just  then  Colonel  Warner,  with  a  small  de 
tachment  of  his  regiment,  having  heard  the 
guns  of  the  first  battle,  was  hastening  to  sup 
port  them,  and  now  was  ordered  to  advance 
directly  and  commence  an  attack  "while  other 
troops  could  be  collected.  These  troops  had 
been  in  service  from  the  beginning  of  the  war, 

O  O  ' 

and  it  was  easy  for  their  brave  commander  to 
bring  them  into  action.  They  checked  the  en 
emy,  and  were  continually  reinforced  by  small 
squads  until  near  sunset,  when  the  enemy  gave 
way  at  every  point,  abandoned  their  cannon, 


654 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV 


and  were  pursued  until  dark.  Many  prisoners 
were  taken,  but  the  main  body  retreated  so 
rapidly,  that  they  escaped  by  favor  of  the  night. 
Upon  the  advance  of  Burgoync,  General  Stark 
approached  near  the  main  army  at  Bonus's 
Heights,  and  finally  entered  Gates's  camp.  On 
the  18th  of  September  the  term  of  his  troops 
expired.  Great  influence  was  used  to  induce 
them  to  tarry  a  month,  or  even  a  fortnight,  as 
it  was  seen  that  a  battle  must  shortly  take  place, 
and  General  Gates  was  strongly  impressed  Avith 
the  importance  of  those  victorious  troops  to  his 
camp  ;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  They  began  their 
march  home  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  19th;  and  Stark's 
duty  having  been  performed,  he  returned  with 
them.  No  appearance  was  perceived  of  move 
ments  in  Burgoyne's  army  until  they  had  passed 
the  North  River,  when  it  was  seen  in  motion  ; 
and  this  militia  had  scarcely  marched  ten  miles, 
when  the  battle  began.  Some  of  them  turned 
about ;  but  when  the  firing  ceased,  they  pur 
sued  their  march  homeward.  The  news  of  the 
great  battle  of  the  19th  of  September  overtook 
them  on  the  road.  General  Stark  passed  one 
night  at  home,  and  then  proceeded  to  Exeter 
to  make  report  to  the  Council,  proclaiming  that 
Burgoyne  would  certainly  be  taken  if  the  people 
would  turn  out ;  and  announced  his  determina 
tion  to  return  immediately.  Volunteers  from 
all  quarters  flocked  to  his  standard,  and  he  soon 
joined  the  army  with  a  more  numerous  and  for 
midable  command  than  before.  He  was  zealous 
for  attacking  Burgoyne  in  his  camp,  and  for  that 
purpose  had  placed  his  little  army  in  the  rear, 
so  as  to  cut  off  all  communication  by  way  of 
Lake  George ;  but  a  capitulation  took  place,  and 
Stark,  who  had  now  been  made  a  brigadier-gen 
eral  by  Congress,  assisted  as  a  member  of  the 
council  to  arrange  the  terms  of  Burgoyne's  sur 
render. 

The  campaign  being  over  in  the  northern  de 
partment,  Stark  returned  home,  exerting  all  his 
influence  to  induce  the  people  to  furnish  recruits 
and  supplies  for  the  next.  He  had  hardly 
reached  his  house,  when  Congress  ordered  him 
to  prepare  a  winter  expedition  for  Canada,  and 
to  repair  to  Albany  without  delay  to  receive 
further  instructions.  He  was  there  at  the  ap 


pointed  time,  and  then  departed  lo  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts,  to  forward 
the  preparations,  and  return  to  the  general  ren 
dezvous  at  Albany  at  a  given  time.  He  perform 
ed  his  part,  but  Congress  gave  up  the  project. 

Early  in  IT 78,  lie  was  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Albany  and  assume  the  command  of  the  north 
ern  department.  This  was  the  most  unpleasant 
of  his  public  services.  He  had  very  few  troops, 
two  extensive  frontier  rivers  to  guard,  and  to 
cap  his  troubles,  he  was  surrounded  with  a  kind 
of  licensed  tories,  in  the  midst  of  spies,  pecula 
tors,  and  public  defaulters.  He  labored  to  re 
form  the  abuses  in  the  department,  and  suc 
ceeded  like  most  reformers.  Those  who  were 
detected  cursed  him,  and  their  friends  com 
plained,  and  he  gladly  received  an  order  in  Oc 
tober  from  General  Washington  to  join  General 
Gates  in  Rhode  Island,  who  had  previously  re 
quested  his  assistance.  General  Hand  succeed 
ed  him  at  Albany,  but  left  the  command  shortly 
after,  for  the  same  reasons  and  with  the  same 
pleasure. 

On  joining  General  Gates's  head-quarters  at 
Providence,  Stark  was  ordered  to  take  quarters 
at  East  Greenwich,  principally  on  account  of  his 
popularity  with  the  militia,  and  that  he  might 
gain  better  information  of  the  plans  of  the  enemy 
on  Rhode  Island,  and  guard  against  any  invasion. 
Here  he  continued  until  all  opportunity  for  ac 
tion  was  over  for  the  season;  when  he  was  or 
dered  to  proceed  to  New  Hampshire  by  way  of 
Boston,  to  urge  at  both  places  the  necessity  of 
recruits  and  supplies. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1779,  he  was  ordered 
back  to  Providence,  and  instructed  by  General 
Gates  to  examine  with  close  attention  all  the 
shores  and  avenues  from  Providence  to  Point 
Judith,  as  well  as  all  the  coast  on  the  east  side 
of  the  bay  as  far  as  Mount  Hope.  As  there 
were  but  few  troops  on  the  station,  more  than 
common  vigilance  was  required  to  prevent  in 
roads  or  plunder,  and  to  establish  a  regular  es 
pionage  ;  this  being  the  only  instance  in  which 
he  ever  descended  to  that  mode  of  warfare  :  by 
this  means,  at  the  close  of  autumn,  indications 
were  early  discovered  of  a  descent  or  some  other 
movement.  He  removed  his  quarters  to  Point 
Judith,  but  took  care  not  to  rest  more  than  one 


CHAP.  XII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


055 


or  two  nights  in  a  place.  Some  time  in  Octo 
ber,  the  views  of  the  enemy  were  unmasked, 
and  for  some  clays  his  command  was  on  con 
stant  duty.  About  the  8th  or  10th  of  Novem 
ber,  the  enemy  decamped,  and  early  next  morn 
ing  lie  entered  the  lower  end  of  Newport,  and 
took  possession  of  the  town.  Guards  were  im 
mediately  placed  in  the  different  streets  to  pre 
vent  plunder  or  confusion  and  preserve  order. 
At  this  time,  General  "Washington,  fearful  that 
on  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcement  from  New 
port  at  New  York,  some  attempt  might  be  made 
on  his  army,  ordered  Stark's  troops  that  had 
blockaded  Newport  (with  the  exception  of  a 
small  garrison)  immediately  to  join  him  in 
New  Jersey.  No  such  attempt  being  made 
by  the  enemy,  General  Washington  requested 
Stark  to  proceed  to  New  England  and  back 
his  requisitions  for  men  and  supplies.  This 
duty  being  discharged,  he  joined  the  army  at 
Morristown  in  the  early  part  of  May,  and  was 
present  on  Short  Hills,  at  the  battle  of  Spring 
field,  but  not  personally  engaged.  Soon  after 
this  action,  General  Washington  required  him 
to  proceed  with  all  dispatch  to  Massachusetts 
:md  New  Hampshire,  to  urge  a  supply  of  men, 
money,  and  provisions  ;  to  muster  as  many  mili 
tia  as  he  could  by  drafts  and  voluntary  enlist 
ments,  and  to  accompany  them  to  West  Point. 
He  landed  them  on  the  Point,  while  General 
Washington  and  suite  passed  on  to  Hartford 
to  confer  with  Count  Rochambeau  and  other 
French  officers  a  few  days  previous  to  the  detec 
tion  of  Arnold's  treachery,  and  the  day  following 
joined  his  division  at  Liberty-Pole,  New  Jersey. 
In  the  latter  end  of  September,  he  was  ordered 
to  relieve  the  Pennsylvania  troops  under  General 
St.  Clair,  which,  on  Arnold's  desertion,  had  been 
ordered  there.  St.  Clair  marched  his  division 
the  next  day  to  Liberty-Pole. 

About  this  time,  General  Washington,  having 
formed  a  project  to  surprise  Staten  Island,  to 
mask  his  intentions,  ordered  General  Stark,  with 
a  detachment  of  twenty-five  hundred  men  and 
a  large  train  of  wagons  and  teams,  to  advance 
on  York  Island  and  bring  off  all  the  corn  and 
forage  to  be  found,  and  to  hover  about  New 
York  until  ordered  back.  Probably  the  British 
suspected  some  masked  plan  ;  but,  be  that  as  it 


may,  they  suffered  this  detachment  to  pillage 
the  country  to  the  very  verge  of  Morrisania  and 
Kingsbridge  for  several  days,  and  then  quietly 
return  to  West  Point  and  Peekskill  witli  their 
booty.  Soon  after  this  the  army  withdrew  from 
Liberty-Pole,  and  Avent  into  winter-quarters  at 
West  Point,  New  Windsor,  and  Fishkill.  Here 
General  Stark  was  visited  with  a  severe  fit  of 
sickness,  which  left  him  very  weak  ;  and  about 
the  middle  of  January,  1781,  he  obtained  leave 
to  return  to  New  Hampshire,  with  the  standing 
order  to  press  for  men  and  supplies.  He  jour 
neyed  by  short  stages,  and  arrived  at  his  house 
still  more  weak  and  feeble.  His  health  return 
ing  with  the  approach  of  spring,  he  was  ordered 
to  Albany  to  take  command  of  the  northern 
department,  and  establish  his  head-quarters  at 
Saratoga. 

Some  feeble  detachments  of  militia  from  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire  were 
collected  to  protect  the  northern  frontiers.  It 
was  soon  discovered  that  the  country  was  inun 
dated  with  spies  and  traitors, — houses  being 
robbed  (on  political  principles),  and  inhabitants, 
non-combatants,  carried  prisoners  to  Canada. 
The  house  of  General  Schnyler  was  attacked, 
several  articles  stolen,  and  two  or  three  of  his 
servants  and  laborers  carried  to  Canada.  He 
only  saved  himself  by  retreating  to  a  chamber, 
barricading  the  door  that  they  could  not  force 
it,  and  firing  through  it  when  it  was  attempted 
to  be  broken.  The  firing  raised  the  military, 
and  the  marauders  fled  with  their  prisoners  and 
booty. 

Bad  as  this  region  was  in  1778,  it  was  infi 
nitely  worse  in  1781.  Some  few  days  after  the 
military  post  Avas  established  at  Saratoga,  a  de 
tachment  of  tory  plunderers  Avas  arrested  within 
the  lines.  A  British  lieutenant's  commission  was 
found  on  the  commander.  He  had  been  a  refu 
gee  from  that  quarter,  and  was  known.  A  board 
of  officers,  summoned  to  examine  the  case,  pro 
nounced  him  a  spy,  and  gave  their  judgment  for 
hanging.  He  was  executed  the  next  day.  Com 
plaints  were  made  by  the  culprit's  friends  and 
connections  in  and  about  Albany  of  the  danger 
of  retaliation.  Washington  demanded  a  copy 
of  the  proceedings  ;  it  was  sent,  and  no  further 
notice  Avas  taken  of  it.  The  cure  of  the  body 


656 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


politic  was  radical ;  none  of  these  parties  ven 
tured  into  the  country  again  during  the  Avar. 

Immediately  after  the  reduction  of  Cormvallis, 
the  danger  of  inroads  from  Canada  was  dissi 
pated.  Stark  dismissed  the  militia,  with  thanks 
for  their  good  conduct,  and  having  secured  the 
public  stores,  was  ordered  to  retire  by  Avay  of 
Albany,  with  instructions  to  continue  his  efforts 
to  raise  men,  money,  and  supplies  in  New  En 
gland  for  the  next  campaign. 

In  1782,  he  was  afflicted  with  rheumatism  and 
various  chronic  complaints,  and  did  not  join  the 
army ;  his  complaints,  however,  yielded  to  re 
pose,  of  which  he  immediately  informed  Gen 
eral  Washington,  and  was  ordered  to  join  the 
army  early  in  April,  1783,  at  West  Point.  lie 
was  on  the  spot  on  the  day  appointed,  and 
received  the  hearty  thanks  of  Washington  for 
his  punctuality.  He  aided  and  encouraged  the 
army  to  separate  without  confusion,  and  not 
tarnish  their  laurels  by  any  act  of  violence  or 
indiscretion.  Soon  after  this  he  returned  home, 
and  devoted  the  remainder  ol  his  patriarchal  life 
to  the  various  duties  of  patriot,  friend,  neighbor, 
and  father  to  an  extensive  family.  His  long  and 
useful  life  terminated  on  the  8th  of  May,  1822, 
at  the  age  of  94. 

The  neighboring  militia  vied  Avith  each  other 
for  permission  to  render  the  last  honorary  duties 
to  the  departed  patriot.  Captain  Eaton's  light- 
infantry  of  Goffsto\vn  was  selected  from  the  nu 
merous  applicants,  and  performed  the  duty  with 
great  respect,  and  the  most  perfect  order  and  dis 
cipline..  At  his  own  request,  he  Avas  interred  on 
his  farm,  on  the  banks  of  the  Merriinack  River. 


[B-] 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  JOHX  BROOKS. 
John  Brooks  Avas  born  in  the  village  of  Med- 

O 

ford,  near  Boston,  in  the  year  1752.  His  ances 
tors  Avere  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the 
country,  and  they  had  folloAved  in  succession 
the  occupation  of  farming,  in  Avhich  Governor 
Brooks  himself  passed  the  earliest  years  of  his 
life.  He  surmounted  the  difficulties  that  lay  in 
the  way  of  his  receiving  a  good  education,  an  ;1 
acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  ancient 
languages  to  commence  his  favorite  study,  that 


of  medicine.  Having  obtained  his  degree,  he 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the 
town  of  Reading,  Avhere  he  Avas  found  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution,  prepared  to 
take  arms  in  defence  of  his  country.  He  be 
came  commander  of  a  company  of  minute-men, 
whom  he  taught  to  train  by  observing  the  drill 
ing  of  the  British  soldiery  in  Boston.  Aroused 
by  the  news  of  the  advance  of  the  British  upon 
Lexington,  he  led  his  company  against  them, 
posted  them  behind  a  stone  Avail  commanding 
the  road  from  Concord  to  Boston,  at  a  place 
where  it  passed  over  a  marsh  by  a  bridge  and 
causeway.  From  this  point  he  annoyed  them 
severely  as  they  Avere  retreating  to  Boston,  and 
after  they  had  passed,  joined  the  American 
forces  in  pursuit.  He  became  a  major  in  Colo 
nel  Bridge's  regiment,  Avhen  the  army  Avas  or- 
gani/ed.  Serving  apart  from  his  regiment,  he 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill,  o-oiiK' 

•*•  *    O  O 

the  rounds  Avith  Colonel  Prescott,  and  working 
in  the  intrenchments  during  the  night.  At  day 
light  in  the  morning,  it  became  apparent  that 
the  enemy  Avere  about  to  make  an  attack,  and 
Colonel  Prescott  desired  that  this  should  be 
made  knoAvn  to  the  geweral-in-chief,  Avith  a  re 
quest  for  reinforcements.  Major  Brooks  per 
formed  this  duty,  and,  for  want  of  a  horse,  he 
accomplished  his  mission  on  foot,  but  Avith 
promptitude  and  success.  He  was  afterwards 
attached  to  Colonel  Webb's  regiment,  in  Avhich 
he  assisted  in  throwing  up  the  intrenchments 
on  Dorchester  Heights,  Avhich  compelled  the 
evacuation  of  Boston.  Major  Brooks  served 
under  Washington  on  Long  Island,  and  at  the 
battle  of  White  Plains  his  gallantry  and  the 
discipline  of  his  soldiers  gained  him  mwch  credit. 
He  Avas  engaged  in  active  service  during  the 
campaign  in  the  Jerseys,  and  as  a  lieutenant- 
colonel,  commanding  a  regiment,  in  the  campaign 
against  Burgoyne.  In  the  battles  preceding  the 
surrender  of  that  officer,  Colonel  Brooks  bore  a 
conspicuous  part.  He  turned  with  his  regiment 
the  line  of  the  enemy,  and  stormed  successfully 
the  redoubt  occupied  by  the  Germans  in  the  do 
cisive  action  of  the  7th  of  October.  Colonel 
Trumbiill  has  given  him  a  place  among  the  prin 
cipal  actors  in  his  celebrated  painting  of  the  sur 
render  of  Burgovne. 


CHAP.  XIT.j 


DOCUMENTS. 


057 


Colonel  Brooks  \vns  with  his  regiment  at  Val- 

O 

ley  Forge,  where  he  assisted  materially  in  bring 
ing  the  new  military  system  of  Baron  Stcuben 
into  use.  As  adjutant-general  to  General  Lee, 
he  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  he  was  again  em- 

O 

ployed  in  perfecting  the  discipline  of  the  army. 
When  the  famous  Newburg  letters  were  pub 
lished,  and  the  commandcr-in-chief  was  involved 
in  doubt  and  uncertainty  as  to  the  course  the 
officers  would  pursue,  he  rode,  according  to 
an  anecdote  related  by  the  late  Chief-justice 
Parker,  of  Massachusetts,  up  to  Colonel  Brooks, 
to  learn  how  he  and  his  officers  were  affected. 
Finding  him,  as  he  expected,  to  be  sound,  he 
requested  him  to  keep  his  officers  in  their  quar 
ters,  to  prevent  them  from  attending  the  insur 
gent  meeting.  Brooks  replied,  "  Sir,  I  have 
anticipated  your  wishes,  and  nay  orders  are 
given."  Washington,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
took  him  by  the  hand  and  said,  "  Colonel  Brooks, 
this  is  just  what  I  should  have  expected  from 
you." 

Retiring  in  poverty  from  the  service  of  his 
country,  Colonel  Brooks  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Medford,  with  great  success. 
lie  was  made  major-general  of  the  third  divis 
ion  of  the  Massachusetts  militia,  and  frequently 
elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  that  State. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  convention  which 
framed  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  labored  to  secure  the  adoption,  by  his  own 
State,  of  the  new  frame  of  government.  In  the 
organization  of  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
in  1798,  General  Brooks  received  the  tender 
from  Washington  of  the  command  of  a  brigade, 
which,  however,  he  declined.  In  1816,  General 
Brooks  became  governor  of  Massachusetts,  and 
filled  that  office  for  six  successive  terms. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  gubernatorial 
chair,  he  continued  his  public  services  in  various 
capacities.  He  continued  till  his  death  presi 
dent  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  of 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  other  useful 
public  bodies.  During  his  life,  he  was  honored 
by  Harvard  University  with  the  degrees  of  mas 
ter  of  arts  and  doctor  of  laws.  On  the  llth  of 
February,  1825,  he  went  from  his  home  to  at 
tend  the  funeral  of  General  Eustis,  his  revolu- 

VOL.  I.— 83 


tionary  associate,  and  successor  in  the  governor 
ship  of  Massachusetts.  On  the  2d  of  March,  of 
the  same  year,  he  died  himself,  aged  seventy- 
three.  We  cannot  better  close  this  sketch,  than 
by  quoting  from  Chief-justice  Parker's  memoir 
the  following  extract:  "Though  the  style  of  his 
living  was  conformable  to  his  limited  means,  yet 
the  order  and  regularity  of  his  household,  the 
real  comfort  of  his"  entertainments,  the  polite 
deportment  of  the  host,  struck  strangers,  even 
those  accustomed  to  magnificence,  as  a  happy 
specimen  of  republican  simplicity,  and  of  gener 
ous  but  economical  hospitality.  Bred  in  the  best 
school  of  manners — a  military  association  of 
high-minded,  accomplished  officers — his  deport 
ment,  though  grave  and  dignified  like  Washing 
ton's,  was  nevertheless  warm  and  affectionate. 
On  all  ceremonious  occasions,  ceremony  seemed 
to  become  him  better  than  any  one  else.  In  the 
chair  of  state,  when  receiving  the  gratulations 

'  O  O 

of  a  happy  people  on  the  birthday  of  their  inde 
pendence  ;  on  the  spacious  Common,  paying  hon 
ors  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  on 
the  military  field,  reviewing  our  national  guard, 
the  militia ;  at  his  own  humble  but  honored 
mansion,  taking  to  his  breast  his  early  friend, 
the  nation's  guest ; — what  young  man  of  taste 
and  feeling  could  be  unmoved  at  his  soldierly 
air,  his  graceful  demeanor,  covering  but  not  im 
pairing  the  generous  feelings  of  a  warm  and 
affectionate  heart !  If  the  writer  does  not  mis 
take,  he  was  one  of  the  last  and  best  samples  of 
that  old  school  of  manners,  which,  though  it  has 

'  '  O 

given  way  to  the  ease  and  convenience  of  mod 
ern  times,  will  be  regretted  by  some  as  having 
carried  away  with  it  many  of  the  finest  and  most 
delicate  traits  of  social  intercourse." 


[C.] 

MAJOR-GENERAL  JAMES  WILKINSON. 

General  Wilkinson  was  a  native  of  Calvert 
county,  Maryland,  born  about  the  year  1757. 
He  was  educated  under  the  care  of  a  private 
tutor,  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
when  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  at  Phil 
adelphia.  At  this  time  he  seems  to  have  im 
bibed  a  taste  for  military  affairs  ;  and  at  the 


658 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[B.OK  IV. 


opening  of  the  Revolution,  he  joined  the  army 
of  General  Washington,  then  besieging  Boston. 
After  the  evacuation  of  that  city,  he  joined 
Arnold's  command,  but  was  soon  afterwards 
ordered  to  the  main  army,  and  fought  in  the 
battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  During  the 
campaign  against  Burgoyne,  he  joined  the  staff 
of  General  Gates,  by  whom  he  was  appointed 
adjutant-general.  His  advice  is  said  to  have 
been  solicited  and  followed  by  the  general  in 
several  important  measures. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Wilkinson  en 
gaged  in  various  speculative  transactions  which 
do  not  seem  to  have  yielded  a  compensation 
equal  to  his  wishes.  During  the  prospect  of  war 
with  France  he  again  entered  the  army,  and 
was  employed  at  various  military  posts  in  the 
South  and  West.  Afterwards  he  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  employed  to  negotiate  the 
Louisiana  treaty. 

The  command  of  the  expedition  fitted  out  by 
government  against  Montreal  and  Kingston, 
during  the  war  of  1812,  devolved  on  General 
Wilkinson.  The  overthrow  of  Proctor  by  Gen 
eral  Harrison  had  rendered  this  a  comparatively 
easy  undertaking.  He  left  Fort  George,  Octo 
ber  2d,  1813,  and  after  attending  to  the  depot  at 
Sackett's  Harbor,  crossed  Lake  Ontario  towards 
the  St.  Lawrence.  He  entered  the  river  on  the 
2d  of  November,  having  encountered  part  of 
the  British  fleet  on  the  previous  day,  and  driven 
it  back.  The  immediate  command  in  this  affair 
devolved  on  Brigadier-general  Brown.  On  the 
7th,  he  forwarded  a  summons  to  General  Hamp 
ton,  requesting  him  to  join  the  expedition  ;  but 
this  was  not  obeyed.  The  British  continued  to 
annoy  the  boats  during  their  descent  down  the 
river,  until  the  debarkation  of  a  part  of  the 
American  forces  at  Chrystler's  fields.  During 
the  greater  part  of  this  time,  General  Wil 
kinson  was  so  unwell  as  to  be  totally  unfit  for 
duty,  and  the  command  devolved  on  General 
Boyd. 

In  the  action  at  Chrystler's  field,  the  British 
attacked  ir.  two  sections.  A  party  also  threw 
themselves  into  Chrystler's  house,  and  by  firing 
from  this  secure  position,  repulsed  a  brigade  of 
the  Americans,  with  the  loss  of  one  cannon. 
Soon  after,  the  whole  British  line  were  forced 


to  give  ground.  They  then  retired  to  their 
camp,  and  the  Americans  re-embarked. 

In  this  action,  which  lasted  two  hours,  the 
forces  on  each  side  were  about  equal,  number 
ing  seventeen  hundred.  But  those  of  the  Amer 
icans  were  but  raw  recruits,  while  the  British 
were  veterans.  The  loss  of  the  former  was  three 
hundred  and  thirty-nine,  of  whom  one  hundred 
and  two  were  killed. 

In  consequence  of  the  refusal  of  General  Hamp 
ton  to  join  the  expedition,  General  Wilkinson 
concluded  that  it  would  be  useless  to  continue 
it,  and  accordingly  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence 
from  Canada,  and  went  into  winter-quarters  at 
French  Mills. 

Early  in  February,  the  general  received  orders 
from  government  to  break  up  his  encampment 
and  retire  to  Plattsburg.  On  the  12th  and  13th, 
he  destroyed  -his  flotilla,  burned  his  barracks, 
and  marched  by  divisions  towards  the  place  des 
ignated.  In  the  following  month,  he  made  an 
unsuccessful  attack  upon  La  Colle  mill,  being 
obliged  to  retire  with  the  loss  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  men.  Immediately  after  this  affair  he 
was  recalled  by  government,  and  his  conduct 
during  the  whole  expedition  made  the  subject 
of  a  court-martial.  He  was  acquitted  of  all 
blame. 

After  the  war,  General  Wilkinson  removed  to 
Mexico,  where  he  owned  much  landed  property. 
He  died  there  December  28th,  1825. 


WILLIAM  PITT,  EARL  OF  CHATHAM. 

William,  the  eldest  son  of  Robert  Pitt,  of  Bo- 
connock,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  was  born 
on  the  15th  of  November,  1708,  in  the  parish 
of  St.  James,  Westminster.  At  an  early  age 
he  was  placed  on  the  foundation  of  Eton,  and  in 
January,  1726,  entered  himself  as  a  gentleman 
commoner  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  where 
he  displayed  much  talent,  and  was  particularly 
applauded  for  his  skill  in  poetical  composition. 
The  tendency  of  his  constitution  to  attacks  of 
the  gout,  which  was  hereditary  in  his  family, 
compelled  him  to  quit  the  university  without 
obtaining  a  degree,  and  subsequently  to  aban- 


CHAP.  XII.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


659 


don  the  army,  in  which,  for  some  time  after  his 
secession  from  college,  he  served  as  a  cornet  of 
dragoons.  He  then  made  the  tour  of  France 
and  part  of  Italy  ;  and  by  employing  every  leis 
ure  moment  while  abroad  in  the  cultivation  of 
his  mind,  acquired,  as  Chesterfield  states,  "a 
great  fund  of  premature  and  useful  knowledge." 

In  1735,  he  went  into  parliament  as  member 
for  Old  Sarum,  and  attached  himself  to  the 
party  then  headed  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  His 
exalted  talents,  his  lofty  spirit,  and  commanding 
eloquence,  soon  rendered  him  singularly  con 
spicuous,  and  his  opposition  to  the  ministry  in  a 
short  time  became  so  annoying,  that  Sir  Robert 
Walpole  meanly  deprived  him  of  his  commission. 
Horace  "VValpole  also  taunted  him  bitterly  on 
account  of  his  youth,  although  he  was  then 
thirty-two,  and  sneeringly  observed  that  the  dis 
covery  of  truth  was  little  promoted  by  pompous 
diction  and  theatrical  emotion.  "  I  will  not  at 
tempt,"  replied  Pitt,  "  to  determine  whether 
youth  can  be  justly  imputed  to  any  man  as  a 
reproach  ;  but  I  will  affirm  that  the  wretch  who, 
after  having  seen  the  consequences  of  repeated 
errors,  continues  still  to  blunder,  and  whose  age 
has  only  added  obstinacy  to  stupidity,  is  surely 
the  object  of  either  abhorrence  or  contempt,  and 
deserves  not  that  his  gray  head  should  secure 
him  from  insults.  Much  more  is  he  to  be  ab 
horred,  Avho,  as  he  has  advanced  in  age,  has 
seceded  from  virtue,  and  become  more  wicked 
with  less  temptation  ;  who  prostitutes  himself 
for  money  which  he  cannot  enjoy,  and  spends 
the  remains  of  his  life  in  the  ruin  of  his  country." 

Pitt  gradually  obtained  the  reputation  of  be 
ing  one  of  the  most  vigilant  and  powerful  op- 
posers,  in  the  House,  to  impolitic  measures  or 
unconstitutional  innovations.  In  1744,  the  Dow 
ager  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  by  a  codicil  to 
her  will,  left  him  £10,000,  expressly  "for  having 
defended  the  laws  of  his  country,  and  endeav 
ored  to  save  it  from  ruin."  In  the  following 
year,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  felt  desirous  of  in 
creasing  the  strength  of  the  administration  by 
procuring  for  Pitt  the  post  of  secretary  at  war; 
but  was  thwarted  in  his  wishes  by  the  king,  who 
hated  Pitt  for  having  opposed  and  ridiculed  his 
predilection  towards  the  electorate.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  duke  and  his  friends  resigned, 


but  they  were  speedily  recalled  to  office ;  and 
in  1740.  Pitt  was  appointed,  in  the  first  place, 
joint  vice-treasurer  of  Ireland,  and  afterwards 
obtained  the  post  of  treasurer  and  paymaster  of 
the  army,  with  a  seat  in  the  privy-council.  He 
was,  however,  still  obnoxious  to  the  monarch, 
who,  on  Pitt's  attending  to  kiss  hands  on  his 
appointment,  is  said  to  have  turned  aside  and 
shed  tears. 

In  1754,  he  formed  a  connection  with  the 
Grenville  party,  through  his  marriage  with  Hes 
ter,  the  daughter  of  Richard  Grenville,  of  Wot- 
ton,  in  Buckinghamshire.  His  avowed  disappro 
bation  of  the  treaties  of  alliance  with  Russia  and 
Hesse  Cassel,  in  defence  of  Hanover,  procured 
his  dismissal  from  office  in  the  following  year, 
and  he  once  more  appeared  in  the  ranks  of  op 
position.  His  popularity,  however,  soon  made 
it  prudent  to  invite  him  back  to  office,  and  in 
1756  he  achieved  a  political  victory  over  his 
great  rival,  Fox,  afterwards  Lord  Holland,  and 
was  constituted  secretary  of  state  for  the  south 
ern  department.  His  hostility  to  the  war  in 
Germany,  or  rather,  perhaps,  his  objections  to 
the  command  of  the  British  troops  on  the  conti 
nent  being  intrusted  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
brought  on  him  a  renewal  of  the  king's  displeas 
ure,  and  in  April,  1757,  he  again  received  his 
dismissal ;  but  so  early  as  the  month  of  June 
following,  the  popular  clamor  in  favor  of  Pitt 
compelled  the  reluctant  monarch  not  only  to 
recall,  but  also  to  intrust  him  with  the  supreme 
direction  of  public  affairs.  He  now,  in  fact,  be 
came  premier  of  that  celebrated  war  administra 
tion  which  raised  Great  Britain  to  a  proud  pre 
eminence  over  the  other  nations  of  Europe. 
Shortly  after  his  accession  to  power,  he  gave  a 
striking  proof  of  his  high  and  honorable  feelings. 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  with  whom  he  had 
been  long  at  variance,  having  entered  into  an 
unpopular  convention  with  the  French  troops  in 
Germany,  the  king  protested  that  he  had  given 
his  son  no  orders  to  do  so.  "  But  full  power*." 
replied  Pitt,  firmly,  "very  full  powers,  sir." 

The  vigor  of  the  new  administration  soon  pro 
duced  an  extraordinary  effect.  The  spirit,  ac 
tivity,  and  resolution  of  Pitt  wrought  miracles 
in  the  government  offices.  To  those  who  told 
him  that  his  orders  could  not  be  executed  within 


660 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


the  time  required,  he  peremptorily  replied,  "  It 
must  be  done ;"  and  alacrity  ceased  to  be  con 
sidered  impossible.  To  foreign  diplomatists  he 
assumed  a  tone  of  determined  energy,  and  avoid 
ed  entering  into  any  specious  and  protracted 
negotiations,  by  boldly  stating  how  he  meant 
to  act,  and  bidding  his  opponents,  in  so  many 
words,  to  do  as  they  pleased.  He  infused  new 
life  and  vigor  into  the  army  and  navy,  invariably 
providing  commanders  with  the  best  means  in 
his  power  to  carry  their  instructions  into  effect. 
He  once  asked  an  officer  who  had  been  appointed 
to  conduct  a  certain  important  expedition,  how 
many  men  he  should  require.  "  Ten  thousand," 
was  the  reply.  "  You  shall  have  twelve,"  said 
the  minister,  "  and  then  it  will  be  your  own  fault 
if  you  do  not  succeed."  Under  his  auspices  the 
whole  fortune  of  the  war  was  changed :  England 
triumphed  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe ;  the 
boldest  attempts  were  made  by  her  sea  and  land 
forces ;  and  almost  every  enterprise  they  under 
took  was  fortunate.  In  America,  the  French  lost 
Quebec ;  in  Africa,  their  chief  settlements  fell ; 
in  the  East  Indies,  their  power  was  abridged ; 
in  Europe,  their  armies  suffered  defeat;  while 
their  navy  was  nearly  annihilated,  and  their 
commerce  almost  reduced  to  ruin. 

On  the  accession  of  George  the  Third,  Pitt, 
who  felt  strongly  impressed  with  the  policy  of 
declaring  war  against  Spain,  was  thwarted  in 
his  wishes  by  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute ;  and 
disdaining  to  be  nominally  at  the  head  of  a  cab 
inet  which  he  could  not  direct,  he  resigned  his 
offices  in  October,  1701,  and  accepted  a  pension 
of  three  thousand  pounds  a  year  for  the  lives  of 
himself,  his  son,  and  his  wife,  who  was  created 
Baroness  of  Chatham.  He  had  written  to  a 
female  relation  some  years  before,  severely  re 
proaching  her  for  "  despicable  meanness,"  of 
which  she  had  been  guilty,  in  accepting  an  an 
nuity  out  of  the  public  purse  ;  the  lady,  on  the 
present  occasion,  it  is  said,  had  her  revenge  by 
sending  him  a  copy  of  his  own  letter. 

In  1764,  he  greatly  distinguished  himself  by 
his  opposition  to  general  warrants,  which,  with 
all  his  accustomed  energy  and  eloquence,  he  stig 
matized  as  being  atrociously  illegal.  A  search 
for  papers,  or  a  seizure  of  the  person,  without 
any  specific  charge,  was,  he  r;ontended,  repug 


nant  to  every  principle  of  true  liberty.  "  By 
the  British  constitution,"  said  he,  "every  man's 
house  is  his  castle.  Not  tha.  it  is  surrounded 
by  walls  and  battlements ;  it  may  be  a  straw- 
built  shed ;  every  wind  of  heaven  may  whistle 
round  it ;  all  the  elements  of  nature  may  enter 
it ;  but  the  king  cannot — the  king  dare  not !" 

His  patriotism  had  already  been  rewarded 
with  a  considerable  legacy,  it  now  gained  him  a 
very  valuable  estate, — Sir  William  Py risen t  hav 
ing  about  this  time  disinherited  his  own  rela 
tives,  and  bequeathed  the  bulk  of  his  extensive 
property  to  Pitt,  who,  unlike  Pliny,  under  similar 
circumstances,  did  not  think  proper  to  relinquish 
his  legal  rights  in  favor  of  the  natural  heirs. 

At  the  latter  end  of  1760,  he  took  office  again 
as  lord  privy  seal;  and  lost  his  enviable  title  of 
The  Great  Commoner,  with  some  portion  of  his 
deserved  popularity,  by  accepting  a  peerage, 
having  been  called  to  the  House  of  Lords  as 
Viscount  Pitt,  of  Burton  Pynsent,  and  Earl  of 
Chatham.  His  views  being  but  feebly  supported 
in  the  cabinet,  he  resigned  his  place  in  Novem 
ber,  17C8,  and  never  took  office  ajjain.  But 

'  O 

although  an  old  man,  and  a  martyr  to  the  gout, 
few  debates  of  importance  occurred  in  which  lie 
did  not  still  render  himself  conspicuous.  He 
attacked  Lord  Mansfield's  doctrine  of  libel  with 
great  power,  and  animadverted  severely  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  lower  house,  with  regard  to 
the  Middlesex  election.  He  had  invariably  op 
posed,  with  the  whole  force  of  his  eloquence,  the 
measures  which  led  to  the  American  war;  and 
long  after  his  retirement  from  office,  had  exerted 
himself  most  zealously  to  bring  about  a  reconcil 
iation  between  the  mother  country  and  her  colo 
nies.  But  when  the  Duke  of  Portland,  in  1778, 
moved  an  address  to  the  crown,  on  the  necessity 
of  acknowledging  the  independence  of  America, 
Lord  Chatham,  although  he  had  but  just  left  a 
sick-bed,  opposed  the  motion  with  all  the  ardent 
eloquence  of  his  younger  days.  "My  lords," 
said  he,  "  I  lament  that  my  infirmities-  have  so 
long  prevented  my  attendance  here,  at  so  awful 
a  crisis.  I  have  made  an  effort  almost  beyond 
my  strength,  to  come  down  to  this  house  on  this 
day  (and  perhaps  it  will  be  the  last  time  I  shall 
ever  enter  its  walls),  to  express  my  indignation 
at  an  idea  which  has  gone  forth,  of  yielding  up 


CHAP.  XII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


601 


America.  My  lords,  I  rejoice  that  the  grave 
has  not  yet  closed  upon  me — that  I  am  still  alive 
to  lift  up  my  voice  against  the  dismemberment  of 
this  ancient  and  most  nol>lc  monarchy.  Pressed 
down  as  I  am  by  the  hand  of  infirmity,  I  am  little 
able  to  assist  my  country  in  this  most  perilous 
conjuncture;  but,  my  lords,  while  I  have  sense 
and  memory,  I  will  never  consent  to  deprive 
the  royal  offspring  of  the  house  of  Brunswick  of 
their  fairest  inheritance.  Where  is  the  man  that 
will  dare  to  advise  such  a  measure  ?  My  lords, 
his  majesty  succeeded  to  an  empire  great  in  ex 
tent,  as  it  was  unsullied  in  reputation  ; — shall  we 
tarnish  the  lustre  of  this  nation  by  an  ignomini 
ous  surrender  of  its  rights  and  best  possessions? 
Shall  this  great  kingdom,  which  has  survived, 
whole  and  entire,  the  Danish  depredations,  the 
Scottish  inroads,  and  the  Norman  conquest, — 
that  has  stood  the  threatened  invasion  of  the 
Spanish  Armada, — now  fall  prostrate  before  the 
house  of  Bourbon?  Surely,  my  lords,,  this  na 
tion  is  no  longer  what  it  was  !  Shall  a  people, 
that  seventeen  years  ago  was  the  terror  of  the 
world,  now  stoop  so  low  as  to  tell  its  ancient, 
inveterate  enemy,  '  Take  all  we  have,  only  give 
us  peace  ?'  It  is  impossible  !  I  wage  war  with 
no  man,  or  set  of  men  ;  I  wish  for  none  of  their 
employment ;  nor  would  I  co-operate  with  those 
who  still  persist  in  unretracted  error;  or  who, 
instead  of  acting  on  a  firm,  decisive  line  of  con 
duct,  halt  between  two  opinions,  Avhere  there  is 
no  middle  path.  In  God's  name,  if  it  be  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  declare  either  for  peace  or 
war,  and  the  former  cannot  be  preserved  with 
honor,  why  is  not  the  latter  commenced  without 
hesitation  ?  I  am  not,  I  confess,  well  informed 
of  the  resources  of  this  kingdom,  but  I  trust  it 
has  still  sufficient  to  maintain  its  just  rights, 
though  I  know  them  not.  But,  my  lords,  any 
state  is  better  than  despair.  Let  us  at  least 
make  one  effort ;  and,  if  we  must  fall,  let  us  fall 
like  men !" 

The  Duke  of  Richmond  having  replied  to  this 
speech,  Lord  Chatham  attempted  to  rise  again, 
but  fainted,  and  fell  into  the  arms  of  those  who 
were  near  him.  The  House  instantly  adjourned, 
and  the  earl  was  conveyed  home  in  a  state  of 
exhaustion,  from  which  he  never  recovered. 
His  dfc'ith  took  place  at  Hayes,  early  in  the  fol 


lowing  month — namely,  on  the  1  Hli  of  May, 
1778.  The  House  of  Commons  voted  the  de 
parted  patriot,  who  had  thus  died  gloriously  at 
his  post,  a  public  funeral,  and  a  monument  n 
Westminster  Abbey,  at  the  national  expense. 
An  income  of  four  thousand  pounds  per  annum 
was  annexed  to  the  earldom  of  Chatham,  and 
the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  cheerfully 
granted  to  liquidate  his  debts;  for,  instead  of 
profiting  by  his  public  employments,  he  had 
wasted  his  property  in  sustaining  their  dignity, 
and  died  in  embarrassed  circumstances. 

In  figure,  Lord  Chatham  Avas  eminently  dig 
nified  and  commanding.  "There  was  a  "ran- 

O  o 

deur  in  his  pers  anal  appearance,"  says  a  writer, 
who  sp«.aks  of  him  when  in  his  decline,  "which 
produced  awe  and  mute  attention  ;  and,  though 
bowed  by  infirmity  and  age,  his  mind  shone 
through  the  ruins  of  his  body — armed  his  eye 
with  lightning  and  clothed  his  lip  with  thun 
der."  Bodily  pain  never  subdued  the  lofty 
daring  or  the  extraordinary  activity  of  his  mind. 
He  even  used  his  crutch  as  a  figure  of  rhetoric. 
"  You  talk,  my  lords,"  said  he,  on  one  occasion, 
"  of  conquering  America — of  your  numerous 
friends  there — and  your  powerful  forces  to  dis 
perse  her  army.  I  might  as  well  talk  of  driving 
them  before  me  with  this  crutch  !" 

Sir  Robert  Walpole  could  not  look  upon  or 
listen  to  him,  without  being  alarmed ;  and  told 
his  friends  that  he  should  be  glad,  at  any  rate, 
to  muzzle  that  terrible  cornet  of  horse.  "  He  was 
born  an  orator,"  says  Wilkes,  "and  from  nature 
possessed  every  outward  requisite  to  bespeak 
respect,  and  even  awe :  a  manly  figure,  with  the 
eagle  eye  of  the  great  Conde,  fixed  your  atten 
tion,  and  almost  commanded  reverence,  the  mo 
ment  he  appeared ;  and  the  keen  lightning  of 
his  eye  spoke  the  high  respect  of  his  soul,  before 
his  lips  had  pronounced  a  syllabic.  There  was 
a  kind  of  fascination  in  his  look,  when  he  eyed 
any  one  askance.  Nothing  could  withstand  the 
force  of  that  contagion.  The  fluent  Murray  has 
faltered,  and  even  Fox  shrunk  back  appalled, 
from  an  adversary  'fraught  with  fire  unquench 
able,'  if  I  may  borrow  an  expression  of  our 
great  Milton.  He  had  not  the  correctness  of 
language  so  striking  in  the  great  Roman  orator, 
but  he  had  the  verba  at  dent  la — the  bold,  glow- 


662 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ing  words."  Horace  Wai  pole  describes  his  lan 
guage  as  having  been  amazingly  fine  and  flowing; 
his  voice  admirable,  his  action  most  expressive, 
and  his  figure  commanding.  A  more  modern 

o  o 

writer  says,  that  Pitt  was  unequal  as  a  speaker, 
and  that  the  first  time  he  heard  him,  nothing 
could  be  more  commonplace  than  his  language 
and  manner ;  but  that,  on  some  contradiction  in 
argument  being  given  him,  his  real  powers  in 
stantly  burst  forth,  and  he  displayed  all  the 
wonderful  eloquence  for  which  he  was  so  cele 
brated. 

He  felt  impatient  of  contradiction  in  the  cabi 
net,  and  reposed  unlimited  confidence  in  his  own 
talents.  It  was  his  ambition  to  raise  his  native 
country  above  all  other  powers,  and  to  elevate 
himself  by  her  exaltation.  He  was  sagacious, 
firm,  and  admirably  patriotic.  His  opinions 
were  liberal ;  his  views  lofty  and  enlightened  ; 

/  •/  o  i 

and  his  measures  so  eminently  successful,  that 
he  has,  perhaps,  with  truth  been  termed  the 
greatest  statesman  of  his  country. 

Walpole  says  that  his  conversation  was  af 
fected  and  unnatural,  his  manner  not  engaging, 
nor  his  talents  popular.  Chesterfield  describes 
him  as  being  haughty,  imperious,  and  overbear 
ing  ;  and  yet,  according  to  the  latter  authority, 
he  was  a  most  agreeable  and  lively  companion 
in  social  life,  and  had  such  a  versatility  of  wit, 
that  he  could  adapt  it  to  all  sorts  of  conver 
sation. 

It  is  evident,  from  the  tone  of  his  letters,  that 
he  was  fondly  attached  to  his  family.  He  had 
two  daughters  and  three  sons,  one  of  whom 
became  the  successful  rival  of  that  celebrated 
statesman,  Fox,  over  whom  he  had  achieved  a 
political  supremacy.  In  his  domestic  circle,  he 
frequently  amused  himself  by  reading  the  serious 
parts  of  Shakspeare's  plays — the  comic  scenes 
being,  on  such  occasions,  invariably  taken  by 
some  other  person  present.  He  would  never 
suffer  himself,  if  possible,  it  is  said,  to  be  seen, 
by  his  nearest  friends,  in  undress ;  and  that, 
while  in  office,  he  would  not  transact  any  public 
business  until  he  had  assumed  his  full  official 
costume.  He  was,  however,  often  compelled, 
on  account  of  his  hereditary  complaint,  to  re 
ceive  his  colleagues  in  bed.  One  evening,  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  on 


whom  he  frequently  inflicted  a  lecture,  had  a 
consultation  with  him  in  his  chamber.  Pitt  had 
so  great  a  horror  of  heat,  that  he  would  never 
suffer  a  fire  to  be  lighted  in  his  room ;  the  duke 
had  an  equal  antipathy  to  cold ;  and  the  night 
being  excessively  severe,  and  his  coadjutor's  lec 
ture  unusually  long,  perceiving  a  second  bed  in 
the  room  (for  the  premier  and  his  lady  then 
slept  apart),  he  seated  himself  upon  it  and  cov 
ered  his  legs  with  a  blanket.  But  still  feeling 
insupportably  cold,  he  gradually  crept,  full 
dressed  as  he  Avas,  into  Mrs.  Pitt's  bed ;  and  the 
two  ministers  lay,  for  a  considerable  time,  at 
opposite  ends  of  the  room — the  one  warmly  de 
claiming,  and  the  other  shivering,  and  submis 
sively  listening,  with  nothing  but  their  heads 
visible  above  the  bed-clothes. 


[E.] 
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL   BURGOYNE. 

John  Burgoyne,  the  natural  son  of  Lord 
Bingley,  entered  the  British  army  at  an  early 
age ;  and,,  while  quartered  with  his  regiment  at 
Preston,  married  Lady  Charlotte  Stanley,  whose 
father,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  was  so  incensed  at 
the  match,  that  he  threatened  utterly  to  discard 
her ;  but  a  reconciliation  at  length  took  place, 
and  the  earl  allowed  her  three  hundred  pounds 
a  year  during  his  life,  and,  by  his  will,  bequeath 
ed  her  a  legacy  of  twenty-five  thousand  pounds. 
The  influence  of  the  family  to  which  Burgoyne 
had  thus  become  allied,  tended  materially  to  ac 
celerate  his  professional  advance.  In  1T62,  he 
acted  as  brigadier-general  of  the  British  forces 
which  were  sent  out  for  the  defence  of  Portugal 
against  France  and  Spain.  An  advanced  body 
of  the  enemy's  troops  being  stationed  at  Valen- 
tia  de  Alcantara,  a  town  situate  on  the  frontiers, 
where  it  was  supposed  they  had  collected  a 
quantity  of  warlike  stores,  Burgoyne  was  dis 
patched  with  orders,  if  possible,  to  surprise  and 
storm  the  place.  In  this  important  enterprise 
he  was  completely  successful ;  one  of  the  best 
regiments  in  the  Spanish  service  was  destroyed, 
and  twenty  of  the  enemy's  officers  were  taken, 
besides  the  general  who  was  to  have  command 
ed  in  the  meditated  invasion  of  Portugal.  Soon 


CHAP.  XII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


663 


afterwards,  while  posted  near  a  camp  at  Villa 
Velha,  composed  of  a  considerable  body  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  cavalry,  perceiving,  it  is 
said,  "  that  they  kept  no  very  soldierly  guard," 
lie  detached  Colonel  Lee,  with  a  small  force,  to 
liill  upon  their  rear  during  the  night ;  Burgoyne 
himself  at  the  same  time  made  a  feint  attack 
upon  another  quarter,  which  prevented  their 
being  relieved  by  any  of  their  adjacent  posts. 
The  whole  operation  appears  to  have  been  con 
ducted  with  considerable  skill ;  numbers  of  the 
enemy  being  slaughtered,  and  the  remainder 
completely  dispersed,  with  but  a  trifling  loss  on 
the  part  of  the  British.  This  advantage,  ob 
tained  at  a  critical  moment,  compelled  the 
Spaniards  to  foil  back  on  their  own  frontiers, 
and  terminated  the  campaign. 

In  1775,  Burgoyne  was  appointed  to  a  com 
mand  in  America;  whence  he  returned  in  the 
following  year,  and  held  a  long  conference  with 
the  king  on  colonial  affairs.  Resuming  his  post, 
in  1777,  he  addressed  a  proclamation  to  the  na 
tive  Indians,  in  which  he  invited  them  to  his 
standard,  but  deprecated  with  due  severity  the 
cruel  practice  of  scalping.  The  pompous  tur- 
gidity  of  style  in  which  this  address  was  couched, 
excited  the  ridicule  of  the  Americans,  and  pro 
cured  for  General  Burgoyne  the  soubriquet  of 
Chrononhotonthologos.  His  first  operations  were 
successful ;  he  dislodged  the  enemy  from  Ticon- 
dc-roga  and  Mount  Independence,  and  took  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  pieces  of  cannon,  all 
their  armed  vessels  and  batteries,  as  well  as 
a  considerable  part  of  their  baggage,  ammuni 
tion,  provisions,  and  military  stores.  But  his 
subsequent  career  was  truly  disastrous ;  his 
troops  suffered  much  from  bad  roads,  inclement 
weather,  and  a  scarcity  of  provisions ;  the  In 
dians,  who  had  previously  assisted  him,  desert 
ed  ;  and  the  Americans,  under  General  Gates, 
surrounded  him  with  a  superior  force,  to  which, 
although  victorious  in  two  engagements,  he  was 
at  length  compelled  to  capitulate,  at  Saratoga, 
with  the  whole  of  his  army.  This  event,  which 
rendered  him  equally  odious  to  ministers  and 
the  people,  was  for  some  time  the  leading  topic 
of  the  press;  arid  numberless  lampoons  appeared, 
in  which  the  general's  conduct  was  most  severe 
ly  satirized.  The  punsters  of  the  clay,  taking 


advantage  of  the  American  general's  name, 
amused  themselves  unmercifully  at  Burgoyne's 
expense ;  but  of  all  their  effusions,  which  for  the 
most  part  were  virulent  rather  than  pointed, 
the  following  harmless  epigram,  poor  as  it  is, 
appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  best: 

Burgoyne,  unconscious  of  impending  fates, 

Could  cut  his  way  thro'  woods,  but  not  thro'  Gates. 

Returning  to  England  on  his  parole,  in  May, 
1778,  the  opposition  fearing  that  he  would  take 
part  with  ministers,  and  accuse  those  politicians 
who  were  violently  adverse  to  the  American 
war  of  having  contributed,  by  their  speeches  in 
parliament,  if  not,  as  it  is  added,  by  other  modes 
of  encouragement,  to  the  success  of  the  Amer 
icans  at  Saratoga,  Fox  was  dispatched  to  meet 
him  on  his  way  to  town,  for  the  purpose  of 
inducinec  him  to  attribute  his  disaster  to  the 

O 

misconduct  of  those  in  office.  A  long  interview 
accordingly  took  place  between  them  at  Houns- 
low ;  and  Fox  is  said  to  have  achieved  his  object 
by  insisting  that  ministers  could  not  support  the 
general  without  inculpating  themselves;  that 
the  king  was  strongly  prejudiced  against  him; 
that  the  party  in  power  would  not  be  able  to 
retain  office  for  more  than  twelve  months ;  and 
by  promising  Burgoyne  the  protection  of  his 
party  against  government,  and  honorable  em 
ployment  whenever  the  opposition  should  re 
turn  to  power. 

On  his  arrival  in  London,  the  prediction  of 
Fox  was  so  far  verified,  that  the  king  refused  to 
see  him  ;  and  he  in  vain  solicited  a  court-martial. 
An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  soon  afterwards 
made  by  some  of  his  friends  to  obtain  a  par 
liamentary  investigation  of  his  conduct.  On 
this  occasion,  ministers  took  advantage  of  some 
disturbance  in  the  gallery,  which  was  excessively 
crowded,  to  move  that  strangers  should  with 
draw.  Burgoyne,  Avho  was  member  for  Pres 
ton,  strongly  objected  to  such  a  proceeding,  as 
it  might,  perhaps,  defeat  the  object  of  his  friends; 
who,  as  well  as  himself,  were  desirous  of  exposing 
every  particular  bearing  on  his  capitulation  at 
Saratoga  to  the  people.  The  motion  was,  how 
ever,  carried  ;  and  the  order  for  excluding  stran 
gers  was  so  rigidly  enforced,  that  the  speaker 
sent  his  own  son  out  of  the  house;  but  Garrick, 


(UU 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


by  consent  of  all  parties,  obtained  permission  to 
remain. 

The  surrender  of  Burgoyne  was  brought  in 
different  shapes  under  the  notice  of  parliament, 
on  many  subsequent  occasions ;  but  the  general 
never  could  obtain  the  inquiry  which  he  most 
ardently  and  pertinaciously  sought  to  procure. 
In  1779,  he  was  dismissed  the  service  for  re 
fusing  to  return  to  America,  pursuant  to  the 
terms  of  his  convention ;  by  which,  in  this  par 
ticular  it  seems,  he  did  not  think  himself  bound 
in  honor  to  abide.  Three  years  afterwards  he 
was,  however,  restored  to  his  rank  in  the  army, 
appointed  commander-iii-chief  in  Ireland,  and 
sworn  in  of  the  privy-council  of  that  kingdom. 
He  died  suddenly  of  a  fit  of  the  gout,  at  his 
house  in  Westford-street,  on  the  4th  of  August, 
1792  ;  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  the 
cloisters  of  Westminster  Abbey. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  rash  to  pronounce  a 
positive  opinion  on  the  merits  of  Burgoyne  as 
a  commander.  He  boldly  courted  a  scrutiny 
into  the  causes  which  led  to  his  surrender  at 
Saratoga,  which  ministers  refused,  because,  as  it 
lias  been  insinuated,  such  a  proceeding  might 
expose  the  absurd  imprudence  and  inefficiency 
of  their  own  measures  in  regard  to  the  American 
war.  Prior  to  the  capitulation,  his  military  ca 
reer,  as  well  in  America  as  in  Portugal,  had  been 
rather  brilliant ;  his  misfortune  was  precisely 
similar  to  that  which  befell  Cornwallis;  but,  un 
like  the  latter,  Burgoyne  was  not  allowed  an 
opportunity  of  redeeming  his  reputation. 

In  parliament,  he  was  a  frequent  and  fluent, 
but  neither  a  sound  nor  impressive  speaker. 
While  in  employment,  he  appears  to  have  been 
a  stanch  advocate  for  the  American  war;  which, 
however,  he  severely  reprobated  from  the  time 
that  he  ceased  to  hold  a  command.  At  the 
present  day,  he  is  better  known  as  a  dramatist 
than  as  a  senator  or  a  military  man.  His  comic 
opera,  entitled,  the  Lord  of  the  Manor,  partly 
taken  from  the  French,  has  become  a  stock- 
piece  ;  and  a  noble  and  fastidious  critic  describes 
his  comedy  of  the  Heiress,  as  being  the  most 
genteel  production  of  its  class  in  the  English  lan 
guage.  Both  works  undoubtedly  possess  consid 
erable  merit.  Besides  some  fugitive  pieces,  and 
two  or  three  pamphlets  in  defence  of  his  public 


conduct,  he  was  also  the  author  of  Richard  Copur 
de  Lion,  a  musical  romance ;  and  the  Maid  of 
the  Oaks,  an  occasional  vaudeville,  composed 
and  performed  at  the  Oaks  in  honor  of  Lord 
Derby's  marriage  with  Lady  Elizabeth  Ham 
ilton. 

By  Junius  he  is  described  (it  docs  not  appear 
whether  truly  or  otherwise)  as  sitting  down,  for 
the  termination  of  his  life,  infamous,  and  con 
tented  with  the  money  received  from  the  Duke 
of  Grafton  for  the  sale  of  a  patent  place  in  the 
customs;  as  drawing  a  regular  and  splendid 
subsistence  from  play ;  as  taking  his  stand  at  a 
gaming  table,  and  watching,  with  the  soberest 
attention,  for  a  fair  opportunity  of  engaging  a 
drunken  young  nobleman  at  picquet. 


THE  BARONESS  RIEDESEL. 

The  house  in  which  General  Fraser  died  was 
still  standing  in  1846,  upon  the  right  bank  of 
the  Hudson,  about  three  miles  above  Bemis's 
Heights,  and  exhibited  the  signs  of  a  conflict 
there  by  numerous  bullet-holes.  It  Avas,  says 
Lossing,*  used  by  Burgoyne  for  quarters  when 
he  first  pitched  his  camp  there ;  and  it  was  a 
shelter  to  several  ladies  attached  to  the  British 
army,  among  whom  were  the  Baroness  Riedesel 
and  Lady  Harriet  Ackland.  The  baroness  gives 
the  following  account  of  this  event,  in  her 
"  Memoirs :" 

"But  severer  trials  awaited  us,  and  on  the 
7th  of  October  our  misfortunes  began.  I  was 
at  breakfast  with  my  husband,  and  heard  that 
something  was  intended.  On  the  same  day  I 
expected  generals  Burgoyne,  Phillips,  and  Fra 
ser  to  dine  with  us.  I  saw  a  great  movement 
among  the  troops ;  my  husband  told  me  it  was 
merely  a  reconnoissance,  which  gave  me  no  con 
cern,  as  it  often  happened.  I  walked  out  of  the 
house,  and  met  several  Indians  "in  their  war 
dresses,  with  guns  in  their  hands.  When  I 
asked  them  Avhere  they  were  going,  they  cried 
out,  'War!  Avar!'  meaning  they  were  going  to 
battle.  This  filled  me  with  apprehension,  and  I 

*  Lossing,  Field- Bool-  of  the  Revolution. 


CHAP.  XIL] 


DOCUMENTS. 


665 


had  scarcely  got  home  before  I  heard  reports  of 
cannon  and  musketry,  which  grew  louder  by 
degrees,  till  at  last  the  noise  became  excessive. 

u  About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  instead 
of  the  guests  whom  I  expected,  General  Fraser 
was  brought  in  on  a  litter,  mortally  Avounded. 
The  table,  which  Avas  already  set,  Avas  instantly 
vemoA'cd,  and  a  bed  placed  in  its  stead  for  the 
wounded  general.  I  sat  trembling  in  a  corner ; 
the  noise  grew  louder,  and  the  alarm  increased ; 
the  thought  that  my  husband  might,  perhaps, 
be  brought  in  Avounded  in  the  same  manner, 
Avas  terrible  to  me,  and  distressed  me  exceed 
ingly.  General  Fraser  said  to  the  surgeon,  '  Tell 
me  if  my  Avound  is  mortal ;  do  not  natter  me.' 
The  ball  had  passed  through  his  body ;  and,  un 
happily  for  the  general,  he  had  eaten  a  very  hearty 
breakfast,  by  which  the  stomach  Avas  distended, 
and  the  ball,  as  the  surgeon  said,  had  passed 
through  it.  I  heard  him  often  exclaim,  Avith  a 
sigh, '  O  fatal  ambition !  Poor  General  Burgoyne ! 
Oh,  ''iy  poor  wife  !'  He  Avas  asked  if  he  had 
any  request  to  make,  to  Avhich  he  replied,  that, 
if  General  Burgoyne  would  permit  it,  he  should 
like  to  be  buried  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
on  the  top  of  a  mountain,  in  a  redoubt  Avhich 
had  been  built  there.  I  did  not  know  Avliich 
way  to  turn ;  all  the  other  rooms  Avere  full  of 
sick.  Towards  evening  I  saw  my  husband  com 
ing  ;  then  I  forgot  all  my  SOITOAVS,  and  thanked 
God  that  he  Avas  spared  to  me.  He  ate  in  great 
haste,  Avith  me  and  his  aid-de-camp,  behind  the 
house.  We  had  been  told  that  AVC  had  the  ad- 
vantage  over  the  enemy,  but  the  sorroAvful  faces 
I  beheld  told  a  different  tale ;  and  before  my 
husband  Avent  aAvay,  he  took  me  aside,  and  said 
every  thing  Avas  going  very  badly,  and  that  I 
must  keep  myself  in  readiness  to  leave  the  place, 
but  not  to  mention  it  to  any  one.  I  made  the 
pretence  that  I  Avould  move  the  next  morning 
into  my  new  house,  and  had  every  thing  packed 
up  ready. 

"  I  could  not  go  to  sleep,  as  I  had  General 
Fraser  and  all  the  other  Avounded  gentlemen  in 
my  room  ;  and  I  was  sadly  afraid  my  children 
Avould  wake,  and,  by  their  crying,  disturb  the 
dying  man  in  his  last  moments,  who  often  ad 
dressed  me  and  apologized  '  for  the  trouble  he 
gave  me.'  About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning 

VOL.    i       8-1 


I  Avas  told  that  he  could  not  hold  out  much 
longer :  I  had  desired  to  be  informed  of  the  near 
approach  of  this  sad  crisis,  and  Avent  with  them 
into  the  room  beloAV.  About  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  he  died. 

"  After  he  Avas  laid  out,  and  his  corpse  wrap 
ped  up  in  a  sheet,  AVC  came  again  into  the  room, 
and  had  this  sorrowful  sight  before  us  the  Avhole 
day ;  and,  to  add  to  the  melancholy  scene,  al 
most  every  moment  some  officer  of  my  acquaint 
ance  Avas  brought  in  Avounded.  The  cannonade 
commenced  again  ;  a  retreat  Avas  spoken  of,  but 
not  the  smallest  motion  Avas  made  towards  it. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  saw  the 
house  Avhich  had  just  been  built  for  me  in  flames, 
and  the  enemy  Avas  IIOAV  not  far  off.  We  knew 
that  General  Burgoyne  Avould  not  refuse  the 
last  request  of  General  Fraser,  though,  by  his 
acceding  to  it,  an  unnecessary  delay  Avas  occa 
sioned,  by  Avhich  the  inconvenience  of  the  army 
Avas  much  increased.  At  six  o'clock  the  corpse 
Avas  brought  out ;  and  Ave  saw  all  the  generals 
attend  it  to  the  mountain.  The  chaplain,  Mr. 
Brudenell,  performed  the  funeral  service,  ren 
dered  unusually  solemn  and  awful  from  its  being 
accompanied  by  constant  peals  from  the  enemy's 
artillery.  Many  cannon-balls  flew  close  by  me, 
but  I  had  my  eyes  directed  tOAvards  the  mount 
ain  Avhere  my  husband  Avas  standing  amidst  the 
fire  of  the  enemy,  and  of  course  I  could  not 
think  of  my  OAVU  danger." 

The  Baroness  Riedesel,  in  another  passage  of 
her  Memoirs,  presents  another  vivid  picture  of 
those  memorable  scenes  at  Saratoga : 

"  About  tAvo  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  AVC  again 
heard  a  firing  of  cannon  and  small-arms ;  in 
stantly  all  Avas  alarm,  and  6Arery  thing  Avas  in 
motion.  My  husband  told  me  to  go  to  a  house 
not  far  off.  I  immediately  seated  myself  in  my 
caleche,  Avith  my  children,  and  droAre  off;  but 
scarcely  had  we  reached  it,  before  I  discovered 
five  or  six  armed  men  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Hudson.  Instinctively  I  threw  my  children 
down  in  the  caleche,  and  then  concealed  myself 
Avith  them.  At  this  moment  the  fellows  fired, 
and  Avounded  an  already  wounded  English  sol 
dier,  Avho  Avas  behind  me.  Poor  fellow !  I  pit 
ied  him  exceedingly,  but  at  this  moment  had  no 
power  to  relieve  him. 


666 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


"A  terrible  cannonade  was  commenced  by 
tlie  enemy  against  the  bouse  in  which  I  sought 
to  obtain  shelter  for  myself  and  children,  under 
the  mistaken  idea  that  all  the  generals  were  in 
it.  Alas !  it  contained  none  but  wounded  and 
women.  We  were  at  last  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  cellar  for  refuge,  and  in  one  corner  of  this  I 
remained  the  whole  day,  my  children  sleeping 
on  the  earth  with  their  heads  in  my  lap  ;  and  in 
the  same  situation  I  passed  a  sleepless  night. 
Eleven  cannon-balls  passed  through  the  house, 
and  we  could  distinctly  hear  them  roll  away. 
One  poor  soldier,  who  was  lying  on  a  table  for 
the  purpose  of  having  his  leg  ajnputated,  was 
struck  by  a  shot,  which  carried  away  his  other ; 
and  when  we  went  to  his  assistance,  we  found 
him  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  into  which  he  had 
crept,  more  dead  than  alive,  scarcely  breathing. 
My  reflections  on  the  danger  to  which  my  hus 
band  was  exposed  now  agonized  me  exceedingly, 
and  the  thoughts  of  my  children,  and  the  neces 
sity  of  struggling  for  their  preservation,  alone 
sustained  me. 

"  The  ladies  of  the  army  who  were  with  me 
were  Mrs.  Harnage,  a  Mrs.  Kennels,  the  widow 
of  a  lieutenant  who  was  killed,  and  the  lady  of  the 
commissary.  Major  Harnage,  his  wife,  and  Mrs. 
Kennels,  made  a  little  room  in  a  corner  with 
curtains  to  it,  and  wished  to  do  the  same  for 
me  ;  but  I  preferred  being  near  the  door,  in  case 
of  tire.  Not  far  off  my  women  slept,  and  oppo 
site  to  us  three  English  officers,  who,  though 
wounded,  were  determined  not  to  be  left  be 
hind  :  one  of  them  was  Captain  Green,  an  aid- 
de-camp  to  Major-general  Phillips,  a  very  valua 
ble  officer  and  most  agreeable  man.  They  each 
made  me  a  most  sacred  promise  not  to  leave  me 
behind,  and,  in  case  of  sudden  retreat,  that  they 
would  each  of  them  take  one  of  my  children  on 
his  horse  ;  and  for  myself,  one  of  my  husband's 

was  in  constant  readiness The  want  of 

water  distressed  us  much :  at  length  we  found  a 
soldier's  wife  who  had  courage  enough  to  fetch 

o  o 

us  some  from  the  river,  an  office  nobody  else 
would  undertake,  as  the  Americans  shot  at  ev 
ery  person  who  approached  it ;  but,  out  of  re 
spect  for  her  sex,  they  never  molested  her. 

"  I  now  occupied  myself  through  the  day  in 
attending  to  the  wounded  ;  I  made  them  tea 


and  coffee,  and  often  shared  my  dinner  with 
them,  for  which  they  offered  me  a  thousand  ex 
pressions  of  gratitude.  One  day  a  Canadian 
officer  came  to  our  cellar,  who  had  scarcely  the 
power  of  holding  himself  upright,  and  we  con 
cluded  he  was  dying  for  want  of  nourishment : 
I  was  happy  in  offering  him  my  dinner,  which 
strengthened  him,  and  procured  me  his  friend 
ship.  I  now  undertook  the  care  of  Major  Bloom- 
field,  another  aid-de-camp  of  General  Phillips  : 
he  had  received  a  musket-ball  through  both 
checks,  which  in  its  course  had  knocked  out 
several  of  his  teeth  and  cut  his  tongue  ;  he  could 
hold  nothing  in  his  moiith,  the  matter  which  ran 
from  his  wound  almost  choked  him,  and  he  was 
not  able  to  take  any  nourishment  except  a  little 
soup  or  something  liquid.  We  had  some  Rhen 
ish  wine,  and  in  the  hope  that  the  acidity  of  it 
would  cleanse  his  wound,  I  gave  him  a  bottle 
of  it.  lie  took  a  little  now  and  then,  and  with 
such  effect  that  his  cure  soon  followed.  Thus  I 
added  another  to  my  stock  of  friends,  and  de 
rived  a  satisfaction  which,  in  the  midst  of  suffer 
ings,  served  to  tranquillize  me  and  diminish 
their  acuteness. 

"  One  day  General  Phillips  accompanied  mv 
husband,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  on  a  visit  to 
us.  The  general,  after  having  beheld  our  situa 
tion,  said  to  him,  'I  would  not,  for  ten  thousand 
guineas,  come  again  to  this  place ;  my  heart  is 
almost  broken.' 

"In  this  horrid  situation  we  remained  six 
days:  a  cessation  of  hostilities  was  now  spoken 
of,  and  eventually  took  place." 

When  her  husband,  by  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne,  became  a  prisoner  in  the  American  camp, 
she  joined  him  there.  "  My  husband,"  she  says, 
"  sent  a  message  to  me  to  come  over  to  him  with 
my  children.  I  seated  myself  once  more  in  my 
dear  caleche,  and  then  rode  through  the  Amer 
ican  camp.  As  I  passed  on  I  observed,  and  this 
was  a  great  consolation  to  me.  that  no  one  eved 

O  •/ 

me  with  looks  of  resentment,  but  they  all  greeted 
us,  and  even  showed  compassion  in  their  counte 
nances  at  the  sight  of  a  woman  with  small  chil 
dren.  I  was,  I  confess,  afraid  to  go  over  to  the 
enemy,  as  it  was  quite  a  new  situation  to  me. 
When  I  drew  near  the  tents,  a  handsome  man 
approached  and  met  me,  took  my  children  from 


CL, 


CHAP.  XII.J 


DOCUMENTS. 


restraint,  made  him,  ultimately,  regret  that  he 
had  ever  solicited  their  aid.  As  soon  as  his  ar 
rangements  were  completed,  he  advanced  with 
his  army  towards  the  lakes,  where  he  attacked 
and  totally  defeated  the  American  flotilla  under 
the  command  of  Arnold.  He  was  soon  after 
wards  superseded  in  his  command,  partly  in 
compliance,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  with  his  own 
desire,  and  received  a  red  riband  for  his  ex 
ploits. 

While  at  home,  he  acted  as  one  of  the  com 
missioners  of  public  accounts ;  and  so  high  did 
he  rank  in  the  estimation  of  government,  that, 
in  1781,  he  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command 
of  the  forces  in  America.  His  conduct  in  that 
important  office,  which  he  retained  until  the 
termination  of  hostilities,  appears  tc  have  been 


disinterested,  conciliatory,  and,  in  all  respects, 
judicious. 

In  1790,  he  was  promoted  to  the  colonelcy  of 
the  15th  dragoons,  and  having  previously  been 
created  Lord  Dorchester,  for  several  years  acted 
as  governor  of  all  the  British  possessions,  except 
Newfoundland,  in  North  America.  The  close 
of  his  life  Avas  passed  in  retirement.  He  died  in 
1808,  and  Avas  succeeded  in  his  title  and  estate 
by  his  eldest  son  Thomas,  a  general  in  the  army. 

As  a  soldier,  Lord  Dorchester  appears  to  have 
deservedly  attained  a  high  reputation  for  cour 
age  and  skill.  Misfortune  animated  him  to  re 
doubled  exertion  ;  he  always  made  the  utmost 
of  his  resources ;  and  had  the  valuable  qual 
ity  of  adapting  small  means  to  the  achievement 
of  great  results. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


1777,  1778, 

WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 

Krat«  of  tbe  army  at  Valley  Forge. — Its  employments  during  the  winter. — Position  of  the  detachments  in  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Jersey. — Proposal  to  attack  Howe's  foragers. — Postponed  for  want  of  provisions. — Washington 
obtains  provisions  and  harasses  the  foragers. — Derangement  of  the  commissariat  by  Congress. — Colonel  Tnimbull 
retires  in  disgust. — Failure  of  provisions  for  the  army. — Washington's  exertions  to  obtain  a  supply. — Discontent 
of  the  officers. — The  Conway  Cabal. — Gates's  conduct. — New  Board  of  War. — Washington's  letter  to  Conway. — 
His  letter  to  Mr.  Laurons. — His  letter  to  Congress. — Its  effect. — Washington's  treatment  of  the  Conway  Cabal. — 
Condition  of  the  army, — Position  of  the  officers. — Congress  sends  a  committee  to  the  camp  at  Valley  Forge. — 
Washington  furnishes  the  committee  with  a  plan  of  reform. — They  adopt  and  recommend  it  to  Congress. — Ques 
tion  of  half-pay  for  life. — Compromise  effected. — Attempt  to  surprise  Captain  Henry  Lee  defeated. — Proposed 
expedition  to  Canada. — Lafayette  to  command  it. — His  reluctance  overcome  by  Washington.- — The  design  aban 
doned. — Baron  Steuben  arrives  at  Valley  Forge.— Conway  abandons  the  service  and  returns  to  Europe. — Dispute 
about  the  prisoners  captured  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoync. — Final  disposition  of  the  prisoners. — Effect  of  the 
news  of  Burgoyne's  surrender  in  France. — In  England. — Lord  North's  conciliatory  bills. — Commissioners  for 
carrying  them  into  execution  appointed. — Their  failure. — Treaty  with  France  signed. — Its  terms. — Lord  North's 
conciliatory  bills  received  by  Congress. — Criticised  by  a  committee. — French  treaty  received  in  America. — Cele 
brated  by  the  army  at  Valley  Forge. — Fieligious  features  of  the  celebration. — British  commissioners  attempt  a 
reconciliation. — Are  unsuccessful. — Correspondence  of  Washington  and  Howe  about  the  exchange  of  prisoners.— 
Vexatious  interference  of  Congress  and  the  Board  of  War. — Partial  exchange  effected. — Many  Americans  still 
left  in  captivity. 

disciplined   army.     But  we   must   not 
anticipate  events. 

This  army,  which  was  under  the  im 
mediate  command  of  Washington,  was 
engaged  through  the  winter  in 
endeavoring  to  stop  the  inter 
course  between  Philadelphia  and  the 
country.  To  effect  this  object,  General 
Small  wood  was  detached  with  one  di 
vision  to  Wilmington  ;  Colonel  Morgan, 
who  had  been  detached  from  Gates's 
army,  was  placed  on  the  lines  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Schuylkill ;  and  Gen 
eral  Armstrong,  with  the  Pennsylvania 


have  already  given  some  details 
of  the  sufferings  endured  by  Washing 
ton  and  his  brave  soldiers  at  Valley 
Forge.  One  half  the  tale  is  not  told— 
never  will  be  told :  their  sufferings  were 
unutterable.  A  review  of  this  portion 
of  Washington's  life  will  show,  that  at 
Valley  Forge  not  only  was  a  great  deal 
suffered^  but  a  great  deal  was  done. 
Here  the  army  was  hardened  from  the 
gristle  of  youth  to  the  bone  and  muscle 
of  manhood.  It  entered  the  tents  of 
that  dreary  encampment  a  courageous 
but  disorderly  rabbie :  it  left  them  a 


1777. 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


671 


militia,  was  stationed  near  the  old  camp 
at  White  Marsh.  Major  Jameson,  with 
two  troops  of  cavalry,  and  M'Lane's  in 
fantry,  was  directed  to  guard  the  east, 
and  Captain  Henry  Lee,  with  his  troop, 
the  west  side  of  that  river.  General 
Count  Pulaski,  who  commanded  the 
horse,  led  the  residue  of  the  cavalry  to 
Trenton,  where  he  trained  them  for  the 
ensuing  campaign. 

One  of  the  first  operations  medita 
ted  by  Washington,  after  crossing  the 
Schuylkill,  was  the  destruction  of  a 
large  quantity  of  hay  which  remained 
in  the  islands  above  the  mouth  of  Darby 
Creek,  writhin  the  power  of  the  British. 
Early  in  the  morning  after  his  orders 

J  o 

for  this  purpose  had  been  given  (De 
cember  22),  Howe  marched  out  in  full 
force,  and  encamped  between  Darby 
and  the  middle  ferry,  so  as  completely 
to  cover  the  islands,  while  a  foraging 
party  removed  the  hay.  Washington, 
with  the  intention  of  disturbing  this 
operation,  gave  orders  for  putting  his 
army  in  motion,  when  the  alarming  fact 
was  disclosed,  that  the  commissary's 
stores  were  exhausted,  and  that  the  last 
ration  had  been  delivered  and  con 
sumed. 

Accustomed  as  were  the  continental 
troops-  to  privations  of  every  sort,  it 
would  have  been  hazarding  too  much 
to  move  them,  under  these  circumstan 
ces,  against  a  powerful  enemy.  In  a 
desert,  or  in  a  garrison  where  food  is 
unattainable,  courage,  patriotism,  and 
habits  of  discipline,  enable  the  soldier 
to  conquer  wants  which,  in  ordinary  sit 


uations,  would  be  deemed  invincible. 
But  to  perish  in  a  country  abounding 
with  provisions  requires  something  more 
than  fortitude  ;  nor  can  soldiers  readily 
submit,  while  in  such  a  country,  to  the 
deprivation  of  food.  It  is  not  therefore 
surprising,  that  among  a  few  of  the 
troops  some  indications  of  a  mutiny  ap 
peared.  It  is  much  more  astonishing 
that  the  great  body  of  the  army  bore  a 
circumstance  so  irritating,  and  to  them 
so  unaccountable,  without  a  murmur. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  the  fact, 
Washington  ordered  the  country  to  be 
scoured,  and  provisions,  for  supplying 
the  pressing  wants  of  the  moment,  to 
be  seized  wherever  found.  In  the  mean 
time,  light  parties  were  detached  to 
harass  the  enemy  about  Darby,  where 
Howe,  with  his  accustomed  circumspec 
tion,  kept  his  army  so  compact,  and  his 
soldiers  so  within  the  lines,  that  an  op 
portunity  to  annoy  him  was  seldom 
afforded  even  to  the  vigilance  of  Mor 
gan  and  Lee.  After  completing  his 
forage,  he  returned,  with  inconsiderable 
loss,  to  Philadelphia. 

That  the  American  army,  while  the 
value  still  retained  by  paper  bills  placed 
ample  funds  in  the  hands  of  govern 
ment,  should  be  destitute  of  food,  in  the 
midst  of  a  State  so  abounding  with  pro 
visions  as  Pennsylvania,  is  one  of  those 
extraordinary  facts  which  cannot  fail  to 
excite  attention.  A  few  words  of  ex 
planation  seem  to  be  needed  to  account 
for  such  a  fact.  Early  in  the  war,  the 
office  of  commissary-general  had  been 
conferred  on  Colonel  Trumbull,  of  Con- 


672 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[BOOK  IV. 


necticut,  a  gentleman  well  fitted  for  that 

»         O 

important  station.  Yet,  from  the  diffi 
culty  of  arranging  so  complicated  a  de 
partment,  complaints  were  repeatedly 
made  of  the  insufficiency  of  supplies. 
The  subject  was  taken  up  by  Congress; 
but  the  remedy  administered  served 
only  to  increase  the  disease.  The  sys 
tem  was  not  completed  till  near  mid 
summer  ;  and  then  its  arrangements 

'  O 

were  such,  that  Colonel  Trambull  re 
fused  the  office  assigned  to  him.  The 
new  plan  contemplated  a  number  of 
subordinate  officers,  all  to  be  appointed 
by  Congress,  and  neither  accountable 
to,  nor  removable  by,  the  head  of  the 
department.  This  arrangement,  which 
was  made  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  the  commander-in-chief,  drove 
Colonel  Trumbull  from  the  army.  Con 
gress,  however,  persisted  in  the  system, 
and  its  effects  were  not  long  in  unfold 
ing  themselves.  In  every  military  di 
vision  of  the  continent,  loud  complaints 
were  made  of  the  deficiency  of  supplies. 
The  armies  were  greatly  embarrassed, 
and  their  movements  suspended,  by  the 
want  of  provisions.  The  present  total 
failure  of  all  supply  was  preceded  by 
issuing  meat  unfit  to  be  eaten.  Repre 
sentations  on  this  subject  had  been 
made  to  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
communicated  to  Congress.  That  body 
had  authorized  him  to  seize  provisions 
for  the  use  of  his  army  within  seventy 
miles  of  head-quarters,  and  to  pay  for 
them  in  money  or  in  certificates.  The 
odium  of  this  measure  was  increased  by 
the  failure  of  government  to  provide 


funds  to  take  up  these  certificates  when 
presented.  At  the  same  time,  the  pro 
visions  carried  into  Philadelphia  were 
paid  for  in  specie  at  a  fair  price.  The 
temptation  was  too  great  to  be  resisted. 
Such  was  the  dexterity  employed  by 
the  inhabitants  in  eluding  the  laws, 

O 

that  notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of 
the  troops  stationed  on  the  lines,  they 
often  succeeded  in  concealing  their  pro 
visions  from  those  authorized  to  impress 
for  the  army,  and  in  conveying  them  to 
Philadelphia.  Washington,  urged  on 
by  Congress,  issued  a  proclamation,  re 
quiring  all  the  farmers  within  seventy 
miles  of  Valley  Forge  to  thresh  out  one 
half  of  their  grain  by  the  1st  of  Febru 
ary,  and  the  rest  by  the  1st  of  March, 
under  the  penalty  of  having  the  whole 
seized  as  straw.  Many  farmers  refused, 
defended  their  grain  and  cattle  with 
muskets  and  rifle,  and  in  some  instances 
burnt  what  they  could  not  defend. 

It  would  seem  that  Washington  had 
a  sufficiently  heavy  burden  upon  his 
shoulders,  in  the  harassing  cares  and 
anxieties  of  his  position,  and  that  he 
might  have  been  spared  from  trials  of 
another  sort,  to  which  he  was  exposed 
at  this  time  ;  but  Washington  experi 
enced  what  every  great  and  good  man 
must  expect  to  meet  with  in  an  envious 
and  malicious  world.  Thus  far,  appa 
rently,  little  else  than  ill  success  had 
attended  the  military  exploits  of  the 
commander-in-chief.  He  had  been  com 
pelled  to  retreat  continually  before  a 
powerful  enemy.  New,  York  and  Phil 
adelphia  had  been  lost ;  and  there  was 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


673 


almost  nothing  of  a  brilliant  or  striking 
character  in  what  had  transpired  during 
the  war,  under  Washington's  immediate 
direction.  On  the  other  hand,  the  vic 
tory  at  Saratoga  had  thrown  a  lustre 
around  Gates's  name,  which  far  out 
shone,  for  the  time,  the  solid  and  en 
during  light  of  Washington's  noble  and 
patriotic  devotion  to  his  country.  It 
was  the  first  great  victory  of  the  war, 
and  it  was  a  victory  which  necessarily 
had  a  most  important  effect  upon  the 
future  prospects  of  the  United  States. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  restless  and  envi 
ous  men  should  make  invidious  compar 
isons  between  the  hero  of  Saratoga  and 
the  commander-in-chief.  No  wonder 
that  Washington  should  suffer  from  de 
traction,  and  the  intrigues  of  dissatisfied 
and  scheming  men,  to  whom  his  unsul 
lied  virtue,  purity,  and  integrity  were 
invincible  obstacles  to  every  design  of 
theirs  to  promote  selfish  or  ambitious 
ends. 

A  direct  and  systematic  attempt  was 
made  to  ruin  the  reputation  of  Wash 
ington,  and  from  the  name  of  the  person 
principally  concerned,  this  attempt  is 
known  by  the  title  of  Conway's  Cabal. 
General  Gates  and  General  Mifflin,  of 
the  army,  and  Samuel  Adams,  and  oth 
ers  in  Congress,  had  more  or  less  to  do 
with  this  matter.  Gates  and  Mifflin  had 
taken  offence  at  not  receiving  certain 
appointments  during  the  siege  of  Bos 
ton,  and  were  at  no  time  well  disposed 
towards  Washington ;  Con  way,  a  rest 
less,  boastful,  and  intriguing  character, 
had  always  been  distrusted  by  Wash- 

Voi..  I, -85 


ington,  and  he  knew  it.  Some  of  the 
New  England  members,  do  not  seem 
ever  to  have  cordially  liked  Wash 
ington's  appointment  as  commander- 
in-chief;  and  now,  when  the  capture 
of  Burgoyne  had  been  effected  by  the 
northern  army,  without  the  interven 
tion  of  Washington,  the  malcontents 
ventured  to  assume  a  bolder  attitude. 
Anonymous  letters  were  freely  circula 
ted,  attributing  the  ill  success  of  the 
American  arms  to  the  incapacity  or 
vacillating  policy  of  Washington,  and 
filled  with  insinuations  and  exaggerated 
complaints  against  the  commander-in- 
chief.* 

Washington  was  not  unaware  of  what 

O 

his  enemies  were  attempting,  but  it  was 
not  till  after  the  victory  of  Saratoga  that 
the  matter  assumed  a  definite  shape. 
The  success  of  the  northern  army,  which 
in  fact  was  chiefly  due  to  Schuyler,  so 
elated  Gates,  that  he  seemed  to  adopt 
the  views  of  those  other  members  of 
the  cabal  who  were  disposed  to  favor 
his  aspirations  to  the  office  of  command 
er-in-chief.  He  even  ventured  to  do, 
what  few  men  ever  dared,  to  treat 
Washington  with  disrespect.  After  the 
victory  of  the  seventh  of  October  had 
opened  to  him  the  prospect  of  subduing 
the  army  of  Burgoyne,  he  lot  only  omit 
ted  to  communicate  his  success  to  Wash 
ington,  but  carried  on  a  correspondence 
with  Conway,  in  which  that  officer  ex 
pressed  great  contempt  for  the  com 
mander-in-chief.  When  the  purport  of 


Spencer,  History  of  the  United  States. 


674 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


this  correspondence,  which  had  been  di 
vulged  by  Wilkinson  to  Lord  Stirling, 
became  known  to  Washington,  he  ex 
ploded  the  whole  affair  by  sending  the 
offensive  expressions  directly  to  Con- 
way,  who  communicated  the  informa 
tion  to  Gates.*  Gates  demanded  the 
name  of  the  informer  in  a  letter  to 
Washington,  far  from  being  conciliatory 
in  its  terms,  which  was  accompanied  with 
the  very  extraordinary  circumstance  of 
being  passed  through  Congress.  Wash 
ington's  answer  completely  humbled 
him.  It  pointed  out  the  inconsistencies 
and  contradictions  of  Gates's  defence, 
and  showed  him  that  Washington  had 
penetrated  his  whole  scheme,  and  re 
garded  it  with  lofty  contempt.  In  a 
subsequent  letter,  Gates  besought  him. 
to  bury  the  subject  in  oblivion. 

Meantime,  Washington's  enemies  in 
Congress  were  bold  and  active.  A  new 
Board  of  War  was  created,  of  which 
Gates  was  appointed  the  president ;  and 
Mifflin,  who  was  of  the  party  unfriendly 
to  Washington,  was  one  of  its  members. 
Conway,  who  was  probably  the  only 
brigadier  in  the  army  that  had  joined 
this  faction,  was  appointed  inspector- 
general,  and  was  promoted,  above  senior 
brigadiers,  to  the  rank  of  major-general. 

0  The  cool  contempt  expressed  in  Washington's  letter 
to  Conway  is  one  of  the  most  curious  features  of  this 
affair.  It  reads  as  follows  :  "To  BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
COXWAY  :  SIR — A  letter  which  I  received  last  night  con 
tained  the  following  paragraph  :  'In  a  letter  from  Gen 
eral  Conway  to  General  Gates,  he  says,  "Heaven  has 
determined  to  save  your  country,  or  a  weak  general  and  lad 
counsellors  would  have  ruined  it."  '  I  am,  sir,  your  humble 
servant." 


These  were  evidences  that,  if  the  hold 
which  the  cominander-in-chief  had  taken 
of  the  affections  and  confidence  of  the 
army  and  nation  could  be  loosened,  the 
party  in  Congress  disposed  to  change 
their  general  was  far  from  being  con 
temptible  in  point  of  numbers.  But  to 
loosen  this  hold  was  impossible.  The 
indignation  with  which  the  idea  of  such 
a  change  was  received,  even  by  the  vic 
torious  troops  who  had  conquered  under 
Gates,  forms  the  most  conclusive  proof 
of  its  strength.  Even  the  northern 
army  clung  to  Washington  as  the  sa 
viour  of  his  country. 

These  machinations  to  diminish  the 
well-earned  reputation  of  Washington 
made  no  undue  impression  on  his  steady 
mind,  nor  did  they  change  one  of  his 
measures.  His  sensibilities  seem  to  have 
been  those  of  patriotism,  of  apprehen 
sion  for  his  country,  rather  than  of 
wounded  pride.f  His  desire  to  remain 
at  the  head  of  the  army  seemed  to  flow 
from  the  conviction  that  his  retaining 

<D 

that  station  would  be  useful  to  his  coun 
try,  rather  than  from  the  gratification 
his  high  rank  might  furnish  to  ambition. 
When  he  unbosomed  himself  to  his  pri 
vate  friends,  the  feelings  and  sentiments 
he  expressed  were  worthy  of  Washing 
ton.  To  Mr.  Laurens,^  the  President  of 
Congress,  and  his  private  friend,  who, 
in  an  unofficial  letter,  had  communi- 


f  Marshall. 

J  John  Hancock,  who  succeeded  Tcyton  Randolph  as 
president  of  Congress,  retired  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1777.  His  successor  was  Henry  Laurens,  of  South  Caro 
lina.  See  Document  [A]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


cated  an  anonymous  accusation  made 
to  him  as  president,  containing  heavy 
charges  against  the  command er-in-chief, 
he  said :  "  I  cannot  sufficiently  express 
the  obligation  I  feel  towards  you  for 
your  friendship  and  politeness  upon  an 
occasion  in  which  I  am  deeply  inter 
ested.  I  was  not  unapprised  that  a  ma 
lignant  faction  had  been  for  some  time 
forming  to%  my  prejudice,  which,  con 
scious  as  I  am  of  having  ever  done  all 
in  my  power  to  answer  the  important 
purposes  of  the  trusts  reposed  in  me, 
could  not  but  give  me  some  pain  on  a 
personal  account ;  but  my  chief  concern 
arises  from  an  apprehension  of  the  dan 
gerous  consequences  which  intestine  dis 
sensions  may  produce  to  the  common 
cause. 

"As  I  have  no  other  view  than  to 
promote  the  public  good,  and  am  un 
ambitious  of  honors  not  founded  in  the 
approbation  of  my  country,  I  would  not 
desire,  in  the  least  degree,  to  suppress  a 
free  spirit  of  inquiry  into  any  part  of 
my  conduct  that  even  faction  itself  may 
deem  reprehensible.  The  anonymous 
paper  handed  you  exhibits  many  seri 
ous  charges,  and  it  is  my  wish  that  it 
may  be  submitted  to  Congress.  This  I 
am  the  more  inclined  to,  as  the  suppres 
sion  or  concealment  may  possibly  in 
volve  you  in  embarrassment  hereafter, 
since  it  is  uncertain  how  many,  or  who, 
may  be  privy  to  the  contents. 

"  My  enemies  take  an  ungenerous  ad 
vantage  of  me.  They  know  the  deli 
cacy  of  my  situation,  and  that  motives 
of  policy  deprive  me  of  the  defence  I 


might  otherwise  make  against  their  in 
sidious  attacks.  They  know  I  cannot 
combat  their  insinuations,  however  inju 
rious,  without  disclosing  secrets  it  is  of 
the  utmost  moment  to  conceal.  But 
why  should  I  expect  to  be  free  from 
censure,  the  unfailing  lot  of  an  elevated 
station  ?  Merit  and  talents  which  I 
cannot  pretend  to  rival,  have  ever  been 
subject  to  it.  My  heart  tells  rne  it  has 
been  my  unremitted  aim  to  do  the  best 
which  circumstances  would  permit.  Yet 
I  may  have  been  very  often  mistaken  in 
my  judgment  of  the  means,  and  may  in 
many  instances  deserve  the  imputation 
of  error." 

While  Washington  expressed  himself 
in  these  modest  terms  to  a  personal 
friend,  he  assumed  a  much  bolder  and 
higher  tone  to  the  dastardly  enemies 
who  were  continually  thwarting  his  de 
signs  and  injuring  the  public  service  by 
their  malignity  and  incapacity.  These 
were  public  enemies  to  be  publicly  ar 
raigned.  Seizing  the  occasion  to  which 
we  have  already  referred,  wdien  the  ar 
my  was  unable  to  march  against  the 
enemy  for  want  of  provisions,  he  sent 
to  the  President  of  Congress  the  follow 
ing  letter,  which  of  course,  like  the  rest 
of  his  correspondence,  was  to  be  read 
to  the  whole  house.  It  is  severer  than 
any  he  had  ever  written : 

"  Full  as  I  was  in  my  representation 
of  the  matters  in  the  commissary's  de 
partment  yesterday,  fresh  and  more 
powerful  reasons  oblige  me  to  add  that  I 
am  now  convinced  beyond  a  doubt,  that, 
unless  some  great  and  capital  change 


676 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


suddenly  takes  place  in  that  line,  this 
army  must  inevitably  be  reduced  to  one 
or  other  of  these  three  things — to  starve, 
dissolve,  or  disperse  in  order  to  obtain 
subsistence.  Rest  assured,  sir,  that  this 
is  not  an  exaggerated  picture,  and  that 
I  have  abundant  reason  to  suppose  what 
I  say. 

"  Saturday  afternoon,  receiving  infor 
mation  that  the  enemy,  in  force,  had 
left  the  city,  and  were  advancing  to 
wards  Darby  with  apparent  design  to 
forage,  and  draw  subsistence  from  that 
part  of  the  country,  I  ordered  the  troops 
to  be  in  readiness,  that  I  might  give 
every  opposition  in  my  power ;  when, 
to  my  great  mortification,  I  was  not 
only  informed,  but  convinced,  that  the 
men  were  unable  to  stir  on  account  of  a 
want  of  provisions  ;  and  that  a  danger 
ous  mutiny,  begun  the  night  before,  and 
which  with  difficulty  was  suppressed  by 
the  spirited  exertions  of  some  officers, 
was  still  much  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  want  of  this  article. 

"This  brought  forth  the  only  com 
missary  in  the  purchasing  line  in  this 
camp,  and  with  him  this  melancholy 
and  alarming  truth,  that  he  had  not  a 
single  hoof  of  any  kind  to  slaughter, 
and  not  more  than  twenty-five  barrels 
of  flour !  From  hence,  form  an  opinion 
of  our  situation,  when  I  add  that  he 
could  not  tell  when  to  expect  any. 

"  All  I  could  do  under  these  circum 
stances,  was  to  send  out  a  few  light 
parties  to  watch  and  harass  the  enemy, 
whilst  other  parties  were  instantly  de 
tached  different  ways  to  collect,  if  pos 


sible,  as  much  provisions  as  would  sat 
isfy  the  pressing  wants  of  the  soldiers  ; 
but  will  this  answer  ?  No,  sir.  Three  or 
four  days  of  bad  weather  would  prove 
our  destruction.  What  then  is  to  be 
come  of  the  army  this  winter  ?  And  if 
we  are  now  as  often  without  provisions 
as  with  them,  what  is  to  become  of  us 
in  the  spring,  when  our  force  will  be 
collected,  with  the  aid  perhaps  of  mili 
tia,  to  take  advantage  of  an  early  cam 
paign  before  the  enemy  can  be  rein 
forced  ?  These  are  considerations  of 
great  magnitude,  meriting  the  closest 
attention,  and  will,  when  my  own  repu 
tation  is  so  intimately  connected  with, 
and  to  be  affected  by  the  event,  justify 
my  saying,  that  the  present  commissa 
ries  are  by  no  means  equal  to  the  exe 
cution  of  the  office,  or  that  the  disaffec 
tion  of  the  people  surpasses  all  belief. 
The  misfortune,  however,  does,  in  my 
opinion,  proceed  from  both  causes ;  and 
though  I  have  been  tender  heretofore 

O 

of  giving  any  opinion,  or  of  lodging 
complaints,  as  the  change  in  that  de 
partment  took  place  contrary  to  my 
judgment,  and  the  consequences  thereof 
were  predicted,  yet,  finding  that  the  in 
activity  of  the  army,  whether  for  want 
of  provisions,  clothes,  or  other  essentials, 
is  charged  to  my  account,  not  only  by 
the  common  vulgar,  but  by  those  in 
power,  it  is  time  to  speak  plain  in  ex 
culpation  of  myself.  With  truth,  then, 
I  can  declare  that  no  man,  in  my  opin 
ion,  ever  had  his  measures  more  impeded 
than  I  have,  by  every  department  of 
the  army.  Since  the  month  of  July,  we 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


6T7 


have  had  no  assistance  from  the  quarter 
master-general  ;  and  to  want  of  assist 
ance,  from  this  department,  the  commis 
sary-general  charges  great  part  of  his 
deficiency.  To  this  I  am  to  add,  that, 
notwithstanding  it  is  a  standing  order 
(often  repeated)  that  the  troops  shall 
always  have  two  days'  provision  "by 
them,  that  they  may  be  ready  at  any 
sudden  call ;  yet  scarcely  any  opportu 
nity  has  ever  offered  of  taking  advan 
tage  of  the  enemy,  that  has  not  been 
either  totally  obstructed,  or  greatly  im 
peded,  on  this  account ;  and  this,  the 
great  and  crying  evil,  is  not  all.  Soap, 
vinegar,  and  other  articles  allowed  by 
Congress,  we  see  none  of,  nor  have  we 
seen  them,  I  believe,  since  the  battle  of 
Brandywine.  The  first,  indeed,  we  have 
little  occasion  for — few  men  having  more 
than  one  shirt,  many  only  the  moiety  of 
one,  and  some  none  at  all.  In  addition 
to  which,  as  a  proof  of  the  little  benefit 
from  a  clothier-general,  and  at  the  same 
time,  as  a  further  proof  of  the  inability 
of  an  army  under  the  circumstances  of 
this  to  perform,  the  common  duties  of 
soldiers,  we  have,  by  a  field  return  this 
day  made,  besides  a  number  of  men 
confined  to  hospitals  for  want  of  shoes, 
and  others  in  farmers'  houses  on  the 
same  account,  no  less  than  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight  men, 
now  in  camp,  unfit  for  duty,  because 
they  are  barefoot,  and  otherwise  naked. 
By  the  same  return,  it  appears  that  our 
whole  strength  in  continental  troops, 
including  the  eastern  brigades,  which 

O  O  ' 

have  joined  us  since  the  surrender  of 


General  Burgoyne,  exclusive  of  the 
Maryland  troops  sent  to  Wilmington, 
amounts  to  no  more  than  eight  thou 
sand  two  hundred  in  camp  fit  for  duty ; 
notwithstanding  which,  and  that  since 
the  fourth  instant,  our  number  fit  for 
duty,  from  the  hardships  and  exposures 
they  have  undergone,  particularly  from 
the  want  of  blankets,  have  decreased 
near  two  thousand  men,  we  find  gentle 
men,  without  knowing  whether  the  ar 
my  was  really  going  into  winter-quarters 
or  not  (for  I  am  sure  no  resolution  of 
mine  would  warrant  the  remonstrance), 
reprobating  the  measure  as  much  as  if 
they  thought  the  soldiers  were  made  of 
stocks  or  stones,  and  equally  insensible  to 
frost  and  snow ;  and,  moreover,  as  if  they 
conceived  it  easily  practicable  for  an 
inferior  army,  under  the  disadvantages 
I  have  described  ours  to  be — which  are 
by  no  means  exaggerated — to  confine  a 
superior  one,  in  all  respects  well  appoint 
ed  and  provided  for  a  winter's  campaign, 
within  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  to 
cover  from  depredation  and  waste  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania,  Jersey,  &c.  But 
what  makes  this  matter  still  more  ex 
traordinary  in  my  eye  is,  that  these 
very  gentlemen,  who  were  well  apprised 
of  the  nakedness  of  the  troops  from  oc 
ular  demonstration,  who  thought  their 
own  soldiers  worse  clad  than  others,  and 
advised  me,  near  a  month  ago,  to  post 
pone  the  execution  of  a  plan  I  was  about 
to  adopt,  in  consequence  of  a  resolve  of 
Congress  for  seizing  clothes,  under  strong 
assurances  that  an  ample  supply  would 
be  collected  in  ten  days,  agreeably  to  a 


678 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boos  IV. 


decree  of  the  State  (not  one  article  of 
which,  by  the  by,  is  yet  come  to  hand), 
should  think  a  winter's  campaign,  and 
the  covering  of  their  States  from  the 
invasion  of  an  enemy,  so  easy  and  prac 
ticable  a  business.  I  can  assure  those 
gentlemen,  that  it  is  a  much  easier  and 
less  distressing  thing  to  draw  remon 
strances  in  a  comfortable  room,  by  a 
good  fireside,  than  to  occupy  a  cold, 
bleak  hill,  and  sleep  under  frost  and 
snow,  without  clothes  or  blankets. 
However,  although  they  seem  to  have 
little  feeling  for  the  naked  and  dis 
tressed  soldiers,  I  feel  superabundantly 
for  them,  and  from  my  soul  pity  those 
miseries  which  it  is  not  in  my  power 
either  to  relieve  or  to  prevent." 

This  letter  must  have  convinced 
Washington's  implacable  enemies  in 
Congress  that  he  had  no  thoughts  of 
conciliating  them.  He  despised  and 
defied  them.  Its  effect  on  those  who 
were  friendly  to  him,  would  necessarily 
be  inspiriting.  His  bold  attitude  justi 
fied  their  reliance  on  his  moral  courage, 
and  enabled  them  to  demand  the  en 
actment  of  those  measures  which  were 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the 
army,  and  the  successful  assertion  of  the 
country's  independence. 

It  is  probable  that  this  letter  gave 
the  finishing  stroke  to  the  Conway  Ca 
bal.  While  Gates  and  Mifflin  denied 
that  they  had  ever  desired  or  aimed  at 
Washington's  removal  from  the  office 
of  commander-in-chief,  and  sought  to 
recover  his  confidence,  Conway  himself, 
who  was  still  inspector-general,  after 


denying  any  design  to  remove  Wash 
ington,  still  maintained  an  offensive  at 
titude  towards  him,  wrote  impertinent 
letters  to  him,  and  persisted  in  intriguing 
against  him  with  Congress.  But  he 

O  O 

found  himself  foiled  in  all  his  ambitious 
and  factious  designs,  and  he  had  become 
excessively  unpopular  in  the  army.  He 
felt,  at  last,  that  he  was  in  a  false  posi 
tion  :  we  shall  presently  see  how  his 
career  in  this  country  terminated. 

Washington's  conduct  through  the 
whole  period  of  the  Conway  Cabal, 
which  lasted  several  months,  is  highly 
characteristic  of  the  man.  While  lie 
regarded  it  with  contempt  so  far  as  he 
was  personally  concerned,  he  felt  an 
noyed  and  distressed  at  the  injury 
which  it  was  inflicting  on  the  public 
service.  When  the  moment  was  come 
for  unmasking  the  conspirators,  by  in 
forming  Conway  that  he  was  aware  of 
their  designs,  he  applied  the  match 
which  was  to  explode  the  whole  plot, 
and  cover  its  originators  with  shame 
and  confusion.  This  he  did  in  a  quiet, 
business-like  way,  because  the  public 
service  required  it.  Congress,  having 
committed  itself  by  promoting  his  ene 
mies,  could  not  at  once  retract ;  but  the 
officers  themselves  made  haste  to  escape 
from  public  indignation  by  denials  and 
apologies ;  and  the  final  effect  of  the  Con- 
way  Cabal  was  to  establish  Washington 
more  firmly  than  ever  in  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  the  whole  country/" 

°  The  correspondence  relating  to  the  Conway  Cabal  is 
given  entire  in  the  Appendix  to  the  fifth  volume  of 
Sparks' s  Writings  of  Washington.  It  is  very  curious 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


679 


His  situatioD,  however,  was  by  no 
means  enviable.  His  army  was  much 
attached  to  him ;  but,  weakened  by 
disease,  and  irritated  by  nakedness  and 
hunger,  it  was  almost  on  the  point  of 
dissolution.  In  the  midst  of  the  diffi 
culties  and  dangers  with  which  he  was 
surrounded,  Washington  displayed  a 
singular  degree  of  steady  perseverance, 
unshaken  fortitude,  and  unwearied  ac 
tivity.  Instead  of  manifesting  irritable 
impatience  under  the  malignant  attacks 
made  on  his  character,  he  behaved  with 
magnanimity,  and  earnestly  applied  to 
Congress,  and  to  the  legislative  bodies 
of  the  several  States,  for  reinforcements 
to  his  army,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
prepared  to  act  with  vigor  in  the  ensu 
ing  campaign. 

But  to  recruit  and  equip  the  army 
was  no  easy  task.  The  great  deprecia 
tion  of  paper  money  rendered  the  pay 
of  the  soldiers  inadequate  to  their  sup 
port  ;  and,  consequently,  it  was  not 
likely  that  voluntary  enlistment  would 
be  successful,  especially  since  the  patri 
otic  ardor  of  many  had  begun  to  cool 
by  the  continuance  of  the  war,  and  all 
knew  that  great  hardships  and  dangers 
were  to  be  encountered  by  joining  the 
army.  The  pay  even  of  the  officers,  in 
the  depreciated  paper  currency,  was 
wholly  unequal  to  the  maintenance  of 
their  rank.  Some  of  them  who  had 
small  patrimonial  estates  found  them 


and  interesting.  Among  other  letters,  are  anonymous 
ones  addressed  to  Patrick  Henry,  governor  of  Virginia, 
and  to  Mr.  Laurens,  president  of  Congress,  full  of  slan 
ders  against  Washington 


melting  away,  while  their  lives  were 
unprofitably  devoted  to  the  service  of 
their  country ;  and  they  who  had  no 
private  fortune  could  not  appear  in  a 
manner  becoming  their  station.  A  com 
mission  was  a  burden ;  and  many  con 
sidered  the  acceptance  of  one  as  confer 
ring  rather  than  receiving  a  favor, — a 
state  of  things  highly  disadvantageous 
to  the  service ;  for  the  duties  of  an  office 
scarcely  reckoned  worth  holding  will 
seldom  be  zealously  and  actively  dis 
charged.  There  was  reason  to  appre 
hend  that  many  of  the  most  meritorious 
officers  would  resign  their  commissions, 
and  that  they  only  who  were  less  qual 
ified  for  service  would  remain  with  the 
army. 

Congress,  moved  by  the  remonstran 
ces  of  Washington,  and  by  the  com 
plaints  with  which  they  were  assailed 
from  every  quarter,  deputed  a  commit 
tee  of  their  body  to  reside  in  camp 
durinor  the  winter :  and,  in  concert  with 

O  77. 

the  general,  to  examine  the  state  of  the 
army,  and  report  on  the  measures  neces 
sary  to  be  taken  for  placing  it  in  a  more 
respectable  condition.  The  members  of 
this  committee  were  Francis  Dana,  Gen 
eral  Reed,  Nathaniel  Folsom,  Charles 
Carroll,  and  Governeur  Morris.  On 
their  arrival  at  Valley  Forge,  Washing 
ton  submitted  to  them  a  memoir,  filling 
fifty  folio  pages,  exhibiting  the  existing 
state  of  the  army,  the  deficiencies  and 
disorders,  and  their  causes,  and  suggest 
ing  such  reforms  as  he  deemed  neces 
sary.  Upon  this  document  the  plan  for 
improving  the  efficiency  of  the  army 


680 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


1TT8. 


was  formed,  and  communicated  to  Con 
gress  by  the  committee,  who  remained 
in  camp  nearly  three  months.  Congress 
approved  of  their  proceedings,  and 
adopted  their  plan  ;  but  they  legislated 
so  slowly,  that  the  effect  of  their  pro 
ceedings  was  hardly  felt  before 
the  month  of  April. 
Among  the  reforms  recommended  by 
the  committee,  called  the  "Committee 
of  Arrangement,"  who  were  sent  to  the 

O  / 

camp,  none  met  with  so  much  opposi 
tion  in  Congress  as  that  which  provided 
for  increasing  the  pay  of  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army.  Hitherto 
there  had  been  no  provision  made  for 
officers  after  the  war  should  end,  and 
the  pay  which  they  were  actually  re 
ceiving,  being  in  depreciated  continental 
bills,  was  merely  nominal.  To  the  eifect 
of  this  state  of  things  in  the  army  we 
have  already  adverted.  It  was  most 
disastrous.  Washington  was  desirous 
that  Congress  should  make  provision 
for  giving  officers  half-pay  for  life,  or 
some  other  permanent  provision,  and 
increasing  the  inducements  for  soldiers 
to  enlist.  A  party  in  Congress  opposed 
this,  as  having  the  appearance  of  a 
standing  army,  a  pension  list,  and  a 
privileged  order  in  society. 

In  a  letter  to  Congress,  Washington 
said  :  "  If  my  opinion  is  asked  with  re 
spect  to  the  necessity  of  making  this 
provision  for  the  officers,  I  am  ready  to 
declare,  that  I  do  most  religiously  be 
lieve  the  salvation  of  the  cause  depends 
upon  it ;  and,  without  it,  your  officers 
will  moulder  to  nothing,  or  be  com 


posed  of  low  and  illiterate  men,  void  of 
capacity  for  this  or  any  other  business. 
"  Personally,  as  an  officer,  I  have  no 
interest  in  their  decision,  because  I  have 
declared,  and  I  now  repeat  it,  that  I 
never  will  receive  the  smallest  benefit 
from  the  half-pay  establishment ;  but, 
as  a  man,  who  fights  under  the  weight 

7  O  O 

of  a  proscription,  and  as  a  citizen,  who 
wishes  to  see  the  liberty  of  his  country 
established  upon  a  permanent  founda 
tion,  and  whose  property  depends  upon 
the  success  of  our  arms,  I  am  deeply  in 
terested.  But,  all  this  apart,  and  justice 
out  of  the  question,  upon  the  single 
ground  of  economy  and  public  saving, 
I  will  maintain  the  utility  of  it ;  for  I 
have  not  the  least  doubt  that,  until  offi 
cers  consider  their  commissions  in  an 
honorable  and  interested  point  of  view, 
and  are  afraid  to  endanger  them  by 
neorliorence  and  inattention,  no  order, 

O       O  '  ' 

regularity,  or  care,  either  of  the  men  or 
public  property,  will  prevail." 

The  following  passages,  from  a  letter 
addressed  to  a  delegate  in  Congress  from 
Virginia,  exhibit  the  view  Washington 
took,  at  the  time,  of  public  affairs,  and 
the  spirit  and  eloquence  with  which  he 
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  country  and 
the  army: 

"  Before  I  conclude,  there  are  one  or 
two  points  more  upon  which  I  will  add 
an  observation  or  two.  The  first  is,  the 
indecision  of  Congress,  and  the  delay 
used  in  comino;  to  determinations  on 

O 

matters  referred  to  them.     This  is  pro 
ductive  of  a  variety  of  inconveniences  ; 
!  and  an  early  decision,  in  many  cases, 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


681 


though  it  sliould  be  against  the  meas- 

o  o 

ure  submitted,  would  be  attended  with, 
less  pernicious  effects.  Some  new  plan 
might  then  be  tried ;  but  while  the  mat 
ter  is  held  in  suspense,  nothing  can  be 
attempted.  The  other  point  is,  the  jeal 
ousy  which  Congress  unhappily  enter 
tain  of  the  army,  and  which,  if  reports 
are  right,  some  members  labor  to  estab 
lish.  You  may  be  assured,  there  is 
nothing  more  injurious  or  more  un 
founded.  This  jealousy  stands  upon 
the  commonly  received  opinion,  which 
under  proper  limitations  is  certainly 
true,  that  standing  armies  are  danger 
ous  to  a  State.  The  prejudices  in  other 
countries  have  only  gone  to  them  in 
time  of  peace,  and  these  from  their  not 
having  in  general  cases  any  of  the  ties, 
the  concerns,  or  interests  of  citizens,  or 
any  other  dependence,  than  what  flowed 
from  their  military  employ ;  in  short, 
from  their  being  mercenaries,  hirelings. 
It  is  our  policy  to  be  prejudiced  against 
them  in  time  of  war,  though  they  are 
citizens,  having  all  the  ties  and  interests 
of  citizens,  and  in  most  cases  property 
totally  unconnected  with  the  military 
line. 

"  If  we  would  pursue  a  right  system, 
of  policy,  in  my  opinion,  there  should  be 
none  of  these  distinctions.  We  should 
all,  Congress  and  army,  be  considered 
as  one  people,  embarked  in  one  cause, 
in  one  interest ;  acting  on  the  same  prin 
ciple,  and  to  the  same  end.  The  dis 
tinction,  the  jealousies  set  up,  or  perhaps 
only  incautiously  let  out,  can  answer  not 
a  single  good  purpose.  They  are  im- 

VOL.  I.— 80 


politic  in  the  extreme.  Among  indi 
viduals,  the  most  certain  way  to  make 
a  man  your  enemy,  is  to  tell  him  you 
esteem  him  such.  So  with  public  bod 
ies  ;  and  the  very  jealousy  which  the 
narrow  politics  of  some  may  affect  to 
entertain  of  the  army,  in  order  to  a  due 
subordination  to  the  supreme  civil  au 
thority,  is  a  likely  means  to  produce  a 
contrary  effect — to  incline  it  to  the  pur 
suit  of  those  measures  which  they  may 
wish  it  to  avoid.  It  is  unjust,  because 
no  order  of  men  in  the  thirteen  States 
has  paid  a  more  sacred  regard  to  the 
proceedings  of  Congress  than  the  army ; 
for  without  arrogance  or  the  smallest  de 
viation  from  truth  it  may  be  said,  that 
no  history  now  extant  can  furnish  an 
instance  of  an  army's  suffering  such  un 
common  hardships  as  ours  has  done, 
and  bearing  them  with  the  same  pa 
tience  and  fortitude.  To  see  men,  with 
out  clothes  to  cover  their  nakedness, 
without  blankets  to  lie  on,  without 
shoes  (for  the  want  of  which  their 
marches  might  be  traced  by  the  blood 
from  their  feet),  and  almost  as  often 
without  provisions  as  with  them,  march 
ing  through  the  frost  and  snow,  and  at 
Christmas  taking  up  their  winter-quar 
ters  within  a  day's  march  of  the  enemy, 
without  a  house  or  hut  to  cover  them 
till  they  could  be  built,  and  submitting 
without  a  murmur,  is  a  proof  of  patience 
and  obedience  which  in  my  opinion  can 
scarce  be  paralleled." 

Such  representations  as  these  could 
not  fail  to  produce  some  effect  even  on 
the  minds  of  those  who  were  opposed 


G82 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


to  the  measures  which  Washington  pro 
posed.  Still,  the  action  of  Congress 
was,  as  usual,  dilatory.  After  a  great 
deal  of  discussion,  a  vote  was  passed  by 
a  small  majority  to  give  the  officers 
half-pay  for  life.  This  vote  was  recon 
sidered,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that 
the  officers  should  receive  half-pay  for 
seven  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  ; 
or  that  each  non-commissioned  officer 
and  soldier,  who  should  continue  in  the 
army  till  the  close  of  the  war,  should 
receive  a  bounty  of  eighty  dollars. 

We  have  anticipated  the  order  of 
time  in  order  to  dispose  finally  of  this 
matter,  which  was  not  terminated  till 
the  spring  of  17  78. 

During  the  winter,  Howe  confined 
his  operations  to  those  small  excursions 
that  were  calculated  to  enlarge  the  com 
forts  of  his  own  soldiers,  who,  notwith 
standing  the  favorable  dispositions  of 
the  neighboring  country,  were  much 
distressed  for  fuel,  and  often  in  great 
want  of  forage  and  fresh  provisions. 
The  vigilance  of  the  parties  on  the  lines, 
especially  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Schuylkill,  intercepted  a  large  portion 
of  the  supplies  intended  for  the  Phila 
delphia  market;  and  corporal  punish 
ment  was  frequently  inflicted  on  those 
who  were  detected  in  attempting  this 
infraction  of  the  laws.  As  Captain 
Henry  Lee,  called  in  the  army  "  Light 
Horse  Harry,"*  was  particularly  active, 
a  plan  was  formed,  late  in  January,  to 
surprise  and  capture  him  in  his  quarters. 


°  See  Document  [B]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


An  extensive  circuit  was  made  by  a 
large  body  of  cavalry,  who  seized  fo  ir 
of  his  patroles  without  communicating 
an  alarm.  About  break  of  day  the 
British  horse  appeared ;  upon  which 
Captain  Lee  placed  his  troopers  that 
were  in  the  house  at  the  doors  and 
windows,  who  behaved  so  gallantly  as 
to  repulse  the  assailants  without  losing 
a  horse  or  man.  Only  Lieutenant  Lind 
say  and  one  private  were  wounded. 
The  whole  number  in  the  house  did  not 
exceed  ten.  That  of  the  assailants  was 
said  to  amount  to  two  hundred.  They 
lost  a  sergeant  and  three  men,  with  sev 
eral  horses,  killed;  and  an  officer  and 
three  men  wounded.f 

The  result  of  this  skirmish  gave  great 
pleasure  to  Washington,  who  had  formed 
a  high  opinion  of  Lee's  talents  as  a  par 
tisan.  He  mentioned  the  affair  in  his 
orders  with  strong  marks  of  approba 
tion  ;  and,  in  a  private  letter  to  the 
captain,  testified  the  satisfaction  he  felt. 
For  his  merit  through  the  preceding 
campaign,  Congress  promoted  him  to 
the  rank  of  major,  and  gave  him  an  in 
dependent  partisan  corps,  to  consist  of 
three  troops  of  horse. 

While  the  deficiency  of  the  public 
resources,  arising  from  the  alarming  de 
preciation  of  the  bills  of  credit,  manifest 
ed  itself  in  all  the  military  departments, 
a  plan  was  matured  in  Congress,  and  in 
the  Board  of  War,  without  consulting 
the  commander-in-chief,  for  a  second  ir- 

f  Previous  to  this  affair,  Captain  Lee,  in  his  frequent 
skirmishes  with  the  enemy,  had  already  captured  at 
least  a  hundred  of  their  men. 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


ruption  into  Canada.  It  was  proposed 
to  place  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  at 
the  head  of  this  expedition,  and  to  em 
ploy  Generals  Conway  and  Stark  as 
the  second  and  third  in  command. 

This  was  a  measure  planned  by  those 
who  were  not  friendly  to  Washington ; 
and  one  of  its  objects  was  to  detach 
Lafayette  from  his  best  and  dearest 
friend,  and  bring  him  over  to  the  Con- 
way  party.  Lafayette  would  have  de 
clined  the  appointment.  But  Wash 
ington  advised  him  to  accept  it ;  prob 
ably  foreseeing  ho\v  the  affair  would 
terminate. 

The  first  intimation  to  Washington 
that  the  expedition  was  contemplated, 
was  given  in  a  letter  from  the  president 
of  the  Board  of  War  of  the  24th  of  Jan 
uary,  inclosing  one  of  the  same  date  to 
the  marquis,  requiring  his  attendance 
on  Congress  to  receive  his  instructions. 
Washington  was  requested  to  furnish 
Colonel  Hazen's  regiment,  chiefly  com 
posed  of  Canadians,  for  the  expedition ; 
and  in  the  same  letter,  his  advice  and 
opinion  were  asked  respecting  it.  The 
Northern  States  were  to  furnish  the  ne 
cessary  troops. 

Without  noticing  the  manner  in  which 
this  business  had  been  conducted,  and 
the  marked  want  of  confidence  it  be 
trayed,  Washington  ordered  Hazen's 
regiment  to  march  towards  Albany ; 
and  Lafayette  proceeded  immediately 
to  the  seat  of  Congress  at  Yorktown. 
At  his  request,  he  was  to  be  considered 
as  an  officer  detached  from  the  army  of 
Washington,  to  remain  under  his  orders, 


and  Major-general  the  Baron  de  Kail/" 
was  added  to  the  expedition ;  after  which 
Lafayette  repaired  in  person  to  Albany 
to  take  charge  of  the  troops  who  were 
to  assemble  at  that  place  in  order  to 
cross  the  lakes  on  the  ice,  and  attack 
Montreal. 

On  arriving  at  Albany,  he  found  no 
preparations  made  for  the  expedition. 
Nothing  which  had  been  promised  be 
ing  in  readiness,  he  abandoned  the  en 
terprise  as  impracticable.  Some  time 
afterwards,  Congress  also  determined  to 
relinquish  it ;  and  Washington  was  au 
thorized  to  recall  both  Lafayette  and 
De  Kalb. 

While  the  army  lay  at  Valley  Forge, 
the  Baron  Steubenf  arrived  in  camp. 
This  gentleman  was  a  Prussian  officer, 
who  came  to  the  United  States  with 
ample  recommendations.  He  had  served 
many  years  in  the  armies  of  the  great 
Frederick ;  had  been  one  of  his  aids-de 
camp  ;  and  had  held  the  rank  of  lieu 
tenant-general.  He  was  well  versed  in 

O 

the  system  of  field  exercise  which  the 
king  of  Prussia  had  introduced,  and  was 
qualified  to  teach  it  to  raw  troops.  He 
claimed  no  rank,  and  offered  his  services 
as  a  volunteer.  After  holding  a  con 
ference  with  Congress,  he  proceeded  to 
Valley  Forge. 

Although  the  office  of  inspector-gen 
eral  had  been  bestowed  on  Conway,  he 
had  never  entered  on  its  duties;  and 
his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  major-gen 
eral  had  given  much  umbrage  to  the 

0  See  Document  [C]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 
f  See  Document  [D]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


684 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


brigadiers,  who  had  been  his  seniors. 

O  ' 

That  circumstance,  in  addition  to  the 
knowledge  of  his  being  in  a  faction 
hostile  to  the  comraander-in-chief,  ren 
dered  his  situation  in  the  army  so  un 
comfortable,  that  he  withdrew  to  York- 
town,  in  Pennsylvania,  which  was  then 
the  seat  of  Congress.  When  the  expe 
dition  to  Canada  was  abandoned,  he 
was  not  directed,  with  Lafayette  and 
De  Kalb,  to  rejoin  the  army.  Enter 
taining  no  hope  of  being  permitted  to 
exercise  the  functions  of  his  new  office, 
he  resigned  his  commission  about  the 

o 

last  of  April,  and,  some  time  afterwards, 
returned  to  France.'""  On  his  resigna 
tion,  the  Baron  Steuben,  who  had,  as 
a  volunteer,  performed  the  duties  of 
inspector-general,  much  to  the  satisfac 
tion  of  the  coinmander-in-chief  and  of 
the  army,  was,  on  the  recommendation 
of  Washington,  appointed  to  that  office 

°  General  Conway,  after  his  resignation,  frequently 
indulged  in  expressions  of  extreme  hostility  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  These  indiscretions  were  offensive  to 
the  gentlemen  of  the  army.  In  consequence  of  them, 
he  was  engaged  in  an  altercation  with  General  Cadwal- 
lader,  which  produced  a  duel,  in  which  Conway  received 
a  wound  supposed  for  some  time  to  be  mortal.  While 
his  recovery  was  despaired  of,  he  addressed  the  following 
letter  to  General  Washington. 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  23 d,  1778. 

SIR, — I  find  myself  just  able  to  hold  the  pen  during  a 
few  minutes,  and  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my 
sincere  grief  for  having  done,  written,  or  said,  any  thing 
disagreeable  to  your  excellency.  My  career  will  soon  be 
over  ;  therefore,  justice  and  truth  prompt  me  to  declare 
my  last  sentiments.  You  are,  in  my  eyes,  the  great  and 
good  man.  May  you  long  enjoy  the  love,  veneration, 
and  esteem  of  these  States,  whose  liberties  you  have  as 
serted  by  your  virtues. 

I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect,  sir, 

Your  excellency's  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

Tus.  CONWAY. 


with  the  rank  of  major-general,  without 
exciting  the  slightest  murmur. 

This  gentleman  Avas  of  immense  ser 
vice  to  the  American  troops.  He  es 
tablished  one  uniform  system  of  field 
exercise  ;  and,  by  his  skill  and  perse 
vering  industry,  effected  important  im 
provements  through  all  ranks  of  the 
army  during  its  continuance  at  Valley 
Forge. 

While  it  was  encamped  at  that  place, 
several  matters  of  great  interest  en- 


the  attention  of  Conress. 


11TT. 


Among  them  was  the  stipula 
tion  in  the  Convention  of  Saratoga  for 
the  return  of  the  British  army  to  Eng 
land.  Boston  was  named  as  the  place 
of  embarkation.  At  the  time  of  the 
capitulation,  the  difficulty  of  making 
that  port  early  in  the  winter  was  un 
known  to  General  Burgoyne.  Conse 
quently,  as  some  time  must  elapse  be 
fore  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  for 
the  transportation  of  his  army  could  be 
collected,  its  embarkation  might  be  de 
layed  until  the  ensuing  spring. 

On  being  apprised  of  this  circum 
stance,  Burgoyne  applied  to  Washing 
ton,  desiring  him  to  change  the  port  of 
embarkation,  and  to  appoint  Newport, 
in  Rhode  Island,  or  some  other  place 
on  the  Sound,  instead  of  Boston  ;  and, 
in  case  this  request  should  not  be  com 
plied  with,  soliciting,  on  account  of  his 
health  and  private  business,  that  the 
indulgence  might  be  granted  to  himself 
and  suite.  Washington,  not  thinking 
himself  authorized  to  decide  on  such  an 
application,  transmitted  it  to  Congress, 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


685 


which  took  no  notice  of  the  matter  fur 
ther  than  to  pass  a  resolution,  "That 
General  Washington  be  directed  to  in 
form  General  Burgoyne,  that  Congress 
will  not  receive  or  consider  any  propo 
sition  for  indulgence,  or  altering  the 
terms  of  the  Convention  of  Saratoga, 
unless  immediately  addressed  to  their 
own  body."  The  application  was  ac 
cordingly  made  to  Congress,  who  readi 
ly  complied  with  the  request  in  so  far 
as  it  respected  himself  personally,*  but 
refused  the  indulgence  to  his  troops, 
and  ultimately  forbade  their  embarka 
tion. 

Congress  watched  with  a  jealous  eye 
every  movement  of  the  Convention  ar 
my,  and  soon  gave  public  indications  of 
that  jealousy.  Early  in  November,  they 
ordered  General  Heath,  who  command 
ed  in  Boston,  "  to  take  the  name,  rank, 
former  place  of  abode,  and  description 
of  every  person  comprehended  in  the 
Convention  of  Saratoga,  in  order  that, 
if  afterwards  found  in  arms  against  the 
United  States,  they  might  be  punished 
according  to  the  law  of  nations."  Bur 
goyne  showed  some  reluctance  to  the 
execution  of  this  order ;  and  his  reluc 
tance  was  imputed  to  no  honorable  mo 
tives. 

If  the  troops  had  been  embarked  in 
the  Sound,  they  might  have  reached 

0  Gordon  says  :  "  May  13,  1778.  General  Burgoyne 
landed  at  Portsmouth.  On  his  arrival  at  London,  he  soon 
discovered  that  he  was  no  longer  an  object  of  court  favor. 
He  was  refused  admission  to  the  royal  presence ;  and 
from  thence  experienced  all  those  marks  of  being  in  dis 
grace,  which  are  so  well  understood,  and  so  quickly  ob 
served  by  the  retainers  and  followers  of  courts." 


Britain  early  in  the  winter,  where,  with 
out  any  breach  of  faith,  government 
might  have  employed  them  in  garrison 
duty,  and  been  enabled  to  send  out  a 
corresponding  number  of  troops  in  time 
to  take  an  active  part  in  the  next  cam 
paign.  But  if  the  port  of  Boston  were 
adhered  to  as  the  place  of  embarkation, 
the  convention  troops  could  not,  it  was 
thought,  sail  before  the  spring;  and 
consequently  could  not  be  replaced  by 
the  troops  whose  duties  they  might  per 
form  at  home,  till  late  in  the  year  17*78. 
This  circumstance,  perhaps,  determined 
Congress  to  abide  by  Boston  as  the  port 
of  embarkation ;  and  in  this  their  con 
duct  was  free  from  blame.  But,  by  the 
injuries  mutually  inflicted  and  suffered 
in  the  course  of  the  war,  the  minds  of 
the  contending  parties  were  exasperated 
and  filled  with  suspicion  and  distrust  of 
each  other.  Congress  placed  no  reliance 
on  British  faith  and  honor ;  and,  on  the 
subject  under  consideration,  gave  clear 
evidence  that,  on  those  points,  they  were 
not  over-scrupulous  themselves. 

On  arriving  in  Boston,  the  British  of- 

O  / 

fleers  found  their  quarters  uncomfort 
able.  This  probably  arose  from  the 
large  number  of  persons  to  be  provided 
for,  and  the  scarcity  of  rooms,  fuel,  and 
provisions,  arising  from  the  presence  of 
the  whole  captured  army.  But  the  of 
ficers  were  much  dissatisfied ;  and,  after 
a  fruitless  correspondence  with  Heath, 
Burgoyne  addressed  himself  to  Gates, 
and  complained  of  the  inconvenient 
quarters  assigned  his  officers  as  a  breach 
of  the  articles  of  capitulation.  Congress 


686 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


was  highly  offended  at  the  imputation, 
and  considered,  or  affected  to  consider, 
the  charge  as  made  with  a  view  to  jus 
tify  a  violation  of  the  convention  by 
his  army,  as  soon  as  they  escaped  from 
captivity.  A  number  of  transports  for 
carrying  off  the  convention  troops  was 
collected  in  the  Sound  sooner  than  was 
expected ;  but  that  number,  amount 
ing  only  to  twenty-six,  the  Americans 
thought  insufficient  for  transporting  such 
a  number  of  men  to  Britain  in  the  win 
ter  season ;  and  inferred  that  the  inten 
tion  could  only  be  to  carry  them  to  the 
Delaware,  and  incorporate  them  with 
Howe's  army.  They  also  alleged  that 
a  number  of  cartouche-boxes,  and  other 
accoutrements  of  war,  belonffinff  to  the 

7  O          O 

British  army,  had  not  been  delivered 
up,  agreeably  to  the  convention;  and 
argued  that  this  violation  on  the  part 
of  the  British  released  Congress  from 
its  obligations  to  fulfil  the  terms  of  that 
compact. 

On  the  8th  of  January,  Congress  re 
solved  "  to  suspend  the  embarkation  of 
the  army,  till  a  distinct  and  explicit  rati 
fication  of  the  Convention  of  Saratoga 
shall  be  properly  notified  by  the  court 
of  Great  Britain  to  Congress."  After 
wards  the  embarkation  of  the  troops 
was  delayed  or  refused  for  various  rea 
sons;  and  that  part  of  the  convention 
remained  unfulfilled.  The  troops  were 
long  detained  in  Massachusetts ;  they 
were  afterwards  sent  to  the  back  parts 
of  Virginia,  and  none  of  them  were  re 
leased  but  by  exchange. 

Mrs.  Washington,  as  usual,  visited  her 


illustrious  consort  in  his  quarteis  at 
Valley  Forge  during  the  winter.  Wri 
ting  from  thence  to  a  friend  in  Boston, 
she  says :  "  I  came  to  this  place  some 
time  about  the  first  of  February,  where 
I  found  the  general  very  well.  *  *  * 
The  general's  apartment  is  very  small ; 
he  has  had  a  log  cabin  built  to  dine  in, 
which  has  made  our  quarters  much  more 
tolerable  than  they  were  at  first."  To 
those  American  citizens  who  are  now 
reaping  the  rich  fruits  of  Washington's 
toils  and  sufferings  in  his  country's  cause, 
these  few  lines  are  very  suggestive.  One 
cannot  help  contrasting  the  luxurious 
habitations  of  the  present  generation 
with  that  log  hut  of  the  Father  of  his 
country,  at  Valley  Forge,  to  which  the 
addition  of  another  log  hut,  to  dine  in, 
was  considered  by  his  consort  a  very 
comfortable  appendage.  We  should  re 
member  these  things. 

The  effect  of  the  news  of  Burgoyne's 
surrender,  which  reached  Europe  in  the 
autumn  of  1777,  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  highly  favorable  to  the  cause  of 
American  independence.  Our  envoys 
in  France,  Dr.  Franklin,  Silas  Deane, 
and  Arthur  Lee,  had  long  been  solicit 
ing  an  alliance  with  France.  But  the 
cautious  ministers  of  Louis  XVI.,  al 
though  secretly  favoring  our  cause,* 


°  As  early  as  the  month  of  April,  1776,  Turgot  had 
said  to  the  ministers  of  Louis  XVI. — "The  supposition 
of  the  absolute  separation  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies  seems  to  me  infinitely  probable.  This  will  be 
the  result  of  it :  when  the  independence  of  the  colonies 
shall  be  entire  and  recognized  by  the  English  themselves, 
a  total  revolution  will  follow  in  the  political  and  com 
mercial  relations  between  Europe  and  America ;  and  I 
firmly  believe  that  every  other  mother-country  will  be 


ClIAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


689 


ence,  in  order  to  escape  from  present 
calamity. 

The  bills  were  referred  to  a  committee, 
which,  after  an  acute  and  severe  exami 
nation,  gave  in  a  report,  well  calculated 
to  counteract  the  effects  which  it  was 
apprehended  the  terms  offered  would 
produce  on  the  minds  of  the  timid  and 
wavering.  They  reported  as  their  opin 
ion,  that  it  was  the  aim  of  those  bills  to 
create  divisions  in  the  States ;  and  "  that 
they  were  the  sequel  of  that  insidious 
plan,  which,  from  the  days  of  the  Stamp- 
act  down  to  the  present  time,  hath  in 
volved  this  country  in  contention  and 
bloodshed ;  and  that,  as  in  other  cases, 
so  in  this,  although  circumstances  may 
at  times  force  them  to  recede  from  their 
unjustifiable  claims,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  they  will,  as  heretofore,  upon 
the  first  favorable  occasion,  again  dis 
play  that  lust  of  domination  which  hath 
rent  in  twain  the  mighty  empire  of 
Britain."  They  further  reported  it  as 
their  opinion,  that  any  men,  or  body  of 
men,  who  should  presume  to  make  any 
separate  or  partial  convention  or  agree 
ment  with  commissioners  under  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain,  should  be  con 
sidered  and  treated  as  open  and  avowed 
enemies  of  the  United  States.  The 
committee  further  gave  it  as  their  opin 
ion,  that  the  United  States  could  not 
hold  any  conference  with  the  British 
commissioners,  unless  Britain  first  with 
drew  her  fleets  and  armies,  or  in  posi 
tive  and  express  terms  acknowledged 
the  independence  of  the  States. 

While  these  things  were  going  on, 

VOL.  I.— 87 


Mr.  Simeon  Deane  arrived  from  Paris, 
with  the  important  and  gratifying  in 
formation  that  treaties  of  alliance  and 
commerce  had  been  concluded  between 
France  and  the  United  States.  This  in 
telligence  diffused  a  lively  joy  through 
out  America,  and  was  received  by  the 
people  as  the  harbinger  of  their  inde 
pendence.  The  alliance  had  been  long 
expected ;  and  the  delays  thrown  in  the 
way  of  its  accomplishment  had  excited 
many  uneasy  apprehensions.  But  these 
were  now  dissipated ;  and,  to  the  fond 
imaginations  of  the  people,  all  tha  pros 
pects  of  the  United  States  appeared 
gilded  with  the  cheering  beams  of  pros 
perity. 

Writing  to  the  president  of  Congress 
on  this  occasion  (May  4th,  1*778),  Wash 
ington  says, — "Last  night  at  eleven 
o'clock  I  was  honored  with  your  dis 
patches  of  the  3d.  The  contents  afford 
me  the  most  sensible  pleasure.  Mr. 
Simeon  Deane  had  informed  me  by  a 
line  from.  Bethlehem,  that  he  was  the 
bearer  of  the  articles  of  alliance  between 
France  and  the  States.  I  shall  defer 
celebrating  this  happy  event  in  a  suit 
able  manner,  until  I  have  liberty  from 
Congress  to  announce  it  publicly.  I 
will  only  say,  that  the  army  are  anxious 
to  manifest  their  joy  upon  the  occasion." 

On  the  7th  of  May,  the  great  event 
referred  to  in  the  preceding  extract  was 
celebrated  by  the  army  at  Valley  Forge 
with  the  highest  enthusiasm.  The  fol 
lowing  general  orders  were  issued  by 
Washington  on  the  day  before. 

"It    having    pleased   the   Almighty 


coo 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


Ruler  of  the  universe  to  defend  the 
cause  of  the  United  American  States, 
and  finally  to  raise  us  up  a  powerful 
friend  among  the  princes  of  the  earth, 
to  establish  our  liberty  and  independ 
ency  upon  a  lasting  foundation ;  it  be 
comes  us  to  set  apart  a  day  for  grate 
fully  acknowledging  the  Divine  good 
ness,  and  celebrating  the  important 
event,  which  we  owe  to  his  divine  inter 
position.  The  several  brigades  are  to 
be  assembled  for  this  purpose  at  nine 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  when  their 
chaplains  will  communicate  the  intelli 
gence  contained  in  the  postscript  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  the  2d  instant, 
and  offer  up  thanksgiving,  and  deliver 
a  discourse  suitable  to  the  occasion.  At 
half  after  ten  o'clock  a  cannon  will  be 
fired,  which  is  to  be  a  signal  for  the 
men  to  be  under  arms ;  the  brigade- 
inspectors  will  then  inspect  their  dress 
and  arms,  and  form  the  battalions  ac 
cording  to  the  instructions  given  them, 
and  announce  to  the  commanding  of 
ficers  of  the  brigade  that  the  battalions 
are  formed. 

"The  commanders  of  brigades  will 
then  appoint  the  field-officers  to  the 
battalions,  after  which  each  battalion 
will  be  ordered  to  load  and  ground 
their  arms.  At  half-past  eleven  a  sec 
ond  cannon  will  be  fired  as  a  signal  for 
the  march,  upon  which  the  several  brig 
ades  will  begin  their  march  by  wheel 
ing  to  the  right  by  platoons,  and  pro 
ceed  by  the  nearest  way  to  the  left  of 
their  ground  by  the  new  position ;  this 
will  be  pointed  out  by  the  brigade- 


inspectors.  A  third  signal  will  then 
be  given,  on  which  there  will  be  a  dis 
charge  of  thirteen  cannon ;  after  which 
a  running  fire  of  the  infantry  will  begin 
on  the  right  of  Woodford's,  and  con 
tinue  throughout  the  front  line  ;  it  will 
then  be  taken  upon  the  left  of  the  sec 
ond  line  and  continue  to  the  right. 
Upon  a  signal  given,  the  whole  army 
will  huzza,  Long  live  the  King  of 
France !  The  artillery  then  begins 
again  and  fires  thirteen  rounds ;  this 
will  be  succeeded  by  a  second  general 
discharge  of  the  musketry  in  a  running 
fire,  and  huzza,  Long  live  tlie  friendly 
European  Powers  I  The  last  discharge 
of  thirteen  pieces  of  artillery  will  be 
given,  followed  by  a  general  running 
fire,  and  huzza,  The  American  States  /" 

An  officer  who  was  present  describes 
the  scene  as  follows : 

"  Last  Wednesday  was  set  apart  as  a 
day  of  general  rejoicing,  when  we  had 
a,  feu  de  joie  conducted  with  the  great 
est  order  and  regularity.  The  army 
made  a  most  brilliant  appearance ;  after 
which  his  excellency  dined  in  public, 
with  all  the  officers  of  his  army,  attend 
ed  with  a  band  of  music.  I  never  was 
present  where  there  was  such  unfeigned 
and  perfect  joy,  as  was  discovered  in 
every  countenance.  The  entertainment 
was  concluded  with  a  number  of  patri 
otic  toasts,  attended  with  huzzas.  When 
the  general  took  his  leave,  there  was  a 
universal  clap,  with  loud  huzzas,  which 
continued  till  he  had  proceeded  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile,  during  which  time  there 
were  a  thousand  hats  tossed  in  the  air. 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


691 


His  excellency  turned  round  with  his 
retinue,  and  huzzaed  several  times." 

Dr.  Thacher,  in  his  "Military  Jour 
nal,"  mentions  the  presence  of  "  Wash 
ington's  lady  and  suite,  Lord  Stirling 
and  the  Countess  of  Stirling,  with  other 
general  officers  and  ladies,"  at  this  fete. 
Our  readers,  after  passing  with  us 
through  the  dismal  scenes  of  the  pre 
ceding  winter,  will  readily  sympathize 
with  the  army  in  the  feelings  attending 
this  celebration.  It  is  worthy  of  special 
notice  that  in  his  general  order,  Wash 
ington  was  careful  to  give  the  religious 
feature  of  the  scene  a  prominent  place, 
by  distinctly  acknowledging  the  Divine 
interposition  in  favor  of  the  country. 
This  was  his  invariable  habit  on  all  oc 
casions.  Religion  with  him  was  not 
merely  an  opinion,  a  creed,  or  a  senti 
ment.  It  was  a  deep-rooted,  all-per 
vading  feeling,  governing  his  life,  and 
imparting  earnestness,  dignity,  and  pow 
er  to  all  his  actions.  Hence  the  rever 
ence  and  affection  which  was  the  volun 
tary  homage  of  all  who  knew  him. 

Lord  North's  conciliatory  bills,  as  we 
have  seen,  were  not  acceptable  to  Con 
gress.  Washington's  views  in  relation 
to  them  are  given  in  the  following  let 
ter,  written  to  a  member  of  that  body 
two  days  after  he  had  learned  the  terms 
proposed  by  the  British  government : 

"  Nothing  short  of  independence,  it 
appears  to  me,  can  possibly  do.  A 
peace  on  other  terms  would,  if  I  may 
he  allowed  the  expression,  be  a  peace 
of  war.  The  injuries  we  have  received 
from  the  British  nation  were  so  unpro 


voked,  and  have  been  so  great  and  so 
many,  that  they  can  never  be  forgotten. 
Besides  the  feuds,  the  jealousies,  the 
animosities,  that  would  ever  attend  a 
union  with  them ;  besides  the  impor 
tance,  the  advantages,  which  we  should 
derive  from  an  unrestricted  commerce, 
our  fidelity  as  a  people,  our  gratitude, 
our  character  as  men,  are  opposed  to  a 
coalition  with  them,  but  in  case  of  the 
last  extremity.  Were  we  easily  to  ac 
cede  to  terms  of  dependence,  no  nation, 
upon  future  occasions,  let  the  oppres 
sion  of  Britain  be  ever  so  flagrant  and 
unjust,  would  interpose  for  our  relief; 
or,  at  most,  they  would  do  it  with  a 
cautious  reluctance,  and  upon  conditions 
most  probably  that  would  be  hard,  if 
not  dishonorable  to  us." 

Congress  fully  agreed  in  these  views, 
and  rejected  the  advances  of  the  British 
government,  refusing  all  terms  of  accom 
modation  which  did  not  begin  with  the 
withdrawal  of  the  British  fleets  and 
armies,  and  the  acknowledgment  of 
American  independence.  At  the  same 
time  the  bills  were  published,  together 
with  the  action  of  Congress  on  the  sub 
ject,  and  dispersed  throughout  the  coun 
try.  This  decisive  stand  was  taken  be 
fore  it  was  known  that  a  treaty  had 
been  concluded  with  France. 

The  British    commissioners,  Carlisle, 
Johnstone,  and  Eden,  charged  with  ne 
gotiating  and  reconciliation  qp  the  basis 
of  Lord  North's  bills,  did  not  ar-    Juiie? 
rive  until  six  weeks  after  drafts    11"T8» 
of  the  bills  had  been  published  by  Gov 
ernor  Tryon,  and  rejected  by  Congress. 


G92 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


On  their  arrival  at  New  York,  Sir  Hen 
ry  Clinton,*  who  had  succeeded  Howe 
as  commander-in-cliief,  requested  a  pass 
port  for  Dr.  Ferguson,  the  secretary  of 
the  commissioners,  to  proceed  to  York- 
town,  and  lay  certain  papers  before 
Congress.  Washington,  not  deeming 
the  matter  within  his  province,  declined, 
until  he  could  have  the  instruction  of 
Congress,  Avho  sustained  him  in  refusing 
the  passport.  The  commissioners,  im 
patient  of  delay,  sent  on  the  papers 
through  the  ordinary  medium  of  a  flag, 
addressed  to  the  President  of  Congress. 

O 

The  commissioners  offered,  in  their 
letter,  to  consent  to  an  immediate  cessa 
tion  of  hostilities  by  sea  and  land ;  to 
agree  that  no  military  force  should  be 
kept  up  in  the  colonies  without  the  con 
sent  of  Congress ;  and  also  both  to  give 
up  the  right  of  taxation,  and  to  pro 
vide  for  a  representation  in  parliament. 
They  promised  to  sustain,  and  finally 
pay  off,  the  paper  money  then  in  circu 
lation.  Every  inducement,  short  of  the 
recognition  of  independence,  was  held 
out,  to  lead  the  colonists  to  return  to 
their  allegiance.  But  if,  when  relying 
upon  their  own  strength  alone,  they 
had  refused  to  listen  to  such  overtures, 
they  were  not  likely  to  do  so  now  that 
they  were  assured  of  the  support  of 
France.  By  order  of  Congress,  the 
president  of  that  body  wrote  as  follows 
to  the  coi^nissioners :  "  I  have  received 
the  letter  from  your  Excellencies,  dated 
the  9th  instant,  with  the  inclosures,  and 

e  See  Document  [E]  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 


laid  them  before  Congress.  Nothing 
but  an  earnest  desire  to  spare  the  fur 
ther  effusion  of  human  blood  could  have 
induced  them  to  read  a  paper  contain 
ing  expressions  so  disrespectful  to  his 
Most  Christian  Majesty,  the  good  and 
great  ally  of  these  States,  or  to  consider 
propositions  so  derogatory  to  the  honor 
of  an  independent  nation.  The  acts  of 
the  British  parliament,  the  commission 
from  your  sovereign,  and  your  letter, 
suppose  the  people  of  these  States  to 
be  subjects  of  the  crown  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  and  are  founded  on  the  idea  of  de 
pendence,  which  is  utterly  inadmissible. 
I  am  further  directed  to  inform  your 
Excellencies,  that  Congress  are  inclined 
to  peace,  notwithstanding  the  unjust 
claims  from  which  this  war  originated, 

O 

and  the  savage  manner  in  which  it  hath 
been  conducted.  They  will  therefore 
be  ready  to  enter  upon  the  considera 
tion  of  a  treaty  of  peace  and  commerce, 
not  inconsistent  with  treaties  already 
subsisting,  when  the  King  of  Great  Brit 
ain  shall  demonstrate  a  sincere  disposi 
tion  for  that  purpose.  The  only  solid 
proof  of  this  disposition  will  be  aji  ex 
plicit  acknowledgment  of  these  States, 
or  the  withdrawing  his  fleets  and  ar 
mies." 

The  British  commissioners  remained 
several   months   in   the    country,  f  and 

f  The  commissioners  published  their  final  manifesto 
and  proclamation  to  the  Americans  on  the  3d  of  October, 
and  on  the  10th,  Congress  issued  a  cautionary  declaration 
in  reply.  No  overtures  were  made  to  the  commissioners 
from  any  quarter,  and  not  long  after  they  embarked  for 
England.  Thacher,  in  his  "Military  Journal,"  states 
that  "Governor  Johnstone,  one  of  the  commissioners, 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


693 


1TT8. 


made  many  and  various  attempts  to 
accomplish  the  objects  of  their 
mission,  but  without  success. 
They  were  compelled  to  return  to  Eng 
land  baffled  and  disappointed.  Thus 
the  Americans — as  an  eloquent  histo 
rian  suggests — steady  in  their  resolu 
tions,  chose  rather  to  trust  to  their  own 
fortune,  which  they  had  already  proved, 
and  to  the  hope  they  placed  in  that  of 
France,  than  to  link  themselves  anew 
to  the  tottering  destiny  of  England : 
abandoning  all  idea  of  peace,  war  be 
came  the  sole  object  of  their  solicitude. 
Such  was  the  issue  of  the  attempts  to 
effect  an  accommodation,  and  thus  were 
extinguished  the  hopes  which  the  nego 
tiation  had  given  birth  to  in  England. 
It  was  the  misfortune  of  England  to  be 
governed  by  ministers  who  were  never 
willing  to  do  justice  until  they  were 
compelled  by  main  force.  Their  pres 
ent  concessions,  as  on  all  previous  occa 
sions,  came  too  late.  We  have  had 
frequent  occasion  to  notice  the  embar 
rassments  and  mortifications  to  which 
Washington  was  subjected  by  the  inter 
ference  of  Congress  in  those  executive 
matters  which  should  have  been  left 


with  inexcusable  effrontery,  offered  a  bribe  to  Mr.  Eeed, 
a  member  of  Congress.  In  an  interview  with  Mrs.  Fer 
guson  at  Philadelphia,  whose  husband  was  a  royalist,  he 
desired  she  would  mention  to  Mr.  Reed,  that  if  he  would 
engage  his  interest  to  promote  the  object  of  their  com 
mission,  he  might  have  any  office  in  tJie  colonies  in  the  gift  of 
his  Britannic  majesty,  and  ten  thousand  pounds  in  hand.  Hav 
ing  solicited  an  interview  with  Mr.  Eeed,  Mrs.  Ferguson 
made  her  communication.  Spurning  the  idea  of  being 
purchased,  he  replied  that  he  was  not  worth  purchasing, 
but  such  as  he  was,  the  King  of  Great  Britain  was  not 
rich  enough  to  do  it." 


entirely  under  his  own  control.  This 
was  particularly  injurious  to  the  public 
service  in  their  conduct  with  respect  to 
the  treatment  and  exchange  of  prison 
ers.  Much  correspondence  on  this  sub 
ject  took  place  between  Washington 
and  Howe  during  the  winter  when  the 
army  was  at  Valley  Forge ;  and  when 
ever  the  generals  were  on  the  eve  of 
arranging  an  exchange,  Congress  would 
interfere  and  prevent  it.  Washington 
had  been  compelled,  by  his  sense  of 
justice  and  humanity,  to  censure  Howe 
for  his  treatment  of  American  prison 
ers.  An  order  hastily  given  out  by  the 
Board  of  War  exposed  Washington 
himself,  without  any  fault  of  his  own, 
to  a  similar  censure  from  Howe.  The 
circumstances,  as  related  by  Marshall, 
were  these : 

General  Washington  had  consented 
that  a  quartermaster,  with  a  small  es 
cort,  should  come  out  of  Philadelphia, 
with  clothes  and  other  comforts  for  the 
prisoners  who  were  in  possession  of  the 
United  States.  He  had  expressly  stip 
ulated  for  their  security,  and  had  given 
them  a  passport.  While  they  were  trav 
elling  through  the  country,  information 
was  given  to  the  Board  of  War  that 
General  Howe  had  refused  to  permit 
provisions  to  be  sent  in  to  the  Amer 
ican  prisoners  in  Philadelphia  by  water. 
This  information  was  not  correct.  Gen 
eral  Howe  had  only  requested  that  flags 
should  not  be  sent  up  or  down  the 
river  without  previous  permission  ob 
tained  from  himself.  On  this  informa 
tion,  however,  the  Board  ordered  Lieu- 


G94 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON". 


[Boc.K  IV. 


tenant-colonel  Smith  immediately  to 
seize  the  officers,  though  protected  by 
the  passport  of  Washington,  their  horses, 
carriages,  and  the  provisions  destined 
for  the  relief  of  the  British  prisoners, 
and  to  secure  them  until  further  orders, 
either  from  the  Board  or  from  the  Com 
mander-in-chief. 

Washington,  on  hearing  this  circum 
stance,  dispatched  one  of  his  aids  with 
orders  for  the  immediate  release  of  the 
persons  and  property  which  had  been 
confined ;  but  the  officers  refused  to 
proceed  on  their  journey,  and  returned 
to  Philadelphia,* 

This  untoward  event  was  much  re 
gretted  by  Washington.  In  a  letter 
received  some  time  afterwards,  Howe, 
after  expressing  his  willingness  that  the 
American  prisoners  should  be  visited 
by  deputy  commissaries,  who  should  in 
spect  their  situation  and  supply  their 
wants,  required,  as  the  condition  on 
which  this  indulgence  should  be  grant 
ed,  "that  a  similar  permit  should  be 
allowed  to  persons  appointed  by  him, 
which  should  be  accompanied  with  the 
assurance  of  General  Washington,  that 
his  authority  will  have  sufficient  weight 
to  prevent  any  interruption  to  their 
progress,  and  any  insult  to  their  per 
sons."  This  demand  was  ascribed  to 
the  treatment  to  which  officers  under 
the  protection  of  his  passport  had  al 
ready  been  exposed. 

Washington  lamented  the  impedi 
ment  to  the  exchange  of  prisoners, 

0  They  alleged  that  their  horses  had  been  disabled, 
and  the  clothing  embezzled. 


which  had  hitherto  appeared  to  be  in 
superable,  and  made  repeated  but  inef 
fectual  efforts  to  remove  it.  Howe  had 
uniformly  refused  to  proceed  with  any 
cartel,  unless  his  right  to  claim  for  all 
the  diseased  and  infirm,  whom  he  had 
liberated,  should  be  previously  ad 
mitted. 

At  length,  after  all  hope  of  inducing 
him  to  recede  from  that  high  ground 
had  been  abandoned,  he  suddenly  relin 
quished  it  of  his  own  accord,  and  ac 
ceded  completely  to  the  proposition  of 
Washington  for  the  meeting  of  commis 
sioners,  in  order  to  settle  equitably  the 
number  to  which  he  should  be  entitled 
for  those  he  had  discharged  in  the 
preceding  winter.  This  point  being  ad 
justed,  commissioners  were  mutually 
appointed,  who  were  to  meet  on  the 
10th  of  March,  at  Germantown,  to  ar 
range  the  details  of  a  general  cartel. 

Washington  had  entertained  no  doubt 
of  his  authority  to  enter  into  this  agree 
ment.  On  the  fourth  of  March,  how 
ever,  he  had  the  mortification  to  per 
ceive  in  a  newspaper  a  resolution  of 
Congress,  calling  on  the  several  States 
for  the  amounts  of  supplies  furnished 
the  prisoners,  that  they  might  be  ad 
justed  according  to  the  rule  of  the 
10th  of  December,  before  the  exchange 
should  take  place. 

On  seeing  this  embarrassing  resolu 
tion,  Washington  addressed  a  letter  to 
Howe,  informing  him  that  particular 
circumstances  had  rendered  it  inconve 
nient  for  the  American  commissioners 
to  attend  at  the  time  appointed,  and 


CM  A  i>.  XII  I.  J 


WASHINGTON  AT  VALLEY  FORGE. 


695 


requesting  that  their  meeting  should  be 
deferred  from  the  10th  to  the  21st  of 
March.  The  interval  was  employed  in 
obtaining  a  repeal  of  the  resolution. 

It  would  seem  probable  that  the  dis 
positions  of  Congress,  on  the  subject  of 
an  exchange,  did  not  correspond  with 
those  of  Washington.  From  the  funda 
mental  principle  of  the  military  estab 
lishment  of  the  United  States  at  its 
commencement,  an  exchange  of  pris 
oners  would  necessarily  strengthen  the 
British  much  more  than  the  American 
army.  The  war  having  been  carried  on 
by  troops  raised  for  short  times,  aided 
by  militia,  the  American  prisoners,  when 
exchanged,  returned  to  their  homes  as 

O          / 

citizens,  while  those  of  the  enemy  again 
took  the  field. 

Washington,  who  was  governed  by  a 
policy  more  just,  and  more  permanently 
beneficial,  addressed  himself  seriously 
to  Congress,  urging  as  well  the  injury 
done  the  public  faith  and  his  own  per 
sonal  honor,  by  this  infraction  of  a  sol 
emn  engagement,  as  the  cruelty  and 
impolicy  of  a  system  which  must  cut 
off  forever  all  hopes  of  an  exchange, 
and  render  imprisonment  as  lasting  as 
the  war.  He  represented  in  strong 
terms  the  effect  such  a  measure  must 
have  on  the  troops  on  whom  they  should 
thereafter  be  compelled  chiefly  to  rely, 
and  its  impression  on  the  friends  of  those 
already  in  captivity.  These  remonstran 
ces  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  the 
resolutions  were  repealed.  The  com 
missioners  met  according  to  the  second 
appointment ;  but,  on  examining  their 


powers,  it  appeared  that  those  given  by 
Washington  were  expressed  to  be  in 
virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  him, 
while  those  given  by  Howe  contained 
no  such  declaration.  This  omission  pro 
duced  an  objection  on  the  part  of  Con 
gress  ;  but  Howe  refused  to  change  the 
language,  alleging  that  he  designed  the 
treaty  to  be  of  a  personal  nature,  found 
ed  on  the  mutual  confidence  and  honor 
of  the  contracting  generals,  and  had  no 
intention  either  to  bind  his  govern 
ment  or  to  extend  the  cartel  beyond 
the  limits  and  duration  of  his  own 
command. 

This  explanation  being  unsatisfactory 
to  the  American  commissioners,  and 
Howe  persisting  in  his  refusal  to  make 
the  required  alteration  in  his  powers, 
the  negotiation  was  broken  off,  and  this 
fair  prospect  of  terminating  the  distress 
es  of  the  prisoners  on  both  sides  passed 
away  without  effecting  the  good  it  had 
promised. 

Some  time  after  the  failure  of  this 
negotiation  for  a  general  cartel,  Howe 
proposed  that  all  prisoners  actually  ex 
changeable  should  be  sent  in  to  the 
nearest  posts,  and  returns  made  of  offi 
cer  for  officer  of  equal  rank,  and  soldier 
for  soldier,  as  far  as  numbers  would 
admit ;  and  that  if  a  surplus  of  offi 
cers  should  remain,  they  should  be  ex 
changed  for  an  equivalent  in  privates. 

On  the  representations  of  Washing 
ton,  Congress  acceded  to  this  proposi 
tion  so  far  as  related  to  the  exchange  of 
officer  for  officer  and  soldier  for  soldier, 
but  rejected  the  part  which  admitted 


C96 


LIFE  AND  TBIES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


an  equivalent  in  privates  for  a  surplus 
of  officers,  because  the  officers  captured 
with  Burgoyne  were  exchangeable  with 
in  the  powers  of  Howe.  Under  this 
agreement  an  exchange  took  place  to  a 
considerable  extent ;  but  as  the  Ameri 
cans  had  lost  more  prisoners  than  they 
had  taken,  unless  the  army  of  Burgoyne 
should  be  brought  into  computation, 
many  of  their  troops  were  still  detained 
in  captivity. 

The  British  army  held  possession  of 
Philadelphia  during  the  wrinter  and  the 
following  spring ;  but  they  were  watch 
ed  and  checked  during  the  whole  time 
by  the  Americans.  They  wrere  not 
quite  so  closely  besieged  as  in  Boston, 
but  they  were  quite  as  effectually  pre 
vented  from  accomplishing  any  military 
purpose.  They  sent  out  occasional  for 
aging  parties,  who  were  fiercely  attacked 
by  Washington's  detachments,  and  al 
most  always  purchased  their  supplies 
with  blood.  But  Howe  never  made  an 


attack  on  Washington's  camp.  Doctor 
Franklin,  when  he  heard  in  Paris  that 
General  Howe  had  taken  Philadelphia, 
corrected  his  informant  very  justly. 
"Say,  rather,"  said  the  acute  philoso 
pher,  "  that  Philadelphia  has  taken  Gen 
eral  Howe."  The  capture  of  Philadel 
phia,  as  we  have  already  taken  occasion 
to  remark,  was  perfectly  useless — in 
fact,  worse  than  useless — to  the  British 
arms.  It  only  provided  winter-quarters 
to  an  army  which  would  have  been 
more  comfortable  and  secure  in  New 
York ;  and  it  held  them  beleaguered  at 
a  remote  point  when  their  services  were 
greatly  needed  to  aid  Burgoyne,  and 
save  his  army  from  capture.  In  point 
of  fact,  Philadelphia  did  take  Howe ; 
and  Washington  kept  him  out  of  the 
way,  and  fully  employed,  until  Bur 
goyne  had  fallen,  and  by  his  fall  had 
paved  the  way  to  the  French  alliance, 
and  to  the  ruin  of  the  British  cause  in 
America. 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


GOO 


enemy  as  he  approached,  and  the  others  being 
absent  in  search  of  forage.  He  however  de 
fender1  the  house  resolutely,  and  the  enemy 
was  obliged  to  retreat,  with  the  loss  of  four  men 
killed,  four  wounded,  and  several  horses.  Cap 
tain  Lee  had  only  two  of  his  men  wounded,  and 
the  patrols,  and  a  quarter-master  sergeant,  who 
was  out  of  the  house,  made  prisoners.  Wash 
ington  complimented  and  congratulated  him 
upon  his  escape,  in  a  private  letter,  and  Con 
gress  rewarded  him  for  his  conduct  upon  this 
and  other  occasions  with  a  commission  as  ma 
jor.  He  was  assigned  the  command  of  an  inde 
pendent  partisan  corps  of  two  troops  of  horse, 
which  was  afterwards  increased  by  the  addition 
of  another  cavalry  company  and  a  body  of  in 
fantry. 

In  command  of  this  corps,  on  the  19th  of  July, 
1779,  he  surprised  the  British  post  of  Powles 
Hook,  and  captured  the  garrison  of  a  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  with  the  loss  of  only  two  killed 
and  three  wounded.  The  humanity  of  Major 
Lee  was  conspicuously  displayed  in  the  kindness 
shown  to  the  prisoners  at  this  time,  when  the 
cruel  conduct  of  the  enemy  had  given  ample 
cause  for  retaliation.  His  "  prudence,  address, 
and  bravery,"  in  this  affair,  were  rewarded  by 
Congress  with  a  gold  medal. 

In  1780,  he  was  sent  Avith  his  legion  to  the 
south,  where  he  joined  the  army  under  General 
Greene.  He  had  previously  been  raised  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  His  legion  formed 
the  rear-guard  of  General  Greene's  army  during 
the  celebrated  retreat  of  that  officer  before  Lord 
Cornwallis.  On  one  occasion,  a  sharp  action 
took  place  between  his  corps  and  that  of  the 
British  Colonel  Tarleton.  In  his  charge,  Colo 
nel  Lee  killed  eighteen  of  Tarleton's  dragoons, 
and  made  a  captain  and  fifteen  privates  prison 
ers.  Having  effected  his  escape  into  Virginia, 
General  Greene  sent  colonels  Lee  and  Pickens 
into  North  Carolina,  to  encourage  the  patriots 
in  that  State,  and  to  keep  a  watch  upon  the 
movements  of  Lord  Cornwallis.  In  the  perform 
ance  of  this  duty,  he  formed  a  plan  to  surprise 
Colonel  Tarleton.  On  the  march  to  attack  that 
officer,  the  legion  encountered  several  messen 
gers,  sent  by  Colonel  Pyle,  a  zealous  tory,  to 
apprise  Tarleton  of  his  situation,  and  his  anxiety 


to  join  him  with  four  hundred  royalists  under 
his  command.  The  dragoons  mistook  Colonel 
Lee's  legion  for  that  of  Tarleton,  and  freely  com 
municated  their  intelligence.  Colonel  Lee  at 
tempted  to  profit  by  the  error,  and  would  have 
captured  the  whole  of  the  royalist  force  without 
bloodshed,  had  they  not  discovered  some  of  the 
militia  under  Pickens,  and  commenced  a  fire. 
A  short  conflict  ensued,  in  which  ninety  of  the 
enemy  were  slain,  many  wounded,  and  the  re 
mainder  dispersed.  Colonel  Lee  particularly 
distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Courthouse,  repulsing  with  loss  the  onset  of 
Tarleton's  dragoons,  and  afterwards  maintained 
a  separate  action  on  the  American  left,  keeping 
the  enemy  at  bay  until  ordered  to  retreat. 

Between  the  time  of  this  action  and  that  at 
Camden  he  was  very  successful  in  capturing  the 
enemy's  forts.  Afterwards  he  marched  to  aid 
Pickens  in  taking  Augusta,  in  Georgia,  whose 
commander,  Colonel  Brown,  had  rendered  him 
self  obnoxious  to  the  Americans.  The  fort  was 
taken,  and  Brown  would  have  been  made  to 
expiate  his  offences  with  death,  but  for  the  pre 
cautions  of  Colonel  Lee,  who  caused  a  company 
of  his  legion  to  guard  him  until  he  could  be 
placed  in  safety.  On  his  way  to  Augusta,  Leo 
had  surprised  Fort  Godolphin,  and  taken  a  large 
quantity  of  military  stores.  He  now  marched 
to  join  General  Greene  in  besieging  Ninety-Six, 
and  when  the  approach  of  Lord  Rawdon  made 
it  necessary  to  capture  that  place  by  storm  or  to 
raise  the  siege,  he  led  one  of  the  assaulting  col 
umns.  He  was  completely  successful,  but  the 
other  column  failed  to  accomplish  its  object,  and 
the  siege  was  ended  by  the  retreat  of  General 
Greene.  At  Eutaw  Springs  he  was  conspicuous 
for  his  good  conduct  at  the  head  of  his  infantry. 
He  was  sent  directly  afterwards  on  a  special 
mission  to  the  commander-in-chief,  to  request 
him  to  prevail  on  the  Count  de  Grasse  to  co 
operate  in  an  attack  upon  Charleston.  He  ar 
rived  at  Yorktown  a  few  days  before  the  sur 
render  of  Cornwallis,  and  returned  to  the  south 
after  witnessing  that  ceremony.  He  soon  after 
wards  retired  from  the  army,  and  married  Ma 
tilda,  the  daughter  of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee,  on 
whose  estate  in  Westmoreland  county  he  settled. 
He  carried  with  him  in  his  retirement  the  es- 


700 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[Boon  IV. 


teem  and  confidence  of  General  Greene,  who 
stated  that  his  services  had  been  greater  than 
those  of  any  one  man  attached  to  the  southern 
army.  From  1786  until  the  adoption  of  the 
federal  constitution  he  represented  Virginia  in 
Congress ;  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  conven 
tion  of  that  State  which  ratified  that  constitu 
tion.  He  aftenvards  served  as  a  member  of  the 
legislature  of  Virginia,  and  in  1792  was  elected 
governor  of  that  State.  In  1795,  he  was  sent 
by  Washington  to  quell  the  formidable  whiskey 
insurrection  in  Pennsylvania,  which  he  effected 
without  bloodshed.  He  was  honored  by  being 
appointed  a  general  in  the  army  organized  by 
Washington  in  anticipation  of  the  war  with 
France.  In  1799,  he  was  again  chosen  as  a  rep 
resentative  to  Congress ;  and  while  there,  was 
selected  to  pronounce  a  funeral  eulogium  on 
Washington.  In  that  production  he  originated 
the  celebrated  summary  of  the  virtues  of  the 
deceased — "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen." 

Pecuniary  embarrassments,  the  result  of  his 
extravagant  hospitality,  greatly  distressed  him 
during  the  last  years  of  his  life.  Confined  with 
in  the  bounds  of  Spottsylvania  county  on  account 
of  pecuniary  obligations,  in  1809,  he  produced 
his  famous  history  of  the  Southern  campaigns,  a 
work  of  great  value  as  the  bold  and  manly  rec 
ord  of  an  eye-witness  and  principal  actor. 

In  1814,  General  Lee  happened  to  be  in  Bal 
timore,  where  he  took  part  in  the  defence  of  a 
house,  the  publication  office  of  an  obnoxious  pa 
per,  against  the  assaults  of  a  mob.  Fire-arms 
were  employed  by  the  defenders,  and  two  of 
the  assailants  were  killed  and  others  wounded. 
The  military  arriving,  a  compromise  was  effect 
ed,  and  the  defenders  were  placed  for  safety  in 
the  Baltimore  jail.  But  the  mob  reassembled 
in  the  night,  attacked  the  jail,  forced  the  doors, 
and  murdered  or  mangled  its  inmates.  General 
Lee  was  severely  wounded.  Finding  that  his 
health  decayed  in  consequence,  he  went  to  the 
West  Indies  in  the  hope  of  restoring  it,  but  his 
expectations  were  not  realized.  He  returned  to 
the  United  States  in  1818,  and  died  on  the  25th 
of  March  in  that  year,  on  Cumberland  Island, 
near  St.  Mary's,  Georgia,  at  the  residence  of 
General  Greene's  daughter,  Mrs.  Shaw. 


BARON  DE  KALB. 

The  Baron  do  Kalb  was  major-general  in  the 
American  army  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  was  a  German  by  birth,  a  brave  and  meri 
torious  officer.  He  had  attained  a  high  reputa 
tion  in  military  service,  and  was  a  knight  of  the 
order  of  military  merit,  and  a  brigadier-general 
in  the  armies  of  France.  He  accompanied  the 
Marquis  de  Lafayette  to  this  country,  and  hav 
ing  proffered  his  services  to  Congress,  he  was 
appointed  to  the  office  of  major-general.  He 
repaired  to  the  main  army,  in  which  he  served 
at  the  head  of  the  Maryland  division,  very  much 
respected. 

Having  a  stout  frame,  with  excellent  health, 
no  officer  was  better  able  to  encounter  the  toils 
of  war.  Moderate  in  mental  powers,  as  in  lit 
erary  acquirements,  he  excelled  chiefly  in  prac 
tical  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  gained  by  a 
close  and  accurate  investigation  of  the  cause 
and  effect  of  passing  events. 

No  man  was  better  qualified  for  the  under 
taking.  He  was  sober,  drinking  water  only; 
abstemious  to  excess,  living  on  bread,  sometimes 
with  beef  soup,  at  other  times  with  cold  beef; 
industrious,  it  being  his  constant  habit  to  rise  at 
five  in  the  morning,  light  his  candle,  devote 
himself  to  writing,  which  was  never  intermitted 
during  the  day  but  when  interrupted  by  his 
short  meals,  or  by  attention  to  his  official  duty ; 
and  profoundly  secret. 

No  man  surpassed  this  gentleman  in  simpli 
city  and  condescension  ;  which  gave  to  his  de 
portment  a  cast  of  amiability  extremely  ingra 
tiating,  exciting  confidence  and  esteem. 

At  the  battle  of  Camden,  in  South  Carolina, 
the  Baron  de  Kalb  commanded  the  right  Aving 
of  the  American  army.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  action,  the  great  body  of  the  militia,  who 
formed  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  on  being 
charged  with  fixed  bayonets  by  the  British  in 
fantry,  threw  do\vn  their  arms,  and  with  the 
utmost  precipitation  fled  from  the  field.  In  this 
battle  the  Americans  suffered  a  severe  defeat  and 
loss.  The  continental  troops,  Avho  formed  the 
right  wing  of  the  army,  inferior  as  they  were  in 
numbers  to  the  British,  stood  their  ground,  and 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


703 


heightened,  too,  by  Steuben's  ignorance  of  the 
English  language,  he  entered  upon  his  duties 
with  ardor.  An  interpreter  was  found,  and  the 
great  work  of  giving  efficiency  to  the  army  of 
Washington  commenced.  This  was  something 
new  to  the  sufferers  of  Valley  Forge  ;  and  the 
strictness  of  the  old  soldier,  together  with  his 
perfect  familiarity  with  the  most  difficult  milita 
ry  movements,  astonished  even  the  commander 
himself.  "  The  troops,"  says  Dr.  Thacher,  "  were 
paraded  in  a  single  line,  with  shouldered  arms, 
every  officer  in  his  particular  station.  The  baron 
first  reviewed  the  line  in  this  position,  passing 
in  front  with  a  scrutinizing  eye,  after  which  he 
took  into  his  hand  the  musket  and  accoutre 
ments  of  every  soldier,  examining  them  with 
particular  accuracy  and  precision,  applauding  or 
condemning  according  to  the  condition  in  which 

o  o 

he  found  them.  He  required  that  the  musket 
and  bayonet  should  exhibit  the  brightest  polish ; 
not  a  spot  of  rust  or  defect  in  any  part  could 
elude  his  vigilance.  He  inquired  also  into  the 
conduct  of  the  officers  towards  their  men,  cen 
suring  every  fault  and  applauding  every  merito 
rious  action.  Next,  he  required  of  me,  as  sur 
geon,  a  list  of  the  sick,  with  a  particular  state 
ment  of  their  accommodations  and  mode  of 
treatment,  and  even  visited  some  of  the  sick  in 
their  cabins." 

The  great  services  rendered  by  the  baron,  as 
exhibited  in  the  rapid  improvement  of  the  army, 
did  not  escape  the  notice  of  either  Washington 
or  Congress :  and  at  the  recommendation  of 

O  J 

the  former,  he  was  appointed  permanent  in 
spector-general,  with  the  rank  of  major-general. 
By  his  great  exertions  he  made  this  office  re 
spectable,  establishing  frugality  and  economy 
among  the  soldiers.  In  discipline,  both  of  men 
and  officers,  he  was  entirely  impartial,  and  never 
omitted  an  opportunity  to  praise  merit  or  cen 
sure  a  fault.  Washington  speaks  of  him  in  the 
following  manner :  "  Justice  concurring  with 
inclination,  constrain  me  to  testify  that  the 
baron  has  in  every  instance  discharged  the  sev 
eral  trusts  reposed  in  him  with  great  zeal  and 
ability,  so  as  to  give  him  the  fullest  title  to  my 
esteem  as  a  brave,  indefatigable,  judicious,  and 
experienced  officer." 

America  was  soon  to  witness  the  effects  of  the 


new  discipline  upon  the  very  army  that  had 
twice  defeated  hers.  In  June,  1778,  the  Brit 
ish  army  evacuated  Philadelphia,  and  marched 
hastily  for  New  York.  They  were  led  to  this 
step  through  fear  that  a  French  fleet  might 
block  up  the  Delaware,  while  Washington  at 
tacked  them  by  land,  and  thus  they  be  forced 
to  surrender.  Washington  pursued  them,  and 
ardently  desired  to  give  battle.  Steuben's  opin 
ion  coincided  with  the  commander's,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  28th  a  detachment  under  Gen 
eral  Lee  advanced  against  the  enemy,  and  com 
menced  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  In  the  retreat 
and  subsequent  rally  of  the  advance,  the  value 
of  discipline  was  triumphantly  displayed.  The 
retiring  troops  were  formed  by  Washington  in 
the  very  face  of  the  enemy,  turned  upon  their 
pursuers,  and  regained  the  lost  ground.  Such 
a  movement  is  justly  considered  the  triumph  of 
discipline ;  and  the  battle  of  Monmouth  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  war,  not  only  as 
exhibiting  the  great  talents  of  General  Wash 
ington,  but  as  a  proof  of  the  former  invaluable 
though  silent  labors  of  the  Baron  Steuben. 

Soon  after  this  affair,  the  baron  was  ordered 
to  Rhode  Island,  to  assist  in  the  operations  of 
General  Sullivan.  He  arrived  too  late,  how 
ever,  to  be  of  essential  service.  In  the  latter 
part  of  1778,  he  was  employed  to  digest  a  sys 
tem  of  Prussian  tactics,  modified  and  adapted  to 
the  American  service.  This  was  a  work  of  no 
little  difficulty,  having  to  be  written  from  mem 
ory,  in  the  absence  of  any  similar  work  which 
might  serve  as  a  guide,  and  in  the  French  lan 
guage.  It  received,  however,  the  cordial  ap 
proval  of  Washington,  and  was  immediately 
adopted  by  resolution  of  Congress  as  the  stand 
ard  of  military  discipline. 

When  the  first  French  fleet  arrived  in  Amer 
ica,  in  1780,  sanguine  hopes  were  entertained 
that  the  war  was  about  to  be  speedily  closed. 
Steuben  had  formerly  presented  to  Congress  a 
plan  for  the  campaign,  which  was  approved  by 
Washington,  and  which  promised  to  be  emi 
nently  useful ;  but  the  arrival  of  a  British  naval 
force,  and  the  unfortunate  occurrences  at  New 
port,  frustrated  these  expectations,  and  rendered 
much  of  the  baron's  plan  useless. 

Steuben  was  one  of  the  court-martial  appoint- 


704 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


ed  to  try  Major  Andre.  It  was  a  wise  precau 
tion  to  place  such  men  as  Stcubcn  and  Lafayette 
on  this  delicate  duty,  as  both  were  foreigners, 
and  the  baron,  at  least,  knew  well  the  customs 
of  war  in  such  instances.  He  fully  concurred  in 
the  sentence  of  the  court. 

After  the  defeat  of  the  southern  army  at 
Camden,  Steuben  was  appointed  president  of 
the  court-martial  for  the  trial  of  Gates ;  but  the 
court  never  met,  and  he  was  thus  relieved  from 
an  unpleasant  duty.  When  Greene  took  com 
mand  in  that  quarter,  the  baron  accompanied 
him,  in  order  to  establish  a  system  of  discipline 
among  the  raw  recruits.  Greene  determined  to 
push  for  the  Carolinas,  but  knowing  the  neces 
sity  of  keeping  some  force  in  Virginia,  in  order 
to  raise  troops,  he  intrusted  that  care  to  Steu 
ben,  with  full  discretionary  power  to  call  on  the 
authorities  of  the  State,  and,  if  possible,  to  at 
tack  the  British  under  General  Leslie.  As  soon 
as  troops  were  raised,  they  were  to  be  oi'dered 
to  Greene's  army  in  the  South.  This  office  was 
one  of  difficulty,  and  no  little  delicacy.  Virginia 
was  jealous  of  her  rights,  and  fearful  of  an  in 
vasion  from  the  Chesapeake ;  so  that  the  utmost 
efforts  of  the  baron,  aided  by  those  of  Gov 
ernor  Jefferson,  failed  to  answer  fully  the  ex 
pectations  of  General  Greene.  Troops  enlisted 
but  slowly,  and  frequently  only  one  half  of  those 
appointed  to  be  raised  by  a  certain  time  could 
be  mustered. 

In  January,  1781,  Arnold  invaded  Virginia. 
The  command  of  the  militia  destined  to  oppose 
him  devolved  upon  Steuben  ;  but  so  insignifi 
cant  was  their  number,  and  so  greatly  did  they 
need  the  necessaries  of  an  army,  that  the  baron 
found  it  impossible  to  act  in  any  other  way  but 
as  a  mere  partisan.  When  the  British  reached 
Richmond,  he  received  a  note  from  Arnold, 
offering  not  to  burn  that  town  if  the  ships  should 
be  allowed  to  carry  off  some  stores  of  tobacco 
unmolested.  This  proposition  the  baron  re 
jected,  and  the  public  buildings  and  a  variety  of 
stores  were  consigned  to  the  flames.  Arnold 
then  slowly  retreated.  Steuben  pursued  him 
with  a  small  force,  taking  every  opportunity  to 
harass  his  detached  parties  and  cut  off  his  rear. 
Jefferson  speaks  thus  of  his  services  :  "  His  vigi 
lance  has,  in  a  great  measure,  supplied  the  want 


of  force,  in  preventing  the  enemy  from  crossing 
the  river  [James],  the  consequences  of  which 
might  have  been  very  fatal.  He  has  been  assid 
uously  employed  in  preparing  equipments  for 
the  militia  as  they  assembled,  pointing  them  to 
a  proper  object,  and  in  other  offices  of  a  good 
commander." 

After  doing  all  the  mischief  in  his  power,  and 
rendering  his  name  still  more  detestable  to  the 
Americans  than  it  had  formerly  been,  Arnold 
established  himself  at  Portsmouth,  which  he 
proceeded  to  fortify.  At  this  place  a  plan  was 
matured  between  Jefferson  and  Steuben  to  sur 
prise  him,  and  convey  him  to  the  American 
lines.  A  party  of  young  men  was  organized  for 
that  purpose  ;  but  the  scheme  was  frustrated  by 
the  extraordinary  precautions  used  by  General 
Arnold  respecting  the  security  of  his  person. 

Meanwhile,  Baron  Steuben  was  involved  in 
difficulties  of  another  kind.  His  ardor  in  raising 
and  equipping  troops  was  not  seconded  by  the 
authorities  of  Virginia;  and  when  plans  which 
had  cost  him  much  time  and  trouble  to  mature 
were  executed  tardily,  or  entirely  rejected,  his 
patience  was  severely  tried.  On  such  occasions 
he  frequently  became  involved  with  public  offi 
cers  in  groundless  disputes  and  ill  feeling.  The 
baron  was  soothed,  however,  by  letters  from 
Greene  and  Washington,  each  of  whom  knew 
how  to  appreciate  his  services. 

While  matters  were  in  this  condition,  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  small  French  force  in  the  Chesa 
peake  again  inspired  the  hope  of  Arnold's  cap 
ture  ;  but  the  wily  general  moved  to  a  shallow 
place  up  the  river,  and  Steuben  was  again  disap 
pointed.  Soon  after,  the  whole  French  squadron 
reached  the  bay,  and  landed  eleven  hundred 
men.  The  raw  militia  were  incapable  of  acting 
with  this  force  ;  but  aware  of  the  importance  of 
co-operating  with  it,  Washington  detached  La 
fayette  from  the  main  army  with  twelve  hun 
dred  continental  troops.  The  marquis  was  ap 
pointed  commander  of  all  the  forces  in  Virginia ; 
but,  fearful  of  wounding  the  feelings  of  Steuben, 
he  took  command  only  in  the  field. 

Lafayette  reached  the  Elk  River  on  the  3d 
of  March,  and  wrote  to  Baron  Steuben  to  con 
fine  the  British  by  the  militia,  until  opportunity 
should  be  afforded  for  a  decisive  blow.  About 


CHAP.  XIIL] 


DOCUMENTS. 


705 


the  middle  of  March,  the  English  fleet  under 
Arbuthnot  met  that  of  Admiral  Dcstouches,  and 
an  indecisive  engagement  took  place,  which  in 
duced  the  French  commander  to  return  to  New 
port.  This  gave  the  British  a  decided  superior 
ity,  and  obliged  Lafayette  to  return  noi'thward. 
A  few  days  after,  General  Phillips  reached  Ports 
mouth  with  two  thousand  British  troops,  excel 
lently  equipped,  and  in  a  high  state  of  discipline. 
As  this  force  placed  the  State  in  imminent  dan 
ger,  Lafayette  marched  back  with  his  troops, 
and  assumed  the  command. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  Phillips  sailed  up  the 
James  River,  with  twenty-five  hundred  men,  to 
attack  Petersburg.  Baron  Steuben  was  at  this 
place  with  about  one  thousand  militia.  Not 
withstanding  this  disparity  of  numbers,  the 
American  general  marched  against  them,  and, 
in  an  engagement  which  ensued,  held  their  whole 
force  at  bay  for  more  than  two  hours.  He  even 
succeeded  in  throwing  their  ranks  into  confu 
sion,  but  at  length  retreated  to  a  position  on 
the  river.  An  immense  amount  of  goods  was 
burned  by  the  British,  while  some  public  vessels 
and  a  great  deal  of  private  property  were  de 
stroyed  in  various  ways. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  Lord  Cornwallis  united 
his  southern  army  with  General  Arnold  at  Pe 
tersburg.  The  latter  officer  had  succeeded  to 
the  command  in  Virginia  at  the  death  of  Phil 
lips.  Previous  to  this,  Steuben  had  found  his 
situation  so  irksome,  that  he  had  asked  and  ob 
tained  leave  to  join  Greene  in  South  Carolina  ; 
but  he  was  prevented  from  doing  so  by  the  new 
invasion  of  Cornwallis.  He  therefore  established 
himself,  with  six  hundred  men,  at  the  State  ar 
senal,  near  the  source  of  James  River. 

Having  ascertained  the  baron's  position,  Corn 
wallis  detached  Colonel  Simcoe  against  him  with 
five  hundred  regulars,  who  were  to  be  joined  in 
their  march  by  Tarleton  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  horse.  Steuben  had  no  means  of  ascertain 
ing  his  opponent's  strength,  and  when  the  latter 
displayed  an  extended  front,  and  built  a  large 
number  of  fires  at  night,  he  was  led  to  believe 
that  the  whole  force  of  Cornwallis  had  arrived. 
The  Americans  retreated,  and  Simcoe,  after  de 
stroying  the  stores  at  the  State  arsenal,  returned 
to  Petersburg. 
VOL.  I.— 89 


On  the  16th  of  June,  Steuben  joined  Lafa 
yette,  who  had  been  previously  reinforced  by  the 
Pennsylvania  troops  under  General  Wayne.  On 
the  16th  of  July,  the  marquis  met  Cornwallis 
near  Jamestown,  and  a  slight  engagement  took 
place,  in  which  the  Americans  behaved  remark 
ably  well,  notwithstanding  their  great  inferiority 
of  numbers.  The  enemy  gained  some  advan 
tage,  but  did  not  pursue  it ;  and  soon  after  the 
earl  marched  to  Yorktown,  which  he  began  to 
fortify. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  the  main  allied 
army  of  the  French  and  Americans,  under  Ro- 
chambeau  and  Washington,  aided  by  the  fleet 
of  De  Grasse,  sat  down  before  this  place.  The 
siege  lasted  until  the  18th  of  October,  during 
which  time  Steuben  bore  his  full  share  of  toil 
and  danger.  His  exact  scientific  knowledge 
rendered  him  extremely  useful,  and  to  atone  in 
some  measure  for  his  former  vexations,  Wash 
ington  assigned  him  a  command  in  the  line. 
His  services  are  honorably  noticed  by  that  great 
man  in  the  general  orders  subsequent  to  the 
capitulation. 

After  this  happy  affair,  the  baron  returned 
with  the  main  army  to  the  Middle  States,  where 
he  remained  until  the  treaty  of  peace.  In  1782, 
he  informed  Washington  of  the  arrival  of  one  of 
his  former  acquaintances,  the  Count  Benyoxvxky 
or  Bieniewsky,  whom  he  introduced  to  the  com 
mander.  He  was  a  Prussian  nobleman,  allied 
by  blood  to  the  renowned  Pulaski,  and  had  ex 
perienced  most  romantic  changes  of  fortune. 
He  oifered  to  hire,  on  certain  conditions,  a  body 
of  German  troops,  to  be  employed  in  the  Amer 
ican  army  as  a  distinct  legion,  and  each  officer 
and  soldier  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  to  re 
ceive  a  tract  of  the  public  land.  His  plan  was 
approved  by  Washington,  after  some  alteration, 
and  favorably  reported  by  Congress ;  but  the 
approach  of  peace  prevented  its  adoption. 

Baron  Steuben  was  appointed  to  receive  the 
surrender  of  the  posts  on  the  Canada  frontier  ; 
but  the  incivility  of  the  British  general  caused 
much  contention,  and  Steuben  returned  to  New 
York. 

On  the  day  that  Washington  resigned  his  of 
fice  as  commander-in-chief,  he  wrote  to  the  baron 
the  following  noble  and  affectionate  letter  : 


706 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


"  Although  I  have  taken  frequent  opportuni 
ties,  in  public  and  private,  of  acknowledging 
your  great  zeal,  attention,  and  abilities,  in  per 
forming  the  duties  of  your  office,  yet  I  wish  to 
make  use  of  this  last  moment  of  my  public  life 
to  signify,  in  the  strongest  terms,  my  entire  ap 
probation  of  your  conduct,  and  to  express  my 
sense  of  the  obligations  the  public  is  under  to 
you  for  your  faithful  and  meritorious  services. 

"  I  beg  you  will  be  convinced,  my  dear  sir, 
that  I  should  rejoice,  if  it  could  ever  be  in  my 
power,  to  serve  you  more  essentially  than  by 
expressions  of  regard  and  affection  ;  but,  in  the 
mean  time,  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  be  dis 
pleased  with  this  farewell  token  of  my  sincere 
friendship  and  esteem  for  yon. 

"This  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  write  while  I 
continue  in  the  service  of  my  country.  The 
hour  of  my  resignation  is  fixed  at  twelve  to-day ; 
after  which  I  shall  become  a  private  citizen  on 
the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  where  I  shall  be  glad 
to  embrace  you,  and  testify  the  great  esteem 
and  consideration  with  which 

"  I  am,  my  dear  baron,  <fcc." 

The  neglect  with  which  many  of  the  brave 
men  who  had  bled  in  our  cause  were  treated  by 
Congress,  will  ever  remain  as  a  stigma  upon  that 
body.  Among  these  was  Steuben  :  for  seven 
years  he  made  ineffectual  efforts  to  obtain  a  no 
tice  of  his  claims,  but  in  vain.  He  had  left  afflu 
ence  and  baronial  dignity  among  the  monarchs  of 
Europe  to  waste  his  life  in  our  struggle,  and  now, 
when  the  great  object  had  been  reached,  he  was 
poor,  homeless,  and  unprovided  for.  At  last, 
through  the  strenuous  exertions  of  Washington 
and  Hamilton,  Congress  was  induced  to  acknowl 
edge  his  claims.  In  1790,  they  granted  him  an 
annual  sum  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  Oth 
er  grants,  principally  of  land,  had  already  been 
made  by  Virginia  and  New  Jersey,  and  on  the 
5th  of  May,  1 786,  the  New  York  Assembly  voted 
him  sixteen  thousand  acres.  Dete':raining  not 
to  revisit  Europe,  he  built  a  log  house  on  his 
land,  rented  a  large  portion  of  it  to  tenants,  and, 
with  a  few  domestics,  lived  there  until  his  death, 
excepting  during  an  annual  visit  to  New  York 
city  in  the  winter.  His  time  was  spent  in  read 
ing,  gardening,  and  in  cheerful  conversations 


with  his  faithful  aids,  Walker  and  North,  who 
remained  with  him  until  death.  Occasionally  he 
amused  himself  by  playing  chess  and  hunting. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1794,  he  was  struck 
with  paralysis,  and  on  the  28th  his  long  and  active 
life  closed.  He  died  in  full  belief  of  the  truths 
of  Christianity,  which  for  some  time  had  been 
his  consolation  and  support. 

His  body  was  buried  in  his  military  cloak,  to 
which  was  attached  the  star  of  knighthood, 
always  worn  during  life.  His  servants  and  a 
few  neighbors  buried  him.  His  grave  was  in  a 
deep  forest,  which  being  afterwards  crossed  by 
a  road,  occasioned  its  reinterment  on  a  spot 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  his  house. 
Walker  performed  this  duty,  and  afterwards 
placed  an  iron  railing  round  the  grave.  A  stone, 
with  the  inscription,  MAJOR-GENERAL  FREDERIC 
WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS,  BARON  DE  STEUKEN,  marks 
the  hero's  resting-place.  A  tablet  in  memory  of 
him  was  placed  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  Nassau- 
street,  New  York,  where  he  always  attended 
when  in  that  city.  This  was  done  by  his  aid, 
Colonel  North,  who  graced  it  with  the  follow 
ing  inscription : 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of 
FREDERIC  WILLIAM  AUGUSTUS,  BARON  STEUBEN, 

A  German  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Fidelity, 

Aid-de-Camp  to  Frederic  the  Great,  King  of  Prussia, 

Major-general  and  Inspector-general 

In  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Esteemed,  respected,  and  supported  by  Washington, 
He  gave  military  skill  and  discipline 

To  the  citizen-soldiers,  who 

(Fulfilling  the  decrees  of  Heaven,) 

Achieved  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

The  highly  polished  manners  of  the  Baron 

Were  graced  by  the  most  noble  feelings  of  the  heart ; 

His  hand  open  as  day  to  melting  charity, 

Closed  only  in  the  grasp  of  death. 

This  memorial  is  inscribed  by  an  American,  who 

Had  the  honor  to  be  his  aid-de-camp, 

The  happiness  to  be  his  friend. 

1795. 

By  his  will,  the  baron  left  his  library  and  one 
thousand  dollars  to  a  young  man  of  literary 
habits,  named  Mulligan,  whcm  he  had  adopted, 
and  nearly  all  the  remainder  of  his  property  to 
North  and  Walker.  What  a  proof  of  his  firm 
ness  as  a  friend,  and  his  gratitude  for  even  the 
smallest  favors ! 


CHAP.  XIII.] 


DOCUMENTS. 


707 


[E.] 
SIR  IIKNKY  CLINTON. 

This  celebrated  commander,  the  grandson  of 
Francis,  sixth  Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  son  of  George, 
second  son  of  that  nobleman,  who  died  in  1761, 
governor  of  Newfoundland,  and  senior  admiral 
of  the  white,  was  born  about  the  year  1738. 
After  having  received  a  liberal  education,  he 
entered  the  army,  and  served  for  some  time  in 
Hanover.  He  became  a  captain  in  the  first  regi 
ment  of  Guards  in  1758,  and,  in  1775,  obtained 
the  rank  of  major-general,  having  in  the  interim 
distinguished  himself  by  his  skill  and  intrepidity 
during  the  early  part  of  the  Seven  Years'  War. 
He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Bunker's  Hill ; 
and  after  having  assisted  at  the  attack  on  New 
York,  bore  a  share  in  the  capture  of  Long  Island, 
of  which  he  was  appointed  commandant. 

In  1777,  he  was  made  a  knight  of  the  Bath; 
and  in  January,  1778,  commandcr-in-chief  of  the 
British  forces  in  America.  On  the  8th  of  May 
he  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  whence,  on  the  ap 
proach  of  General  Washington,  about  the  middle 
of  June,  in  obedience  to  orders  which  had  pre 
viously  arrived  from  England,  he  commenced 
liis  retreat  to  New  York.  At  Monmouth  he 
was  defeated  with  considerable  loss ;  on  the  30th 
of  June  he  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sandy 
Hook,  to  which  place  he  conducted  his  troops  by 
means  of  a  bridge  of  boats,  on  the  5th  of  July,  a 
few  days  previously  to  the  arrival  of  D'Estaing's 
squadron  off  the  coast  of  Virginia;  and  shortly 
after,  the  forces  under  his  command  arrived  in 
safety  at  New  York. 

In  1779,  he  became  colonel  of  the  seventh,  or 
king's  own,  regiment ;  and  in  the  course  of  the 
year  undertook  an  expedition  in  New  Jersey, 
where  his  troops  behaved  with  great  barbarity. 
He  also,  in  conjunction  Avith  General  Prevost, 
who  commanded  in  East  Florida,  concerted  and 
carried  into  effect  an  invasion  of  Georgia,  which 
proved  completely  successful.  A  victory  was 
obtained  over  the  Americans  at  Savannah,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  capital  of  the  province, 
with  a  quantity  of  stores,  ammunition,  and  ship 
ping,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  Some 
minor  advantages  were  subsequently  obtained, 
and,  on  the  whole,  the  loss  of  the  Americans 


during  this  expedition,  was  heavy.  In  January, 
1780,  he  arrived  with  a  body  of  troops  in  South 
Carolina,  and  shortly  afterwards  invested  Charles 
ton,  which  surrendered  on  the  llth  of  the  fol 
lowing  May.  For  his  services  on  this  occasion, 
he  was  honored  with  the  thanks  of  parliament. 
He  subsequently  captured  West  Point  and  Stony 
Point,  and  meditated  an  attack  on  the  French 
forces  in  Rhode  Island,  which,  however,  the 
approach  of  Washington  compelled  him  to 
abandon. 

Shortly  afterwards,  he  seduced  General  Ar 
nold  to  deliver  up  an  American  fort,  with  the 
command  of  which  the  latter  had  been  intrusted, 
and  employed  emissaries  to  go  among  the  Amer 
ican  troops,  and  guarantee  them  full  payment  of 
all  arrears  of  pay  due  to  them  by  Congress,  on 
condition  of  their  deserting.  He  is  also  said  to 
have  offered  protection  to  the  American  forces 
stationed  at  Morristown,  when  they  revolted,  in 
January,  1781 ;  but  they  speedily  returned  to 
their  duty,  and  the  British  emissaries  were  de 
livered  up  to  the  Congress.  After  having  made 
an  ineffectual  attempt  to  succor  Lord  Cornwallis, 
who  with  the  whole  of  his  troops  was  compelled 
to  capitulate,  he  commenced  preparations,  in 
1782,  for  attacking  the  French  settlements  in 
the  Antilles,  but  was  superseded  in  his  command 
before  he  could  carry  the  project  into  effect. 

On  his  return  to  England,  a  pamphlet  war 
took  place  between  him  and  Cornwallis,  as  to 
the  surrender  of  the  latter,  the  entire  blame  of 
which  each  party  attributed  to  the  other.  In 
1784,  he  published  a  letter  in  defence  of  his  con 
duct,  which  had  been  censured  by  Stedman,  in 
his  Observations  on  the  History  of  the  War  with 
America.  He  subsequently  obtained  the  govern 
orship  of  Limerick,  and,  in  1793,  that  of  Gib 
raltar,  in  possession  of  which  he  died  on  the  23d 
of  December,  1795.  He  had  for  some  time  been 
a  member  of  parliament ;  first,  for  Newark,  and 
.  afterwards  for  Launceston. 

The  merits  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  as  a  com 
mander,  have  been  variously  estimated ;  and,  as 
is  usually  the  case,  the  truth  seems  to  lie  inter 
mediate  between  the  panegyric  of  his  friends 
and  the  censure  of  his  enemies.  That  he  was 
endowed  with  bravery,  and  possessed  a  consid 
erable  share  of  military  skill,  cannot,  in  fairness, 


708 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  WASHINGTON. 


[BOOK  IV. 


bo  denied ;  but  he  was  decidedly  unequal  to  the 
great  difficulties  of  his  situation ;  and  unfit  to 
contend  against  so  lofty  a  genius  as  Washington, 
supported  by  a  people  resolved  on  obtaining  their 
independence,  and  fighting  on  their  native  soil. 
His  failure  to  achieve  success  under  such  circum 


stances,  is  no  great  disgrace ;  for  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  contemporary  commander  in  the  British 
service  could,  with  no  greater  force  than  that 
under  his  command,  have  brought  the  struggle 
in  which  he  was  engaged  to  a  triumphant  issue 
on  the  part  of  the  mother  country. 


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